‘’Moses thought that his own people would realize that God was using him to rescue them, but they did not’’. Acts 7:25

From my understanding and experience, one of the main channels God uses to reply to our prayer is through human beings. However, many of us do not pay attention to such a channel because of lack of discernment. This message leverages the sermon of the Apostle Stephen in the Book of Acts 7 to demonstrate how lack of discernment can be an obstacle to Christians.

In the Book of Genesis, God told Abraham that his descendants would be in slavery for 400 years and also promised him that his children would be released at the appointed time (Genesis15:13). This announcement is not a consequence of sin but simply an agenda of God. However, when one calculates the time God’s people spent in slavery, one can realize that they spent more than that. To be specific they spent 30 more years which is equivalent to 430 in total (Exodus 12:40-41).

It is fair to anyone curious to ask why they spent 440 years instead of 400? Did God forget them?

Without speculation, the unwavering courage animated by the apostle Stephen compounded with the Holy Spirit allowed us to receive the answer to this question from the Book of Acts. This delay happened because the children of Israel lacked discernment (Acts 7:25). Indeed, when we read the book of Genesis, we can see that God sent Moses to them 10 years before the time they were supposed to be delivered. ‘’When he was forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his brothers, the children of Israel’’ (Acts 7:23). However, they rejected him. “Who made you ruler and judge over us? Are you thinking of killing me as you killed the Egyptian?’’ (Exodus 2:14). After hearing this statement, Moses ran away because he understood everyone was aware of the fact that he killed an Egyptian to protect his Israelite brother. So, because of lack of discernment, the people of God stayed 30 years more in slavery and it is my personal belief that many of us are still in bondage, not because God has not yet replied to our prayers, but simply because we cannot discern our helpers.

Please let’s look around, swallow our pride, remove bitterness from our hearts and identify the one God sent us to release us from our troubles.