The Mystery of Prayer--Moses, God's Friend

Now the man Moses was very meek, more than all people who were on the face of the earth.  And suddenly the LORD said to Moses and to Aaron and Miriam, "Come out, you three, to the tent of meeting." And the three of them came out. And the LORD came down in a pillar of cloud and stood at the entrance of the tent and called Aaron and Miriam, and they both came forward. And he said, "Hear my words: If there is a prophet among you, I the LORD make myself known to him in a vision; I speak with him in a dream. Not so with my servant Moses. He is faithful in all my house.  With him I speak mouth to mouth, clearly, and not in riddles, and he beholds the form of the LORD. Why then were you not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?"   Numbers 12:3-8.

 This passage intrigues me. First, it says that Moses was very meek, or humble, the most humble man on the earth. For a leader of about 2 million people, who had already been used by God in extremely dramatic ways, to be the most humble man on earth is an amazing thing.

But, what really touches me is what God said about him. When Aaron and Miram had spoken against Moses, God came to his defense, and said that He spoke to Moses face to face.

Exodus 33:11 says “the LORD used to speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend.” 

As I was looking at these verses, I wondered, “How did Moses get there?” I want to be God’s friend. I want to have a close, intimate relationship with my Lord, and hear Him speak to me like a friend, face to face.

I turned back to the first encounter that Moses had with God to begin to understand how Moses became so close to God.

Exo 3:1-15 Now Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian, and he led his flock to the west side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. And the angel of the LORD appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. He looked, and behold, the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed.  And Moses said, "I will turn aside to see this great sight, why the bush is not burned."  When the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, "Moses, Moses!" And he said, "Here I am." Then he said, "Do not come near; take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground."  And he said, "I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob." And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God. Then the LORD said, "I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters. I know their sufferings, and I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians… But Moses said to God, "Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?" He said, "But I will be with you, and this shall be the sign for you, that I have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain."

Then Moses said to God, "If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' and they ask me, 'What is his name?' what shall I say to them?" God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM."

I noticed several things in this that may have been crucial to Moses development.

1.     He was curious. He saw a bush that on fire, but not consumed, and he stopped to check it out. “And Moses said, "I will turn aside to see this great sight, why the bush is not burned."  He did not already know that this was from God. He was curious. He took the time to stop what he was doing to check it out. God responded to that. “When the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him, Moses, Moses.”

2.     Moses had courage. When God called to him, out of the midst of a burning bush

Moses said, “Here I am.”  Really, this had to be frightening sight, then to hear God speak. Moses didn’t run away, he answered bravely. I didn’t say he wasn’t afraid. Courage does not mean not having fear, courage is stepping up even when you are afraid.

3.     Moses was honest. In verse 11, Moses said, “Who am I that I should go?” That was just the first of his protests. I love God’s response to this. “I will be with you.”

Moses was worried about his credentials, but the only thing he needed was God’s presence. (I think Moses learned that lesson well, since in Exodus 33, he said that he would not go any further without God’s presence. By that time, Moses had a good record to stand on, but he knew that he had to depend on God.)

Let's continue to look at Moses honest communication with God in this first encounter.

Exo 4:1  Then Moses answered, "But behold, they will not believe me or listen to my voice, for they will say, 'The LORD did not appear to you.'"

God gave miraculous signs that would prove to the people that God was with him.

Exo 4:10-13  But Moses said to the LORD, "Oh, my Lord, I am not eloquent, either in the past or since you have spoken to your servant, but I am slow of speech and of tongue." Then the LORD said to him, "Who has made man's mouth? Who makes him mute, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Is it not I, the LORD?  Now therefore go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall speak." But he said, "Oh, my Lord, please send someone else."

Was Moses being rebellious, or was he being honest? Don’t be afraid to be honest with God. God knows what is in your heart and mind. You cannot hide it from him. Of course, God told Moses that he could take his brother Aaron with him, and the two of them went before Pharoah.

In the following chapters, we have many conversations between God and Moses. Mostly, God gives instructions and Moses obeys, but there are more examples of Moses coming to God completely honest and transparent.

 Exo 5:22-23  Then Moses turned to the LORD and said, "O Lord, why have you done evil to this people? Why did you ever send me?  For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has done evil to this people, and you have not delivered your people at all."

We often try to hide our true feelings if we don’t like them, even from God. We don’t want to tell God that we are hurt, disappointed, angry, or in doubt. But, GOD KNOWS. He knows our hearts, our thoughts, our feelings. He just wants us to come to him and tell Him. He can handle it.

The Mystery of Prayer

I am starting a new study for the Ladies Sunday School Class.  As we were finishing “Who is This Man”, I was praying about what to do next. I considered another book study, of Philippians or Ephesians, but felt unclear about any direction. Then, one day, the words, “The Mystery of Prayer” came to my mind. I immediately felt like that was the new study.

Prayer is mysterious. I have prayed in some fashion since I was 8 years old. My theology of prayer has changed many times. I have used different wording, different tones, different volumes, influenced by the church culture I was in. I have been in many discussions, and a few arguments
about prayer.

I have believed that God will give you whatever you ask if it is not bad, wrong, or too selfish; if you have enough faith.  So, if God did not give you the healing or whatever miracle you asked for, it was because of your lack faith.

I have believed that whatever you pray, you have to say, “but your will be done” as a kind of waiver, a passive “Oh well, I prayed, but God will do what God will do”.  There was no expectation that God was moved by my prayer, that He would grant my requests. That reflects no faith whatever.

I have seen God answer many prayers, but there are many prayers that He did answer.

When in my mind, I heard the word mystery, I felt settled. I have spent much time trying to understand and explain prayer, and I am still confused about it. I can study prayer, but with the understanding that there is some amount of mystery that is beyond my ability to comprehend. God is mysterious. His ways are mysterious.

Rom 11:33-34  Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!  "For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor?"

Last weekend I was thinking about the first teaching that I remember about prayer. I was around 10 years old. I remember a picture the teacher showed, of children praying, “Dear God, please do not let it rain tomorrow so that we can have our Sunday School picnic.”

The teacher showed us another picture, of a farmer, praying, “Dear God, please send rain for our crops.”
The teacher explained that sometimes God does not give us what we ask for because He knows of a greater need. That lesson must have left a deep impression, since I can remember it 50 years later. I am grateful, because that lesson gave me a good foundation for making requests. It is not wrong to ask God for the things that I want, but I have to understand that God’s answer will reflect His greater knowledge.

Php_4:6  do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

And, God is moved by our prayers.
1Jn_5:15  And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.

With that knowledge, there comes some excitement about prayer. To know that the God of the universe; holy, wise, mighty, strong, good, able, beyond comprehension. This God hears me when I speak with Him, and is ready to do the things that I ask Him to do.

Joh 14:12-14  "Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father.

 Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.  If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.

 This knowledge is exciting and empowering.

This makes me want to pray, to make my requests known.

But, there is more. To know that this God is good and wise, and He loves me more than I am able to comprehend. He will not give me what is not good for me. He will not say, “Well, I had something better in mind for you, but since this is what you want, this is what I will do.” He always has my best interest in mind. He operates according to a higher plan. This knowledge is comforting. I am secure in making my requests, knowing that He will answer according to His greater knowledge, and according to His great love.

Ask, believe, expect; rest in the mystery.

 

 

"Eve"-Life Bearer

As Mother’s Day approaches, I have considered all the implications of the day a lot. I know that it is a special day to show appreciation to all Mother’s, to honor them and affirm their heart and their work. I also know that it is a very difficult day for many women. For women who are not mothers, but desperately want to be, it is a painful day. For mothers of one child who are desperately trying to have another, it is a painful day. For mothers who have made huge mistakes and are suffering the consequences, it is a difficult day of reminder. For those who have suffered the loss of a child through death, miscarriage, or failed adoption, it is a dreaded day. And, on the other side, for those who have lost their mothers, or for those whose mothers have not nurtured and cared for them, it is a hard day.

With all of those thoughts in mind, I was drawn to the first mention of “mother” in the Bible.
Genesis 3:20, recorded immediately after the fall of the first man and woman, says that the man called his wife’s name Eve, because she was the mother of all living.

The word that is translated Eve is the Hebrew word for life. So, he says that he calls her life, because she was the mother of all living. At that time, she had not given birth to anyone. She was not a mother yet. I have wondered why Adam would say she was the mother of all living before she was a mother at all.  I believe this was a declaration of faith.

After the rebellion of the woman and the man, God spoke to them of the consequences of their action. But He said that the seed of the woman would crush the head of the serpent.  Adam believed God, and spoke prophetically when he said that the woman was the mother of all living, looking toward the seed that she would bear.

Before Eve bore a child, she was the bearer of life. Not only mothers are true life-givers. Every woman has the opportunity to be a bearer of life.  We can bring life into every relationship, any situation. In any area where there is death, we can bring life.

But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere. For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life. 

2 Cor. 2:14-16