Word of Encouragement (10/19/2022)
But Moses said to the LORD, “Then the Egyptians will hear of it, for you brought up this people in your might from among them, 14 and they will tell the inhabitants of this land. They have heard that you, O LORD, are in the midst of this people. For you, O LORD, are seen face to face, and your cloud stands over them and you go before them, in a pillar of cloud by day and in a pillar of fire by night. 15 Now if you kill this people as one man, then the nations who have heard your fame will say, 16 ‘It is because the LORD was not able to bring this people into the land that he swore to give to them that he has killed them in the wilderness.’ 17 And now, please let the power of the Lord be great as you have promised, saying, 18 ‘The LORD is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, forgiving iniquity and transgression, but he will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, to the third and the fourth generation.’ 19 Please pardon the iniquity of this people, according to the greatness of your steadfast love, just as you have forgiven this people, from Egypt until now.” (Num. 14:13-19)
Moses’ intercessory prayer for the Israelites was obviously motivated by his concern for them, for their very lives; they were in danger of extinction. But he knew that, no matter how sincerely and fervently he pleaded for their cause, his prayer would not be answered if it was not agreeable to God’s character and plan. So, he did not just highlight how many lives would be lost and how sad it would be for the Israelites to meet this tragic end, etc. The rationale for his plea was what His judgment would do to His reputation (vv. 15-16). He also appealed to what the LORD had declared about Himself to Moses when He passed by him while he was hiding in the cleft of the rock (v. 18).
We should appreciate Moses’ concern not only for the people of Israel but also (and more so) for the LORD’s honor. Moses deeply cared about his people. God made sure of that by testing him at Mount Sinai when He threatened to wipe out the whole nation for their sin of idolatry. But his patience with them had been wearing thin due to their constant whining and complaining (Num. 11:11-15). From his dealings with them, he probably knew that they fully deserved the punishment God intended to inflict on them. After all, this was not the first time. So, we can assume that Moses was genuinely concerned about God’s honor and was not using it only as an excuse to save Israel from extinction.
This is a great challenge for us, isn’t it? When we pray, are we not consumed by our concerns and the concerns of our loved ones? “Prayer is an offering up of our desires unto God... (WSC, #98), after all. But just because prayer is about offering “our desires” to God doesn’t mean that our desires should be only about us. As we mature in our faith, “our [self-centered] desires” should be replaced by God’s desires more and more, shouldn’t they? At the beginning of our Christian journey, we may be scared to pray, “Not my will, but Yours be done!” But as we taste and see that the Lord is good more and more, we would like to see His will be done in our lives rather than our own. For He is wiser than we are, knows what is truly good for us, and loves us more than we love ourselves.
The Catechism itself hints at this as it goes on to say, “...for things agreeable to his will, in the name of Christ, with confession of our sins, and thankful acknowledgment of his mercies.” We may start by praying for whatever we desire. As we grow in faith, however, we will be more discerning and start praying “for the things agreeable to his will.” And if we pray “in the name of Christ”—that is, by the authority and nobility of His name—shouldn’t we be careful as to what kind of desires we attach to His name?
I’m sure we all have experienced that having our way is not as pleasurable as it seems. The pleasure of getting our way is often followed by regrets and bad results. Even the sages of the world urge people to live for something greater than themselves. Let us examine our prayer life. Are we still seeking what “the Gentiles seek” or are we seeking God’s kingdom and His righteousness more and more?