Sermon Guide: Exodus 2:23-25 "The God Who Answers Prayers"

Key Passage

Exodus 2:23–25 ESV

During those many days the king of Egypt died, and the people of Israel groaned because of their slavery and cried out for help. Their cry for rescue from slavery came up to God. And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. God saw the people of Israel—and God knew.

Sermon Overview

In Exodus 2:23–25 we see Israel move from slavery, to groaning, to prayer—and God responds with salvation; this shows us that God will not deliver us from what we still love, but when we come to hate our sin and groan under its weight, he delights to hear our cries and act on his covenant promises. Human hopes will always disappoint, but when our groans turn to true prayer in Jesus’ name, God hears, sees, remembers, and knows—acting not on the basis of our worthiness, but on the basis of his covenant with Christ. Therefore, every believer can have confidence that God answers prayers, because for him to ignore the cry of one for whom Christ died would be to break his promise, betray his Son, and waste his suffering.

Sermon Structure

#1 From Slavery to Groaning

• Israel became enslaved not only to Pharaoh, but also to sin and idolatry.

• God used slavery to teach His people to groan and hate what enslaved them.

• God won’t deliver you from what you love, but delights to deliver you from what you detest.

#2 From Groaning to Prayer

• Groaning is not yet prayer; true prayer is crying out, “I can’t — only You can.”

• Human hopes must die before divine hope is born.

• Prayer is the first step of deliverance — the spark of God’s saving work.

#3 From Prayer to Salvation

• God heard, saw, knew, and remembered — and acted to save.

• God’s salvation is grounded in His covenant promises.

• In Christ, every prayer for deliverance is answered “Yes.”

Questions for Discussion & Reflection

1. The Bible teaches us that we are saved in the past, we are being saved in the present, and we will be saved in the future. Yet we all tend to focus (or over-focus) on one of those aspects of salvation more than the others. Which are you prone to, and what do you think would be the benefit of adjusting your focus on the others?

   
   

2. God answers prayers for deliverance. But not always in the way we want, or when we want. What comfort and help can you find in this story for when your prayers seem to go unanswered?

   
   

3. In Exodus 2, God “remembers” his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; when you pray to God, he remembers his covenant with Christ. In light of that, how should the New Covenant affect our prayer life?

   
   

4. At the root of it, prayer is asking God to do what he said he would do. What promises are yours, in Christ, that you can cling to and ask God to fulfill?