Hi all – well this is from our message church yesterday – I thought it was so great that I wanted to share parts of it with you….
Exodus 33:13-14
13 Now therefore, I pray, if I have found grace in Your sight, show me now Your way, that I may know You and that I may find grace in Your sight. And consider that this nation is Your people.”
14 And He said, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”
Firing Arrows at Heaven
Loading the Bow –
1. The Center of Prayer: To Relate to God
So the LORD spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. Exodus 33:11
In the beginning, God and Adam walked and conversed together in the cool of the day. The Lord greatly desires that intimate fellowship with us that was broken by sin.
How do you pray? Do you see prayer as a duty (only), hurriedly tucked in at the end of the day, a chore crammed in along with all of the other things that you have to get done? Or do you view it as an intimate time with the One who loves you the most, the One who takes delight in you conversations with Him?
Pointing the Arrow –
2. Our Aim in Prayer: To Know God and His Ways (v 13)
So often we pray for things: hurt bodies, hurt feelings, more money. Moses prayer was that he would know God more. He recognized that the way to really know God is by learning HIS way. Moses desire is to grow closer to God, to deepen his relationship with Him by knowing Him more and more in order to please Him, to find His grace. Moses wants to find his delight in his Lord.
How do you pray? Are your prayers simply a list of things that you want God to do for you? Do we turn tings around, wanting Him to please us, so that we would favor Him with our presence and attention? Or is your prayer time a time of asking God to reveal Himself more and more, a time of asking God for the wisdom that is from above to help you understand His holy way, and ultimately, to know Him more?
Hitting the Target –
3. God’s Goal for Prayer: To Show His Glory
And he said, “Please show me Your glory.” Exodus 33:18
In verse 17, God declares that Moses has found favor with Him and says in effect, “I will do whatever thing you ask of Me.” Moses asks to see God’s glory. And God complies!
How is God’s glory evidenced to us today? The Lord reveals His glory to us through His rich mercy.
WHY SHOULD WE PRAY? Because God WANTS us to. He greatly desires that intimate conversation and relationship with us that He had with Moses.
DOES PRAYER CHANGE GOD? His mercy definitely does. God so LOVES us and wants us to KNOW Him, to understand His ways. He desires that we pray so that He may activate His mercy toward us and reveal His glory through His grace. We can’t see His radiance displayed today, but we can see the evidence of His infinite love to us….
This message really touched my heart – to even deepen my prayer life and time I spend with God!!!
