{"id":1429,"date":"2016-09-07T17:10:58","date_gmt":"2016-09-07T21:10:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/anglicanconnection.com\/?p=1429"},"modified":"2016-09-08T10:21:05","modified_gmt":"2016-09-08T14:21:05","slug":"moses-prayer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/anglicanconnection.com\/moses-prayer\/","title":{"rendered":"‘MOSES’ PRAYER’…"},"content":{"rendered":"

T<\/span>his Sunday is\u00a0the fifteenth anniversary<\/i>\u00a0of the events of September 11, 2001.\u00a0<\/b>As I reflect on our experiences in New York that day I recall the way New Yorkers talked to one another, caring for and supporting one another. Churches in the city were full \u2013 people grieving lost loved ones, others looking for answers. But within weeks, for most, the non-churchgoing pattern of life returned.<\/span><\/p>\n

Is there anything we can do that might make a difference in a post 9\/11 world? Come with me to Numbers 14 and a prayer of Moses.<\/span><\/p>\n

A little over three millennia ago, God\u2019s people were on the southern border of ancient Canaan. Twelve Hebrew spies had brought in their reports. All were agreed on the prosperity of the land. They had a bunch of grapes to prove it!\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But their report was divided. Ten said that the cities were well defended and the legendary sons of Anak were in the Canaanite armies. But two of the group, Caleb and Joshua, had provided a minority report. \u2018Yes, the odds are against us,\u2019 they said, \u2018but we should go and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it. God is with us\u2019.<\/span><\/p>\n

No one listened. Taking Canaan might be God\u2019s promise, but it would be at a cost: lives would be lost. Could they really trust God on the basis of a \u2018word to Moses\u2019? They rejected the words of the men who trusted God at his Word \u2013 \u2018the possibility thinkers\u2019.<\/span><\/p>\n

In Numbers 14:11f we read God\u2019s chilling words:\u00a0\u201cHow long will this people despise me? And how long will they refuse to believe in me, in spite of all the signs that I have done among them? I will strike them with pestilence and disinherit them\u2026\u201d<\/i><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

God went on to make an offer to Moses:\u00a0\u201cI will make of you a nation greater and mightier than they.\u201d<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

This must have seemed extraordinarily attractive to Moses. He would be rid of this fickle crowd. However his response was to pray:\u00a0\u201cThen the Egyptians will hear of it!\u00a0<\/i>(Numbers 14:13).<\/span><\/p>\n

He didn\u2019t make excuses for Israel, pleading mitigating circumstances. Rather,\u00a0he appealed to the character of God<\/b>:\u00a0\u201cIn your might or power you brought these people from Egypt\u2026\u201d<\/i>\u00a0he said. Aren\u2019t you a God of your word?\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2018What will the nations think?\u2019\u00a0<\/b>he continued.\u00a0<\/b>\u201cIf you kill this people all at one time, then the nations who have heard about you will say, \u2018It is because the\u00a0Lord\u00a0was not able to bring this people into the land he swore to give them that he has slaughtered them in the wilderness.\u2019\u201d\u00a0 \u00a0<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

Most of all Moses appealed to God\u2019s unchangeable love:<\/b>\u00a0\u201cAnd now, therefore, let the power of the\u00a0Lord\u00a0be great in the way that you promised when you spoke, saying, \u2018The\u00a0Lord\u00a0is slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love, forgiving iniquity and transgression, but by no means clearing the guilty\u2026\u201d<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

What a moving prayer this is.<\/b>\u00a0Here is a single individual praying, and the fate of God\u2019s people hinges on it. How can the prayer of any man or woman possibly have such significance?<\/span><\/p>\n

Moses\u2019 prayer shows us that it is because of God\u2019s character we can be very confident when we pray.<\/b>\u00a0Moses knew that God is a God of his word. Above all he knew that God is a God of mercy.<\/span><\/p>\n

An outcome of Moses\u2019 prayer\u00a0<\/b>was that God tempered his judgment with mercy. The people were forgiven, but they were destined to die without seeing the promise.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

So what do we learn from this?\u00a0<\/b>With the coming of the Lord Jesus we live under another, very different covenant. God\u2019s promise now is not to a specific race of people but to all people. It is not about land or material wealth.<\/span><\/p>\n

In Matthew 16:18 we read that\u00a0Jesus is committed to build his church<\/b>. As he died on the cross he prayed, \u2018Father forgive them\u2026\u2019 Following his resurrection he commissioned his disciples to go and make disciples of all nations, teaching them to observe all that he had taught.<\/span><\/p>\n

We can be sure of this:<\/b>\u00a0God is committed to drawing men and women everywhere to himself through the Lord Jesus Christ.<\/span><\/p>\n

What if everyone who reads this \u2018Word\u2019 were to commit to pray for three or four people?\u00a0Would our prayers make a difference?\u00a0<\/b>Moses knew that his prayer would because of who God is.<\/span><\/p>\n

Do you have the same confidence?<\/b>\u00a0Do you pray earnestly and consistently that God will act with mercy to people you know for the honor of his name?<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

\u00a9 John G. Mason<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

his Sunday is\u00a0the fifteenth anniversary\u00a0of the events of September 11, 2001.\u00a0As I reflect on our experiences in New York that day I recall the way New Yorkers talked to one another, caring for and supporting one another. Churches in the city were full \u2013 people grieving lost loved ones, others looking for answers. But within […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1430,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1429","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-word-on-wednesday"],"yoast_head":"\n'MOSES' PRAYER'... - The Anglican Connection<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Moses\u2019 prayer shows us that it is because of God\u2019s character we can be very confident when we pray. We can be sure. 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