I Threw Myself Down Before The Lord For Forty Days And Nights.
I Ate No Bread And Drank No Water
Because Of The Great Sin You Had Committed
Scripture
Mark 15
13 “The Lord also said to me, ‘I have seen how stubborn and rebellious these people are. 14 Leave me alone so I may destroy them and erase their name from under heaven. Then I will make a mighty nation of your descendants, a nation larger and more powerful than they are.’
15 “So while the mountain was blazing with fire I turned and came down, holding in my hands the two stone tablets inscribed with the terms of the covenant. 16 There below me I could see that you had sinned against the Lord your God. You had melted gold and made a calf idol for yourselves. How quickly you had turned away from the path the Lord had commanded you to follow! 17 So I took the stone tablets and threw them to the ground, smashing them before your eyes.
18 “Then, as before, I threw myself down before the Lord for forty days and nights. I ate no bread and drank no water because of the great sin you had committed by doing what the Lord hated, provoking him to anger. 19 I feared that the furious anger of the Lord, which turned him against you, would drive him to destroy you. But again he listened to me.
20 The Lord was so angry with Aaron that he wanted to destroy him, too. But I prayed for Aaron, and the Lord spared him. 21 I took your sin—the calf you had made—and I melted it down in the fire and ground it into fine dust. Then I threw the dust into the stream that flows down the mountain.
22 “You also made the Lord angry at Taberah, Massah, and Kibroth-hattaavah. 23 And at Kadesh-barnea the Lord sent you out with this command: ‘Go up and take over the land I have given you.’ But you rebelled against the command of the Lord your God and refused to put your trust in him or obey him. 24 Yes, you have been rebelling against the Lord as long as I have known you.
25 “That is why I threw myself down before the Lord for forty days and nights—for the Lord said he would destroy you. 26 I prayed to the Lord and said, ‘O Sovereign Lord, do not destroy them. They are your own people. They are your special possession, whom you redeemed from Egypt by your mighty power and your strong hand.
27 Please overlook the stubbornness and the awful sin of these people, and remember instead your servants Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
Observation
Moses was serious about prayer. He spent forty days and forty nights praying, without eating or drinking, all for a bunch of rebellious, stubborn, awful sinners.
God answered his prayers. God did not destroy the people as He said that He was going to do because Moses stood in the gap and prayed for them.
Who needs us to stand in the gap for them? Maybe we need to pray and stand in the gap for our children or our grandchildren. Maybe we need to intercede for someone who needs to surrender his or her life to the Lord for salvation or Lordship.
Maybe we need to pray for someone who is sick or grieving.
You and I, just like Moses, have been given the ministry of intercession. You and I need to stand in the gap and pray for those that God brings into our lives.
Who comes to your mind right now that needs for you to pray for them?
Let's not let them down. God wants us to be His hands and feet. God wants us to be concerned about the spiritual welfare of the people in our lives.
Let's pray for them!
Application
I will pray for those that the Lord places on my heart.
How about you?
Prayer
Heavenly Father, please forgive the stubbornness and the awful sin in my life and then please overlook the stubbornness and the awful sin of those who I am praying for. I want them to experience an abundant life like You have allowed me to experience. I want them to experience Your forgiveness, Your joy, and Your presence! Bring people into their lives who can help them move closer to You. I want to see them live for You!
Daily Bible Reading: Deuteronomy 7,8,9; Mark 15
No comments:
Post a Comment