50 Days of Prayer – Day 25
“Moses said to the LORD, ‘You have been telling me, ‘Lead these people,’ but you have not let me know whom You will send with me. You have said, ‘I know you by name and you have found favor with Me.’ If you are pleased with me, teach me Your ways so I may know You and continue to find favor with You. Remember that this nation is Your people.’” Exodus 33:12-13 (NIV)
Have you ever prayed for the favor of God in your life? You should. Favor in the Bible is another word for “grace.” Favor is given, not deserved or earned. Moses sought the favor of God because he knew he needed it to accomplish the God-sized mission he was called to do. He especially needed God’s favor in this situation. Israel had grossly sinned against God, worshipping a golden calf, while Moses was on the mountain receiving the Ten Commandments. God’s anger and judgment was so severe toward Israel that He told Moses in Exodus 33:3, “Go up to this land that flows with milk and honey. But I will not travel among you, for you are a stubborn and rebellious people. If I did, I would surely destroy you along the way.” God was withdrawing His presence from His people. Sin always separates us from God.
How could Moses possibly lead the people without God’s presence? In his prayer, Moses reminds God of His promise to accompany His people in their journey to Canaan. Was God going to go back on His word? Moses wisely based his request on the favor of God – the grace of God that was unmerited and offered forgiveness and restoration through repentance. Moses knew that God was gracious and merciful and that the people were guilty. Had God given them what they deserved they would have all been destroyed including Aaron, the High Priest, who formed the golden calf that the people bowed down to worship. The same is true of us today. We’ve all sinned and come short of the glory of God. The glory of God is the presence of God with His people. Sin has separated us from His presence. For His glory and presence to be restored we need grace! We need the favor of God.
Moses, nor the people of Israel, wanted an angel or any other substitute for God to accompany them. They knew they needed God Himself. His presence, His glory, was the only thing that distinguished them from all the other nations of the world. So Moses prays this prayer in verses 12 and 13, “Moses said to the LORD, ‘You have been telling me, ‘Lead these people,’ but you have not let me know whom You will send with me. You have said, ‘I know you by name and you have found favor with Me.’ If you are pleased with me, teach me Your ways so I may know You and continue to find favor with You. Remember that this nation is Your people.’”
One of the great insights this prayer for favor reveals is in the dialogue Moses has with God. Prayer is not a monologue or laundry list of needs that we email to heaven and leave with God. It is conversational. We open our hearts to God and then we listen for God’s response. When Moses voiced his request to God, he paused for God to speak. In verse 14 God answers, “The LORD replied, ‘My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.’”
Imagine the joy and relief Moses must have felt when he heard God’s promise to accompany His people and lead them to the place of rest, He had promised them. I love the way Moses responds to God’s answer in verses 16 and 17, “Then Moses said to Him, “If Your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here. How will anyone know that You are pleased with me and with Your people unless You go with us? What else will distinguish me and Your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?”
Moses spoke with God as a man would speak to his friend. He longed to be wherever God was. He said, “God if you are not going with us, please don’t send us from here. I want to be with you! It’s only Your presence that distinguishes us from all the other people on the face of the earth!” Do you long for the presence of God like that? This is the favor of God, for God to go with you and lead you in the path He has for you. Too often we begin our day and make our decisions with little-to-no consideration of God. Then when we fail, we wonder where is God? Moses prayed for the favor of God to be restored to the people of God. He couldn’t possibly lead them without God’s presence, without God, Himself, going with them. And if God wasn’t going with them, Moses did not want to leave this place.
God knew Moses’ heart. He heard his cry and He answered by restoring His favor. Verse 17 says, “And the LORD said to Moses, ‘I will do the very thing you have asked, because I am pleased with you and I know you by name.’”
God knows you by name as well. He offers you favor, His grace to not only save you but sustain you on life’s journey. What if the only thing separating you from the favor of God is you asking Him? We’re halfway through our 50 Days of Prayer together. Don’t let another day go by without asking God for His favor.