We will study how helping hands and praying hands enable the warrior in the mission field to reap victories for God. The Israelites had to fight the enemies before they entered the promised land. The same fight goes on incessantly: of course some are in the actual battle, some are praying for victory with raised hands. Fighting hands and praying hands are essential for the victory. We see a similar battle in Exodus 17:8-16 which has relevance to the work carried out in the mission fields.

The Israelites were attacked by the Amalekites at Rephidim. Joshua was asked to go and fight against them with a few chosen men. Yes, he was to fight in the field with his men while Moses, Aaron and Hur went to the top of the hill, a place far away and high up from the activities in the plain. There Moses held his hands up. While his hands were in that raised position the Israelites prevailed. When his hands were lowered the enemies prevailed. At one point his hands became weary and Moses could not hold them high. Aaron and Hur supported his hands, one on one side and one on the other. "Thus his hands were steady until the sun set 'and Joshua won.

Joshua and his men represent the dedicated missionaries who strive hard in the mission fields fighting hard to win the territories from the clutches of satan. It is not an easy task to take them from the wily adversary. They need to be supported by prayers. The raised hands of Moses are symbolic of the prayers raised to God by people who are concerned. Hur and Aaron also represent the help that flows towards the mission work. Systematic prayer groups and intercessions are like Hur on one side strengthening the prayer support. The financial support is on the other side facilitating the great mission like Aaron.

In this scenario, every one of them is important. It is not the fighting men alone who are significant. The contribution of Moses, Hur and Aaron is also important in the process of fight. Joshua's effort ceases to be victorious without the raised hands of Moses. Moses hands seem to fail without the support of Aaron and Hur. It is an integrated effort where one's work is closely intertwined with that of another. No one is less important or more significant than the other. This understanding is the key to a victorious mission work. Those who slog in the vineyard of God or fight in the soul-winning battlegrounds are all interlinked. The hands that fight, the hands that give and the hands that pray are all important. One cannot win without the other. This work demands complete co-ordination among the people who are involved and a conscious concern for others needs. Ministry, be it in the mission field or church related obligations, is an integrated work. Preoccupation with or predominance of self in any form is highly injurious to the total function of God's work and will lead to the collapse of the desired and God planned goal. May God grant us all the grace to be partners of mission work in the way God has intended for each one's life.