Pray Like Moses
THREE WAYS EXODUS 33 TEACHES US TO PRAY
On Sunday, we witnessed God and Moses going back and forth. Coming to the negotiating table. Watching Moses play the role of mediator to maintain Israel’s covenant relationship with God. He did this by praying for them.
He wrestled with God like Jacob in Genesis 32. Striving in prayer. Persisting in his requests for the people. Refusing to let go until God’s blessing came to them. We are invited to do the same. To come, through Christ, and speak to God, “as a man speaks to his friend” (Ex 33:11). Experiencing his presence. Seeking his kingdom. Unburdening our souls. Trusting that he’s using the process of prayer to align our hearts more closely to his.
So let’s come in faith and take up the 3 postures of prayer Moses assumes in Exodus 33:12-17. 1) Prayer is after God’s glory, 2) Prayer asserts God’s character, and 3) Prayer grabs hold of God’s promises.
PRAYER IS AFTER GOD’S GLORY
First, we see that Moses is after God’s glory above all else. The ultimate anchor of his request for God to remain with Israel is not “God, do it for us,” but “God, do it for you.” He prays, “If your presence will not go with me, do not bring us up from here. For how shall it be known that I have found favor in your sight, I and your people? Is it not in your going with us, so that we are distinct, I and your people, from every other people on the face of the earth?” (Ex 33:15-16).
What he’s saying is, “Lord, go up with us so that your glory can be seen in and through us. So that your glory can shine forth amongst the nations. So that you would magnify your power, your greatness, and your goodness through the amazing things you do for and in and through such a weak, sinful, undeserving, and unimpressive people like us!” What this demonstrates is that, for Moses, prayer is about more than his personal requests. It’s about more than just getting what he wants from God. It’s about God getting the glory that belongs to him. So ask yourself, when you pray, do you only or primarily just make requests for what you want? Or do you give thanks? Offer praise? And ask God to act, not just for your own personal good, but for the sake of his great glory?
PRAYER ASSERTS GOD’S CHARACTER
Next, in his prayer, Moses assumes God’s goodness and grace. He says, “I know I have found favor in your sight…” (33:12). He prays for God’s people because he believes God will keep his promises to his people. He speaks as one confident that God has not only open ears to hear him but an open heart to love him. Even in the midst of the crisis Israel is facing, Moses communicates, “Lord, I know this is bad, but you are good.” And we should do the same. Not despairing over our circumstances but doubling down on the character of God.
Praying:
“Lord, right now you feel far from me, but I know you are near to the brokenhearted.”
“Lord, I know my heart and flesh may fail but your faithfulness never will.”
“Lord, this suffering seems meaningless, but I know you are wise and working all things together for my good.”
“Lord, right now life just hurts, but I know you are a Father who loves your children, knows what they need even before we ask, and that even when you discipline us, it is shot through with tender mercy.”
So we come to the God who has revealed himself to us and we pray, “Lord, I know you are all these things. So that - even when that seems hard to see, hard to believe, hard to understand in my circumstances right now - I will trust you to be who you are and ask for your help to fight my unbelief.”
PRAYER GRABS HOLD OF GOD’S PROMISES
Finally, though the words are not directly quoted, it’s safe to say that Moses is clinging to particular promises from God all throughout the negotiation. Promises like, “You shall be my treasured possession among all the peoples…and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation” (Ex 19:5-6). And, “I will dwell among the people of Israel and will be their God. And they shall know that I am the Lord their God, who brought them out of the land of Egypt that I might dwell among them. I am the Lord their God” (Ex 29:45-46). Or, the “on-the-pain-of-death” pledge God made to the people signified by the sprinkled blood upon the altar (Ex 24:6). Moses’ requests that God would remain with the people were governed by what God had revealed to him.
What this teaches us is to take God’s promises and pray them back to him. Clinging for dear life to the words he’s given us and using them to guide, direct, and fuel our prayers with faith. Grabbing hold of them with the hope that God will keep his word to me. With the resolve that even before I’ve seen or experienced the fulfillment of a particular promise, I’m going to lay hold of it now to steady my soul. To put something firm underneath my feet. Church, in our times of devotion, as we gather in small groups, and as we follow Jesus together, let’s make it a habit to pray God’s promises back to him. Not in any way thinking we are changing his mind, but trusting he’s changing us.
Here are some precious promises to cling to in your prayers:
The promise of his presence - “Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you” (James 4:8; see also Mt 11:28-30 and Heb 4:14-16).
The promise of his forgiveness - “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgives us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 Jn 1:8-9).
The promise of his providence - “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified. What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Rom 8:28-32).
The promise of his deliverance - “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it” (1 Cor 10:13).
The promise of his provision - “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things [what you will eat, what you will drink, what you will wear, and what you’ll need to be sustained in life] will be added to you” (Mt 6:33; see also Mt 7:7-11 and Rom 8:32).
The promise of his justice - “Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord” (Rom 12:19).
The promise of his preservation - “And I am sure about this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ” (Phil 1:6; see also 1 These 5:23-24 and 1 Pet 1:3-9).
The promise of his return - “But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself” (Phil 3:20-21; see also Col 3:3-4 and 1 Jn 3:2).
PRAYER GRABS HOLD OF JESUS
All these promises (and more) are ours because of Jesus: the one true Mediator between God and man (1 Tim 2:5-6). He secured them through the shedding of his blood and he now he ever lives to maintain our relationship with God (Heb 7:23-27). Ultimately, we find that “all the promises of God find their “Yes” in him. That is why it is through him that we utter our “Amen” to God for his glory” (2 Cor 1:20).