Word of Encouragement (09/21/2022)
Obviously, this is not a prayer. But I’d like us to reflect on it a little because it is a wonderful picture of what we can look forward to when we pray.
Moses’ face shone when he came down from Mount Sinai. His face shone so brightly that they were afraid to come near him (v. 30). We are told why his face shone: “because he had been talking with God.” For the past couple of weeks, we have been reflecting on Moses’ conversation with God—his prayer—during that time. This brightness did not come from Moses himself, of course; it came from spending time with God in His presence. That means his face shone as the moon shines at night: the moon is reflecting the light of the sun. We are told that his face shone whenever he went into the tent of meeting and conversed with God. The brightness of his face was such that he had to cover his face with a veil.
This teaches us that we cannot spend time with God and not change in some way. This only makes sense, doesn’t it? Think about our interaction with others. Some people drain you when you spend time with them. Others uplift you with their encouragement and love. Some inspire you with their wisdom and insight, their passion and conviction. And others make you sad with their spirit of thanklessness and resentment. If spending time with other people changes us in one way or the other to one degree or another, how can spending time with God not change us? Who is weightier and more influential than God? There is no comparison, is there?
So, we can come up with this maxim: if we are not changed in some way by the time we finish our prayer, we have not communed with God. You know how that can be. Sometimes we are so engrossed in our problems that our prayer can end up being a monologue; we get so immersed in our navel-gazing that we don’t even lift our eyes toward God in heaven! We may call on God with our lips out of habit, but our hearts are not engaged. So, we begin our prayer with a sigh and end our prayer with the same sigh. How sad is that!
On the contrary, think about the Psalms of lament: they begin with a lament but they end with praise or thanksgiving. Take, for example, Ps. 6. This is how it begins: “O LORD, rebuke me not in your anger, nor discipline me in your wrath” (v. 1). His lament continues until we come to v. 8: “Depart from me, all you workers of evil, for the LORD has heard the sound of my weeping.” David’s lament turns into a declaration of his confident trust in the LORD. How? Simply because he was bringing his lament to God instead of sulking by himself!
This is why it is so beneficial for us to begin our prayer with praise and thanksgiving, remembering who God is and what He has already done for us. If our problem seems overwhelming, it is because we have lost sight of our God, who is far greater than our biggest and worst problems. Some of the things we fear and worry about will dissipate simply by our remembrance of God’s greatness. This will change our perspective on our problems and circumstances. When this happens, will it not change even our countenance? How can we not pray?