LEARNING HOW TO PRAY

Moses was the first man appointed to be a teacher and leader of men. In his life, we find wonderful illustrations of the place and power of intercession in the servant of God.

The Prayers Of Moses

From the time God first called him in Egypt, Moses prayed. He asked God what he was to say to the people (see Exodus 3:11-13). Moses told Him all of his weaknesses and pleaded with God to be relieved of his mission (4:1-13). When the people accused him of increasing their burdens, he went and told God (5:22). He made all his fears known to God (6:12).

Out of this time of training, his power in prayer was born. Time after time, Pharaoh asked him to entreat the Lord for him, and deliverance came at Moses' request (see Exodus chapters 8-10). Study these passages until you understand the importance of prayer in Moses' work and God's redemption.

At the Red Sea, Moses cried to God along with the people, and the answer came (14:15). In the wilderness, when the people thirsted, and when Amalek attacked them, it was also prayer that brought deliverance (17:4,11).

At Sinai, when Israel made the golden calf, it was prayer that averted the threatened destruction (32:11,14). It was more prayer that secured God's presence to go with them (33:13,14). Once again, it was prayer that brought the revelation of God's glory (33:18,19). When that had been given, it was fresh prayer that received the renewal of the covenant (34:9,10).

In Deuteronomy, we have a wonderful summary of all Moses' prayers. We see with what intensity he prayed, and we see how in one case it was for forty days and forty nights that he fell on his face before the Lord (see Deuteronomy 9:18-26).

In Numbers, we read of Moses' prayers:

• Quenching the fire of the Lord and obtaining the supply of meat (see Numbers 11:2,11-13, 31, 32).
• Moses prayed for Miriam (12:13).
• Prayer again saved the nation when they refused to go up to Canaan (14:17-20).
• Prayer brought down judgment on Korah.
• When God was going to consume the whole congregation, prayer made atonement (16:15,46).
• Prayer brought water out of the rock (20:1-11).
• In answer to prayer, the brazen serpent was given (21:7,8).
• In answer to prayer, God's will was made known, and Joshua was selected Moses' successor (see chapter 27).

Study all these passages until your whole heart is filled with the part prayer must play in the life of a person who wants to be God's servant to his fellowmen

Moses: A Man Of Prayer

As we study Moses' life, he will become a living model for our prayer life. We will learn what we need to become an intercessor. Here are the les. sons we can learn from Moses' life.

Moses was a man given up to God; zealous, yes, he was even jealous for God's honor and will. He was also a man absolutely given to his people, ready to sacrifice himself that they might be saved. Moses was a man conscious of a divine calling to act as a mediator, to be the link, the channel of communication and of blessing, between a God in heaven and men on earth. His life was so entirely possessed by this mediatorial consciousness that nothing was more simple and natural than to expect that God would hear him.

In answer to the prayers of one man, God saves and blesses those He has entrusted to him and does what He would not do without prayer. The whole government of God has taken prayer into its plan as one of its constituent parts. Heaven is filled with the life and power and blessing that earth needs, and the prayer of earth is the power to bring that blessing down.

Prayer is an index of the spiritual life, and its power depends on my relationship to God and the awareness of my being His representative. He entrusts His work to me. The more simple and complete my devotion to His interests, the more natural and certain becomes the assurance that He hears me.

Think of the place God had in Moses' life, as the God who had sent him and the God to whom he was completely devoted. He was the God who promised to be with him and who would always help him when he prayed.

Moses: An Example In Prayer

How can we learn to pray like Moses? We cannot secure this gift by an act of the will. Our first lesson must be the sense of our own weakness.

Then grace can work in us, slowly and surely, if we give ourselves its training. The training will be gradual, but there is one thing that can be done at once. We can decide to give ourselves to this life and assume the right position. Do this now, make the decision to live entirely to be a channel for God's blessing to flow through you to the world.

Take the step.

Accept the divine appointment and concentrate on some particular object of intercession.

Take time, say a week, and get a firm hold on the elementary truths Moses' example teaches. Just as a music teacher insists upon practicing the scales - only practice makes perfect - determine to learn and to apply these important first lessons.

God is looking for people through whom He can bless the world. Say definitely: Here am I; I will give my life to this calling. Cultivate your faith in the simple truth: God hears prayer; God will do what I ask.

Give yourself to others as completely as you give yourself to God. Open your eyes to sense the needs of a perishing world. Take up your position in Christ and in the power which His name and life and Spirit give you. And go on practicing definite prayer and intercession.