The Veil

“Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone because of his speaking with Him. So when Aaron and all the sons of Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone, and they were afraid to come near him.” Exodus 34:29

There is simply no substitute for spending time in The Presence of Holy God. Hard work glistens the brow with honorable beads of sweat, but nothing pours the oil of The Spirit upon the countenance of a believer like spending prolonged periods of time in The Presence of The Father.

“Moses did not know that the skin on his face shone because of his speaking with Him.”

Moses was clueless because he was selfless. He wasn’t looking for an ancient version of a quick celebrity “Selfie” with God so he could post it in front of his envious friends. His time with God was about God, not about Moses. This was the key for this man of God to be under the anointing of God. It still is.

The daily drain on his spiritual resources by the obstinate people God called him to lead left Moses drained and thirsting to be in The Presence of God. He wasn’t looking for a brief break from his burden or a quick sip from the well of God’s wisdom. He longed to be saturated by God. He wasn’t interested in just knowing what God knew. He wanted to know God. There is a big difference between education and saturation.

The self-focused person who has to squeeze into every conversation a not so subtle reminder of how much time they spend with God is missing the point. Scripture indicates the evidence should already be on their face before it comes out of their mouth. The words of the simple children’s song should be their anthem.

“If you’re happy and you know it, then your face will surely show it.”

It was simply impossible for Moses to hide the power of God’s Presence from his face. Diligence will lead a person to schedule a disciplined, daily Quiet Time. Intelligence is fed by increasing a person’s knowledge about God. Sadly, it is still possible for both the diligent and the intelligent to miss God.

Moses didn’t’ spend time with God to express his diligence or to improve his intelligence. With personal transparency, he embraced God’s transcendence. Speaking with God for prolonged periods of time left an indelible mark on the soul of Moses. These private conversations were revealed in public by the radiance of God’s Presence on his face.

God’s Presence is released through and revealed upon the faces of the transparent, not the diligent and the intelligent. People praise the diligent, and honor the intelligent, but God anoints the transparent. Be transparent.

Moses did not know The Evidence was on his face, but those who saw his face, sensed The Presence of God. The Evidence was The Presence. It always is.

Moses didn’t walk away from The Presence of God with a new version of God. He remained true to God’s Word and challenged those who heard his voice and saw his face to obey God, not his own personal version of God.

“He commanded them to do everything that the Lord had spoken to him on Mount Sinai. When Moses had finished speaking with them, he put a veil over his face. But whenever Moses went in before the Lord to speak with Him, he would take off the veil until he came out;” V. 32

NOTE TO SELF: Get this right. Moses removed The Veil when he entered into The Presence of God. He pulled The Veil over his face when he was in the presence of the people.

“The sons of Israel would see the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses shone. So Moses would replace the veil over his face until he went in to speak with Him.” V. 35

When you come into The Presence of God, be honest to God. You don’t get any closer to God than your lowest level of transparency. Be diligent. Be intelligent, but most of all, be transparent. Rushing to tell people all you know about God can become a substitute for spending time with God. You may not be able to tell the difference, but those around you can. Don’t confuse eloquence with transparency.

TALK LESS! PRAY MORE!

The Audience

“If now I have found favor in Your sight, O Lord, I pray, let the Lord go along in our midst, even though the people are obstinate, and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us as Your own possession.” Exodus 34:9

Know your audience. Every speech class or preaching seminar begins with this fundamental warning. When I have ignored the wisdom of it, I may have delivered the mail, but I put it in the wrong mailbox.  Simply put, the message was not received.

When Moses prayed, He knew his audience by name, by reputation, and from personal experience. Scripture describes his communication with God as face-to-face conversations. His familiarity with God never degenerated into a casual, chummy contempt for God. When God came calling, His reputation preceded Him. He needed no introduction, but provided one anyway. Moses knew his audience. You should too.  

6 The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, 7 keeping steadfast love for thousands,[a] forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children's children, to the third and the fourth generation.”  V 6-7

When Moses prayed God condescended to spend time with him, and he was stirred to descend to a whole new level of personal humility. Praying to God was not a matter of stealing a bit of significance by treating God as a celebrity. For Moses, prayer began by kneeling before God’s sovereignty. Believing prayer always does. Don’t take a “Selfie.” Take a knee.

“Moses made haste to bow low toward the earth and worship.” V. 8

When Moses prayed, he knew his audience. Believing prayer and genuine worship are offered to an audience of One. People pleasing prayers and personal preference posing as praise always evaporate in the Presence of Holy God. God condescended to meet Moses face to face, but prayer put Moses on his face before God, and the needs of others on his heart.

“I pray, let the Lord go along in our midst.” V. 9a

This is the very definition of Spiritual Awakening. A Great Awakening is the result of a prolonged, saturation of a community of believers with the Presence of God. His Presence does not come because the people deserve His grace, but because they are in need of His mercy.

“…even though the people are so obstinate…pardon our iniquity and our sin.” V. 9b

Never confuse preparation for revival or anticipation of revival with desperation for God’s Holy Presence. Preparing for any movement of God begins by His people falling on their faces before Him in prayer, and inviting God to saturate them with His Holy Presence, not for a season, but for as long as it takes.

“Revival is a people saturated with God.” Brian Edwards

Prayers are never eloquent or sincere enough to generate revival. Still, God brings an awakening by walking among His people in answer to prayer.

Moses humbled himself by praying and admitting the people didn’t deserve in the least what they needed the most. God brought His Presence into their midst. Never settle for anything less.

“The central message of the Bible is the mercy of God, and whoever comes to Him in penitence and sincerity will in no wise be cast out.” Dr. Herbert Lockyer

“…and take us as Your own possession.” V. 9c

This idea of “possession” may be the greatest hindrance to a movement of God. When people believe they can brand God, and package Him as an easy sale to needy people, they may draw a crowd, but they miss God’s Presence.

NOTE TO SELF: God is not yours to sell. You are His, to own. Prayer places a sign over your heart, “Under New Ownership.” When God condescends to meet with you in prayer, don’t make it an opportunity for a “Selfie.” Take the opportunity to get over yourself and intercede for someone else. Moses did. Jesus does. Anything less is not prayer. It is just a poor use of the air in your lungs. Know your audience.

TALK LESS! PRAY MORE!

The Favor

“Now therefore, I pray you, if I have found favor in Your sight, let me know Your ways that I may know You, so that I may find favor in Your sight. Consider too, that this nation is your people.” Exodus 33:13

There is no greater picture of the privilege of prayer than the favor God granted to Moses to speak with Him face to face, “just as a man speaks to his friend.”  When Moses sensed The Presence of God he sensed the favor of God. Prayer invites His Presence, and His Presence produces The Favor.

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

Moses prevailed in prayer, entreating God to remember His promise to His people. Moses didn’t just want to know about God, he wanted to know God. He needed a sense of direction from God, but he hungered even more for a relationship with God.  Religion settles for knowing the ways of God. A relationship is built on spending time with God.

“Let me know Your ways, that I may know You.” V. 13

There is no real knowledge of God without engaging in face-to- face conversation with God. There is a difference between a religion with rules about God and a relationship that produces intimacy with God. Choose intimacy.

My friend, Jay Strack, often says, “Rules without relationship always breed rebellion.” Too often, people settle for rules about God says, and miss out on talking with God. Without a relationship with God, the rules rub them the wrong way. Rules without relationship rub people raw, and geton their last nerve. Rules never lead to rest, unless the rules are wrapped in a relationship with God.

“My presence shall go with you, and I will give you rest.” Exodus 33:14

What does that relationship look like? Prayer is not an option, but the very essence of it. Moses was granted a special privilege in His day. God condescended to have face-to-face conversations with him. You are offered the same kind of intimacy with God through His Son, Jesus Christ.

Prayer provides you with a sense of God’s Presence like nothing else can. Jesus lives to intercede for His followers. He is seated at the right hand of The Father, and when you who call out to The Father in His name you will be heard, and answered. 

Yet, far more precious than answered prayer, God offers His Presence. There is a great distinction between people who talk about God and those who talk with God. Moses sensed this special favor and refused to take a step for God, without knowing he was moving with The Favor of God.

“Is it not by Your going with us, so that we, I and Your people, may be distinguished from all the other people who are upon the face of the earth?“  v. 16

NOTE TO SELF: Prayer pours out The Favor of God on your life. When you pray you are not producing His Presence, you are practicing His Presence. Standing in the bed of a pickup truck holding an anvil in your arms is a foolish way to carry a heavy load. Soon your knees give way. The truck was built to carry the load. You were created by God to go to your knees. When you pray, you find God’s favor on you, and your rest in Him.

TALK LESS! PRAY MORE!

The Obstinate

“I have seen this people, and behold, they are an obstinate people. Now then let Me alone, that My anger may burn against them and that I may destroy them; and I will make of you a great nation. Then Moses entreated the Lord His God.” Exodus 32:9-11

Two worlds collide when an intercessor stands in the gap between Holy God and an obstinate people. An entreaty is not a call for well-deserved judgment. It is a passionate prayer for undeserved mercy. Moses modeled it. Jesus continues it.

Intercessors do their best work when they see sin the way God sees it. Those who pray to God intending to excuse, rename, or condone sin are not honest brokers seeking God’s mercy. They are obstacles to it. Drifting from prayer does not increase your mercy for sinners. It increases your blindness to sin.

Intercession is not a matter of siding with sin against an angry God. It is the capacity to see sin for what it is, hate it the way God hates it, but still seek His mercy for people who are obstinate enough to live in it.

“’Turn from Your burning anger and change Your mind about doing harm to Your people.’…So the Lord changed His mind.” V. 14

Moses was not a man without a temper who suffered fools gladly, but he suffered them nonetheless. He was not above expressing his anger towards the complaining, murmuring people he had been called to lead, but when their future was in the balance, he interceded for them.

“Discernment is God’s call to intercession, never fault-finding.” Oswald Chambers

Moses had yet to see what God had seen, so he did not have the same clear perspective on what sin had done to the people. His prayer was not completely informed, but it was infused with passion for the promise God had made to His people. His prayer was a balanced concern for a protection of God’s reputation and the integrity of His promise made to His people.

“Then Moses turned and went down from the mountain with the two tablets of the testimony in his hand…It came about, as soon as Moses came near the camp that he saw the calf… and Moses’ anger burned, and he threw the tablets from his hands and shattered them at the foot of the mountain.” V. 15-19

When Moses got a firsthand glimpse of what God had seen, he gave the obstinate people a choice. “Whoever is for the Lord, come to me!” V. 26

The sons of Levi came to Moses and were charged with killing those who refused to turn back to God. After 3,000 obstinate people died, Moses explained that this was done – “in order that He may bestow a blessing upon you today.” V. 29

The changing of God’s mind was a blessing, but it did not wipe out all the consequences of the people’s sin. God did not blot out the people, but he did not ignore their idolatry. He never will.

Moses returned to the mountain to restore what sin had cost an obstinate people. The loss of intimacy with God is the high price of sin. Punishment won’t restore it. Repentance will.

“Two things break the heart of God. Rebellion and repentance.” Don Miller, Bible Based Ministries

“Now I am going up to the Lord, perhaps I can make atonement for your sin.” V. 30

As Moses prayed, his words seem to have taken his breath away. Between “If” and “If not” Moses shifts from passionate intercession to complete identification. This unfinished prayer is one of the finest expressions of entreaty in the Bible. He calls on God to treat him the same way He would treat the people if they cannot be forgiven. The very essence of entreaty is intercession that leads to identification with people in need of mercy.

“Alas, this people has committed a great sin, and they have made a god of gold for themselves. But now, if You will, forgive their sin – and if not, please blot me out of Your book which you have written!” V. 32

NOTE TO SELF: Judgment begins at the house of God. Praying for your nation to experience a Great Awakening will not exempt the church from being punished for turning to idols that have robbed the people of intimacy with God. Awakening removes anything that has pushed prayer to the back burner of the church. Repentance doesn’t remove consequences of rebellion, but don’t be obstinate. Repent anyway. TALK LESS! PRAY MORE!

“I will punish them for their sin. Then the Lord smote the people, because of what they did with the calf which Aaron made..” V. 35

The President

“You shall not afflict any widow or orphan. If you afflict him at all, and if he does cry out, to Me, I will surely hear his cry; and My anger will be kindled, and I will kill you with the sword, and your wives shall become widows and your children fatherless.” Exodus 22:23

There is no clearer promise from God than, “I will surely hear his cry.” The Father in Heaven has a heart for His children, and a special place in His heart is reserved for the widow and the orphan. God Himself warns those who consider bringing any pain into the lives of these vulnerable people that they are inviting His righteous judgment to fall down on them.

“If human tribunals fail to administer justice, God intervenes to deliver His own who cry out to Him day and night.” Dr. Herbert Lockyer (1886-1984)

When this British preacher penned these words he could have scarcely envisioned the capacity of a Christian culture to create, condone and compensate a killing machine that would murder 60 million children through legalized abortion.

Lockyer ministered in England and America through two world wars. He, along with the rest of his generation, witnessed the tragic atrocity of six million Jews being exterminated by a Christian nation that had birthed the Reformation. 

Great Britain and America were the birthplaces of the Great Awakenings of the 18th and 19th Centuries. Who would have ever believed that Christians in both nations would allow the legalized deaths of the most vulnerable of God’s creation.

Those of us who raise our voices to God, praying for the next Great Awakening, would do well to raise our hands to stop the continued holocaust of abortion. The cries call for God’s wrath.

Disposing of the fatherless before they take their first breath, does not dull the ears of The Father from hearing their cry as they are torn from the womb. Some dismiss efforts to end this slaughter because it is the law of the land, saying, “the people have spoken.” Don’t turn a deaf ear to the voice of an angry God. Listen to Him, “My anger will be kindled, and I will kill you

The two major parties of this nation are currently gathering forces for a political throwdown to choose the next President of the United States. One party claims to be the champion of social justice. Another claims to be the holding vessel for fiscal responsibility. Influential leaders in both parties continue to distance themselves as fast as they can from the prying eyes of God on their potential platforms. This never ends well. Can you say, “Whig Party?” But I digress.

Any cursory view of the daily news reveals that Christians all over the world is under attack, and pastors are being threatened at home. Pulpits that were silent about abortion in the 20th Century are being threatened with dire consequences if they speak out in the 21st Century. Basic biblical truth is now considered hate speech. There are consequences to cowardice and courage. Choose courage.

God promised He will hear the cry of the widow and the orphan. His ears are not dulled by the strong shouts of those who demand their right to kill the weak. He still hears, and He is still angry.

Prayers for the next Great Awakening must be lifted up in the face of an angry God who is prepared to pour out the full measure of His wrath on His people, if they do not cry out for His mercy. They must admit that they deserve judgment, and stand in need of mercy.

Anything less turns prayer into pious posturing, resembling the excuses made by German Christians during WW II. Trains filled with Jews were often parked outside their churches during the worship hour. When the cries of those being carried away to certain death reached their ears, they would sing louder. 

What Christians are experiencing around the world, and at home is beginning to stir the hearts of millions to pray as never before. Still, many are praying for a change to be made in The White House without giving much concern to the demands God has placed on His House. This is where Awakening begins.

“And Jesus entered into the temple and drove out all those who were buying and selling in the temple and overturned the tables of the money changers… And He said to them, “It is written, ‘MY HOUSE SHALL BE CALLED A HOUSE OF PRAYER.’” Matt. 21:13

The Father in Heaven has chosen to dwell in the hearts of His people through The Person of His Holy Spirit. For a season of time, He condescended to extend His Presence to the Holy of Holies, but He never confined Himself to brick and mortar. He longs to reside and preside in the hearts of His people. Where He resides, He presides. Where He is resident, He is president.

NOTE TO SELF: Take great care to place a spiritual leader in the White House who seeks the direction, protection and correction of The Father for his daily life and this nation. Do not presume that having a spiritual leader in the White House exempts you from humbling yourself before God in your house.

Your heart is not just a place where God resides. It is where He presides. Your heart is Christ’s home. Let the next Great Awakening begin in you today.

TALK LESS! PRAY MORE!

The Staff

“Choose men for us and go out, fight against Amalek. Tomorrow I will station myself on the top of the hill with the staff of God in my hand.” Exodus 17:8

The people of Israel tested God. This internal strife was a great distraction to Moses. He handled it with prayer. The enemy attacked at the very moment God provided a victory over themselves. This should never come as a surprise. It is inevitable.

When the army of Amalek attacked the people of Israel, Moses confronted this external opposition with both physical force and spiritual power. While Joshua fought, Moses prayed. In any battle, both are fighting and praying are essential.

People often turn to prayer as an alternative to genuine panic, but rarely recognize it as a source of practical power. Moses was confronted with the destruction of the people of Israel.  God’s redemptive plan for the world hung in the balance. He didn’t let the enemy go unchallenged. He called out warriors, and he prayed.

Moses put physical weapons into the hands of the people, and challenged them to defend themselves. He also picked up the weapon of prayer and lifted his eyes to Heaven. When an enemy attack comes, the engagement must be fought on both the physical and the spiritual level.  

Some people are so heavenly they are of no earthly good. When they see you in a crisis or their nation battling tyranny, they may tell you they will pray for you. Still, their passionless piety leaves you with the impression that you are on your own. If they won’t lift a finger to help you, or register to vote they can’t be trusted to lift up a prayer for you or your nation.

Still, there are other people so engaged in every conflict and crisis that they have long since distanced themselves from any dependence on God. They have declared their independence, and fight every battle in their own strength. Soon their mission statement becomes, “Die Heretic.” After all the blood is shed, and the bodies are dead on the floor, they gasp, “To God be the glory.”

The essential balance of Joshua fighting and Moses praying should not be overlooked or under-emphasized. There are times when God intends His people to have skin in the game. They are meant to fight the enemy. This does not mean they are on their own, or free to do their own thing.

Prayer is the climate in which every crisis should be handled and every battle should be fought. It clears away the fog of war, and purifies the motive of the warrior.

When the battle began Moses stood on a hill and extended his staff over the conflict. The people of Israel prevailed when Moses interceded for them in this manner. When he tired, the enemy surged in with more power, and the people retreated.

“So it came about when Moses held his hand up, that Israel prevailed…when he let his hand down, Amalek prevailed.” V. 11

Aware of the power of prevailing prayer, two men offered their physical support. Aaron and Hur found a stone so Moses was able sit and to rest. Then they stood by his side, undergirding his arms and extending the staff over the raging battle.

“But Moses’ hands were heavy. They they took a stop and put it under him, and he sat on it, and Aaron and Hur supported his hands, one on one side and one on the other. Thus his hands were steady until the sun set. So Joshua overwhelmed Amalek.” v.12-13

NOTE TO SELF: Until you utilize prevailing prayer as the world-class weapon in your battle against evil, you will tire in the fight, without ever realizing the power that is available to you to defeat the enemy you face. Call people to the fight, but don’t ever forget where the battle is won.

TALK LESS! PRAY MORE!

The People

“So Moses cried out to the Lord, saying, ‘What shall I do to this people? A little more and they will stone me.’ “ Exodus 17:4

When I was in seminary, a fellow student sat next to me in our Philosophy of Religion class. We were both youth pastors serving in churches in the area. I served in Fort Worth. He survived in Dallas.

People from the cities of Dallas and Fort Worth have always had a strong rivalry, and they have never thought they had very much in common. Apparently they did then, and I am pretty sure they still do.

Each day before class began, my friend and I would catch up on our early attempts at ministry. I still laugh at something he said. His words were honest, and strangely prophetic. He said,  “I just discovered something. I love the ministry. It’s people I can’t stand.”

It is a rare minister that has never had a “Moses Moment.” Can I get a witness?

Moses was an intercessor. One of the hazards of his calling was the constant experience of being squeezed between the expectations of the people and the guiding hands of God.

Character building is a lot like making sausage. It is a messy process. The end product is wonderful, but watching it happen can be a bit disturbing. Moses loved God, and had a heart for the people, but even he could be prodded to a level of resentment. When he reached his flash point, he didn’t lash out at the people, he reached out to God. Well prayed, Moses, well prayed.  

Seeking intimacy with The Lord kept Moses from being intimidated by The People. Moses may have been a bit dramatic, but not by much. Undisciplined people who aren’t having their needs met or their preferences honored can turn a prayer meeting into a business meeting, and a peaceful congregation into a lynch mob in the flash of an eye.

Trips to Israel have taught me this much. The Wilderness is filled with stones, but more to the point. People who choose to wander in a self-centered wilderness will never run out of something to stumble over and mumble about. Those who intend to turn grumbling into rumbling will never run out of ammunition. Whether you live in a glass house or not, you can expect some of the people in your life to throw rocks.

It is impossible to remove all the rocks out of the path of The People. Prayer doesn’t make the rocks go away, but prayer places them in the hands of God. He has a way of making a pathway in the wilderness out of the rockiest of roads.

Moses cried out to God and asked, “What shall I do to this people?” Prayer clears the way to receive God’s direction for His people. The Lord turned the focus of Moses away from his fear and towards the heart of the issue.

“They tested the Lord, saying, ‘Is the Lord among us or not?’“ V. 7

Moses was in the line of fire, but the people were throwing rocks at God. This is the danger in mumbling about God. It eventually turns into rumbling with God. I recall the title of a Gospel musical I attended years ago in the city of Houston, “Your Arms Are Too Short to Box with God.” Indeed they are.

NOTE TO SELF: When the preferences and prodding of The People provoke you to return fire, start praying. The cry of Moses was a call for God to step in to provide a solution, not ammunition. Remember. Jesus is The Rock. Give them Jesus.

TALK LESS! PRAY MORE!

The Stand

“Do not fear! Stand by and see the salvation of the Lord which He will accomplish for you today.” Exodus 14:13

Moses never appeared more convincing and courageous than when he voiced this challenge to the fear-filled people of Israel. As the chariots of Pharaoh bore down on them, they cried out to God, but they poured their sarcasm onto Moses. He rose to the occasion with a message of hope. He must have quickly exited the public stage, and found a private place behind a rock to cry out in panic to God.

Moses didn’t take a stand. He took a knee. The wisest intercessors know there is danger in posing, but there is great refuge in praying. Moses may have started out posing, but he ended up praying. He was a wise man, indeed.

“Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Why are your crying out to Me? Tell the sons of Israel to go forward.” V:15

The process of prayer and the purpose of prayer never change. The process of prayer involves bringing you face to face with God in breathless panic. When you realize you have come to the end of your rope, stop making rope. Start praying.

The purpose of answered prayer is to leave you gasping for breath to honor God, not grasping for credit for what He did. Prayer brings His Presence into the middle of your crisis. Don’t turn it into a “selfie.” Step out of the limelight and give Him all the glory.

Prayer is not an equal partnership, but it does reveal a form of cooperation best described by the yoke relationship. One leads. The other follows. The synergy appears seamless, but there is always one who provides greater strength and clear direction. Together great things are done, but there is only one Captain. Prayer warriors do not seek to be in authority. They choose to be under authority.

“As for you, lift up your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it.” V. 16

“As for Me…I will be honored through Pharaoh and all his army…then the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord, when I am honored…” V. 18

“As for you” and “As for Me” describe the partnership of prayer perfectly. Moses came to God in panic. He was placed in a position of power. This is the process. He gave all of the honor and all of the glory to God. This is the purpose.

“Then Moses and the sons of Israel sang this song to the Lord, and said, I will sing to the Lord, for He is highly exalted; the horse and its rider He has hurled into the sea. The Lord is my strength and my song, and He has become my salvation.” Exodus 15:1-2

“Pray like it depends on God, work like it depends on you.”

This quote has been attributed to everyone from St. Augustine to John Wesley and even to Dave Ramsey. So, who knows? The truth is prayer begins and ends with God. It was His idea, and any participation in it should be viewed as the privilege of a junior partner, not a managing director.

NOTE TO SELF: Standing on the promises of God is a great deal more effective when you are kneeling on the premises of your latest crisis. Praying before, during and after a crisis prepares you to honor God for His deliverance and His Presence. Moses may not have been honest to the people regarding all that was going on in his heart, but he was honest where it counted the most. He was honest to God. Answers to your prayers begin on your part with the humility and honesty. They end with honoring God for His part in answering your prayers.

TALK LESS! PRAY MORE!

The Supplication

“He went out from Pharaoh and made supplication to the Lord.” Exodus 10:18

Moses earned his stripes as an intercessor the day he stood between a penitent Pharaoh and Omnipotent God. Time would prove Pharaoh to be a penitent poser, not a repentant sinner. It is one thing to admit your life is in a mess. It is quite another thing to turn your back on the way of life that got you into the mess.

Supplication is a synonym for the word intreaty. It seems to put an emphasis on asking God to supply a need. Intreaty, though not often used contemporary language, carries the weight of intense, fervent prayer that produces amazing results. Supplication without intensity may express a prayer for a need to be met in your life, but intreaty describes intense intercession for a need to be met in someone else’s life.

Intense intercession is not a matter of parsing words or repeating predictable phrases. Intreaty is not merely eloquence. It is Spirit-filled intensity unleashed on behalf of the needs of friend and foe.

Pharaoh was no friend of the children of Israel. Still, Moses prayed for him with the same intensity and earnestness that he prayed for his family and friends. This is the learning curve God has in store for those who enter The School of Prayer.

NOTE TO SELF: It is not impossible to hate people when you pray for them, but praying for them makes it harder for you to feed your hatred of them. When God forgives your enemies, you will discover supplication has prepared your heart, by softening it with His grace. Prayer opens your heart and your arms to receive your enemies into God’s family. All of your enemies will not turn around and receive God's grace. Pray for them anyway. They need it, and you need the practice.

TALK LESS! PRAY MORE1

The Why

“O Lord, why have You brought harm to this people? Why did You ever send me? Ever since I came to this Pharaoh to speak in Your name, he has done harm to this people, and You have not delivered Your people at all?” Exodus 5:22-23

When it came to intercessory prayer, Moses was not afraid to put “The Why?” into his whine. His outrage over unanswered prayer and delayed deliverance turned his intercession into a confrontation with The Deliverer. He was furious over God’s delay, and he complained about being sent down a dead end street. It turned out to be a very effective prayer

When I was a student in college and seminary there was a popular belief being passed around that didn’t pass the test of biblical examination. The pious phrase posing as profound truth was, “It is a sin to ask God, ’Why?’ “If this is true, Moses was a great sinner. He may have been, but God responded to his cry of “Why?” with a powerful promise, not punishment.

“Now you shall see what I will do.” Exodus 6:1

There is nothing like God’s call to a grand task. It births great expectations, both true and false. When God invites you to participate in something that He has initiated, you may wonder, “What could possibly go wrong?” The call is accompanied by the sweet anticipation of applause, appreciation, and awards. When fantasy meets reality, it is always a rude wake up call.

Everything had begun with such great promise for Moses. When he presented God’s plan to deliver the sons of Israel, he did so faithfully. When The Vision was delivered to the people, they responded with enthusiastic belief. Hope is a powerful force when injected into the human spirit.

“He then performed the signs in the sight of the people so that the people believed, and when they heard that He had seen their affliction, then they bowed low and worshiped.” Exodus 4:29

Fresh from the revival meeting with the people, Moses confronted Pharaoh with God’s plan. The monarch did not release the people of Israel. Instead, he increased their labor. Rather than rebelling against Pharaoh, the people reacted by ramping up their angst towards Moses.

“They said to them, ‘May the Lord look upon you and judge you, for you have made us odious in Pharaoh’s sight and in the sight of his servants, to put a sword in their hand to kill us.” Exodus 5:21

The Vision was completely clear, and clearly delivered. The purpose was also completely rejected by Pharaoh and the process clearly resented by the people. What appeared to be a clear path to victory was the beginning of a long walk in The Wilderness. Moses was no longer leading a parade to freedom. He was being treated like a speed bump on the road to disaster.

The Vision is often accompanied by a revision.  The people of Israel not only needed to be delivered from Pharaoh. They needed to know the content of the character of their Deliverer.

Moses was God’s messenger to His people. God was The Deliverer of His people.

Moses and the people of Israel had much to learn about God, and He was preparing to take them to school. The only short cut in The School of Prayer is a trip to the woodshed. God never hesitates to take His children there early and often. But I digress.

Moses may have anticipated opposition from Pharaoh, but he was not prepared for the reaction of the people of Israel. They knew enough about God to be dangerous. Most people do. They chose to curse Moses in God’s name.

The people didn’t trust in the character of God to intercede for Moses as their leader. When the people of Israel poured out their wrath on Moses, he poured out his prayer to God. This may be the greatest lesson Moses provides for anyone in pastoral ministry.

Pastor, when the people are running you down, run to God. People, when your pastor runs into a roadblock, don’t treat him like a speed bump on your way to calling a new pastor. Pray for God to remove the obstacles in front of him.

“Then Moses returned to the Lord…” Exodus 5:22

NOTE TO SELF: You don’t have to be wrong for people to come to the wrong conclusion about you. Moses was spot on with his presentation of The Vision. He was telling the truth every step along the way. The only thing Moses may have been wrong about was the length of the journey. God intended to break Pharaoh’s hardened will, to turn Moses into an intercessor, and to transform hopeless slaves into a hardened army. This was not going to be an easy road. It would be a long slow walk down the road of obedience. When God puts you on the right road, don’t look for an exit. TALK LESS! PRAY MORE!