¹And he said unto Moses, Come up unto the LORD, thou, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel; and worship ye afar off.

   ²And Moses alone shall come near the LORD: but they shall not come nigh; neither shall the people go up with him.

   ³And Moses came and told the people all the words of the LORD, and all the judgments: and all the people answered with one voice, and said, All the words which the LORD hath said will we do.

   ⁴And Moses wrote all the words of the LORD, and rose up early in the morning, and builded an altar under the hill, and twelve pillars, according to the twelve tribes of Israel.

   ⁵And he sent young men of the children of Israel, which offered burnt offerings, and sacrificed peace offerings of oxen unto the LORD.

   ⁶And Moses took half of the blood, and put it in basons; and half of the blood he sprinkled on the altar.

   ⁷And he took the book of the covenant, and read in the audience of the people: and they said, All that the LORD hath said will we do, and be obedient.

   ⁸And Moses took the blood, and sprinkled it on the people, and said, Behold the blood of the covenant, which the LORD hath made with you concerning all these words.

   ⁹Then went up Moses, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel:

   ¹⁰And they saw the God of Israel: and there was under his feet as it were a paved work of a sapphire stone, and as it were the body of heaven in his clearness.

   ¹¹And upon the nobles of the children of Israel he laid not his hand: also they saw God, and did eat and drink.

   ¹²And the LORD said unto Moses, Come up to me into the mount, and be there: and I will give thee tables of stone, and a law, and commandments which I have written; that thou mayest teach them.

   ¹³And Moses rose up, and his minister Joshua: and Moses went up into the mount of God.

   ¹⁴And he said unto the elders, Tarry ye here for us, until we come again unto you: and, behold, Aaron and Hur are with you: if any man have any matters to do, let him come unto them.

   ¹⁵And Moses went up into the mount, and a cloud covered the mount.

   ¹⁶And the glory of the LORD abode upon mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days: and the seventh day he called unto Moses out of the midst of the cloud.

   ¹⁷And the sight of the glory of the LORD was like devouring fire on the top of the mount in the eyes of the children of Israel.

   ¹⁸And Moses went into the midst of the cloud, and gat him up into the mount: and Moses was in the mount forty days and forty nights.

1Then the LORD said to Moses, “Go in to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart and the heart of his servants, that I may show these signs of mine among them, 2and(A) that you may tell in the hearing of your son and of your grandson how I have dealt harshly with the Egyptians and what signs I have done among them,(B) that you may know that I am the LORD.”

    3So Moses and Aaron went in to Pharaoh and said to him, “Thus says the LORD, the God of the Hebrews, ‘How long will you refuse to(C) humble yourself before me? Let my people go, that they may serve me. 4For if you refuse to let my people go, behold, tomorrow I will bring(D) locusts into your country, 5and they shall cover the face of the land, so that no one can see the land. And they shall(E) eat what is left to you after the hail, and they shall eat every tree of yours that grows in the field, 6and they shall fill(F) your houses and the houses of all your servants and of all the Egyptians, as neither your fathers nor your grandfathers have seen, from the day they came on earth to this day.'” Then he turned and went out from Pharaoh.

    7Then Pharaoh’s servants said to him, “How long shall this man be a snare to us? Let the men go, that they may serve the LORD their God. Do you not yet understand that Egypt is ruined?” 8So Moses and Aaron were brought back to Pharaoh. And he said to them,(G) “Go, serve the LORD your God. But which ones are to go?” 9Moses said, “We will go with our young and our old. We will go with our sons and daughters and with our flocks and herds, for(H) we must hold a feast to the LORD.” 10But he said to them, “The LORD be with you, if ever I let you and your(I) little ones go! Look, you have some evil purpose in mind.[a] 11No! Go, the men among you, and serve the LORD, for that is what you are asking.” And they were driven out from Pharaoh’s presence.

    12Then the LORD said to Moses,(J) “Stretch out your hand over the land of Egypt for the locusts, so that they may come upon the land of Egypt and(K) eat every plant in the land, all that the hail has left.” 13So Moses stretched out his staff over the land of Egypt, and the LORD brought an east wind upon the land all that day and all that night. When it was morning, the east wind had brought the locusts. 14(L) The locusts came up over all the land of Egypt and settled on the whole country of Egypt,(M) such a dense swarm of locusts as had never been before, nor ever will be again. 15They covered the face of the whole land, so that the land was darkened, and(N) they ate all the plants in the land and all the fruit of the trees that the hail had left. Not a green thing remained, neither tree nor plant of the field, through all the land of Egypt. 16Then Pharaoh hastily called Moses and Aaron and said,(O) “I have sinned against the LORD your God, and against you. 17Now therefore, forgive my sin, please, only this once, and(P) plead with the LORD your God only to remove this death from me.” 18So(Q) he went out from Pharaoh and pleaded with the LORD. 19And the LORD turned the wind into a very strong west wind, which lifted the locusts and drove them(R) into the Red Sea. Not a single locust was left in all the country of Egypt. 20But the LORD(S) hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he did not let the people of Israel go.

The Ninth Plague: Darkness

   

    21Then the LORD said to Moses,(T) “Stretch out your hand toward heaven, that there may be(U) darkness over the land of Egypt, a darkness to be felt.” 22So Moses stretched out his hand toward heaven, and there was pitch darkness in all the land of Egypt three days. 23They did not see one another, nor did anyone rise from his place for three days, but(V) all the people of Israel had light where they lived. 24Then Pharaoh called Moses and said,(W) “Go, serve the LORD;(X) your little ones also may go with you; only let your flocks and your herds remain behind.” 25But Moses said, “You must also let us have sacrifices and burnt offerings, that we may sacrifice to the LORD our God. 26Our livestock also must go with us; not a hoof shall be left behind, for we must take of them to serve the LORD our God, and we do not know with what we must serve the LORD until we arrive there.” 27But the LORD(Y) hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he would not let them go. 28Then Pharaoh said to him, “Get away from me; take care never to see my face again, for on the day you see my face you shall die.” 29Moses said, “As you say!(Z) I will not see your face again.”

 

¹And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars:

   ²And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered.

   ³And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads.

   ⁴And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born.

   ⁵And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne.

   ⁶And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days.

   ⁷And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,

   ⁸And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.

   ⁹And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

   ¹⁰And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.

   ¹¹And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.

   ¹²Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.

   ¹³And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman which brought forth the man child.

   ¹⁴And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent.

   ¹⁵And the serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood.

   ¹⁶And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth.

   ¹⁷And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.

 ¹And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.

   ²And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority.

   ³And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast.

   ⁴And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?

   ⁵And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months.

   ⁶And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven.

   ⁷And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.

   ⁸And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.

   ⁹If any man have an ear, let him hear.

   ¹⁰He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity: he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints.

   ¹¹And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon.

   ¹²And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed.

   ¹³And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men,

   ¹⁴And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live.

   ¹⁵And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.

   ¹⁶And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:

   ¹⁷And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.

   ¹⁸Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.

Now in the sixth month [after that], the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee named Nazareth, 27 To a girl never having been married and a virgin engaged to be married to a man whose name was Joseph, a descendant of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. 28 And he came to her and said, Hail, O favored one [endued with grace]! The Lord is with you! Blessed (favored of God) are you before all other women! 29 But when she saw him, she was greatly troubled and disturbed and confused at what he said and kept revolving in her mind what such a greeting might mean. 30 And the angel said to her, Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found grace (free, spontaneous, absolute favor and loving-kindness) with God. 31 And listen! You will become pregnant and will give birth to a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus. 32 He will be great (eminent) and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give to Him the throne of His forefather David, 33 And He will reign over the house of Jacob throughout the ages; and of His reign there will be no end. 34 And Mary said to the angel, How can this be, since I have no [intimacy with any man as a] husband? 35 Then the angel said to her, The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you [like a shining cloud]; and so the holy (pure, sinless) Thing (Offspring) which shall be born of you will be called the Son of God. 36 And listen! Your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is now the sixth month with her who was called barren. 37 For with God nothing is ever impossible and no word from God shall be without power or impossible of fulfillment. 38 Then Mary said, Behold, I am the handmaiden of the Lord; let it be done to me according to what you have said. And the angel left her.   Luke 1:26-38 AMP

 

Mary was a remarkable young woman. There is no indication from the scripture that she was sinless or that she was more holy or more divinely endowed with any characteristics or abilities more than any other young woman of her generation – except that she was a virgin, godly and pure, with a deep respect for God. The call of God was on her life, but the thing that set her apart was her humility, her obedience and her commitment to the will of God at any cost. God calls many people, but not many choose to accept His will for their lives over their own will and choices.

 

And at that time Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country to a town of Judah, 40 And she went to the house of Zachariah and, entering it, saluted Elizabeth. 41 And it occurred that when Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with and controlled by the Holy Spirit. 42 And she cried out with a loud cry, and then exclaimed, Blessed (favored of God) above all other women are you! And blessed (favored of God) is the Fruit of your womb! 43 And how [have I deserved that this honor should] be granted to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 For behold, the instant the sound of your salutation reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. 45 And blessed (happy, to be envied) is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of the things that were spoken to her from the Lord.  Luke 1:39-45 AMP

 

Mary’s cousin, Elizabeth, was also a woman of God. The moment she heard Mary’s voice, the anointing fell on her. She knew, by the Spirit of God, that God had spoken to Mary and that she was carrying the Messiah in her womb. The power of God fell on Mary and she began to prophesy about the Salvation of the Lord:

 

And Mary said, My soul magnifies and extols the Lord, 47 And my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, 48 For He has looked upon the low station and humiliation of His handmaiden. For behold, from now on all generations [of all ages] will call me blessed and declare me happy and to be envied! 49 For He Who is almighty has done great things for me–and holy is His name [to be venerated in His purity, majesty and glory]! 50 And His mercy (His compassion and kindness toward the miserable and afflicted) is on those who fear Him with godly reverence, from generation to generation and age to age. 51 He has shown strength and made might with His arm; He has scattered the proud and haughty in and by the imagination and purpose and designs of their hearts. 52 He has put down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of low degree. 53 He has filled and satisfied the hungry with good things, and the rich He has sent away empty-handed [without a gift]. 54 He has laid hold on His servant Israel [to help him, to espouse his cause], in remembrance of His mercy, 55 Even as He promised to our forefathers, to Abraham and to his descendants forever.   Luke 1:46-55 AMP

 

When you first welcome and receive the Word of the Lord into your heart and life and you accept His will and His purpose for you, you also receive an anointing to do what He has planned for you. After that, it is up to you to believe God’s Word to you and to walk it out in the face of opposition and criticism.

    

And Mary remained with her [Elizabeth] for about three months and [then] returned to her [own] home.  Luke 1:56 AMP

The earnest (heartfelt, continued) prayer of a righteous man makes tremendous power available [dynamic in its working].  James 5:16b AMP

 

When a righteous man prays a continued, earnest, heartfelt, prayer, there is a tremendous power that is released – a dynamic active power that effectively goes to work – producing the desired result. If you want our prayers to be answered, there are a few things that you must do to ensure the desired result – you must walk righteously before the Lord, you must pray sincerely and fervently – and very importantly – you must pray according to God’s will. As a Christian, yielded to the Spirit of God, you have the right to represent yourself in God’s presence and ask for the things you need. Because you have the right to come boldly, you can approach God with confidence.

 

14 This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. 15 And if we know that he hears us-whatever we ask-we know that we have what we asked of him.  1 John 5:13-15 NIV

 

The Bible says that if you ask God for anything – according to His will – you can have absolute confidence that He is hearing your prayer. Some people pray as if God isn’t even listening, but the Bible says that if you ask anything according to His will, He does hear you. The Bible says that if you know that He hears you, you also know that He gives you whatever you asked for. Obviously that means that if He hears, He answers and if He does not hear, He does not answer. It is not hard to receive from God those things you ask for as long as you know that He is actually hearing you. Therefore you need to pray in such a way that you know that He will hear your prayer – your prayer must be in line with His will. His will is His Word. You must pray the way that the Word tells you to pray and you must pray the things that the Word tells you to pray, because God will only give you the things that He has already promised that He will give you.

 

The Lord says that His people are destroyed for the lack of knowledge (Hosea 4:6). People are generally misinformed about God – He is not looking for an opportunity to punish you or deprive you of anything – He is looking for an opportunity to bless you, but there is a process that you must go through. You must purify your heart and come both humbly and boldly into His presence to ask according to His will – which is already revealed to you in His Word. He has shown you how to ask – you need to get the revelation of it and do as He says if you want to see a result. If you are not going to pray properly, according to God’s guidelines, then you are basically wasting your time. It would be better to find out what He wants – do it – and reap the blessing!

 

26 Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. 27 Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God. 28 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.  Romans 8:26-28 NKJV

 

If you want God’s best for your life then you should spend time praying in the Spirit. When you pray in the Spirit, the Holy Spirit within you prays through you. The Holy Spirit prays the perfect will of God for you through your own mouth. The Spirit stands before God and makes intercession for you, praying God’s will over you on your behalf. You must open your mouth to pray and the Spirit of God will give you the utterance and pray through you. He will pray things through you and over you that only the Father, Jesus, and He (the Holy Spirit) understand and know about. The Holy Spirit asks God for things we cannot ask for, or do not know what to ask for, or do not know how to ask for. Remember, God always speaks things before He does them. He always speaks His will into existence. You are made in His image. If you want to see results, then you must do things the way He does. If He speaks things into existence, then you must also speak things into existence. When you pray God’s will, you are speaking God’s will for your life into existence. God has good plans for us – to give us hope and a future.

 

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”  Jeremiah 29:11 NIV