Title Why I Couldn't Help You to Pray
Contents
Why I had no choice but to pray desperately and earnestly
Psalm 90:1-17
If the Psalms are arranged in chronological order, Psalm 90 is the first to be written. The preface to the psalm reads, “The prayer of Moses.” Then, under what circumstances did Moses pray for whom?
Verse 5 says, “You sweep them away like a flood.”
Verse 7 says, “We are consumed by your wrath; we are amazed at your wrath.”
Verse 11 says, “Who knows the power of thy wrath, and who knows thy wrath, as ought to fear thee?”
In the wilderness, Moses saw with his own eyes the children of Israel who were murmuring and complaining, and those who did not believe God's promises, and therefore those who were judged by God's wrath. It is not difficult to find scenes where Moses prayed while the children of Israel were marching in the wilderness. It is particularly noteworthy that Moses prayed three times without eating water or bread for 40 days for a weak and earthen-like people.
The first was that when they worshiped idols on Mount Sinai, they fasted for 40 days and nights and prayed to God to forgive the sins of the people (Deuteronomy 9:9).
In the second case, the ten who returned after searching the land of Canaan from Kadesh-Barnea complained because of the ten who had bad reviews, and they fasted and prayed again for 40 days and 40 days and nights because of the disobedient people (Deuteronomy 9:23-29) .
And the third time, after Aaron died, when he arrived at Jotbada and there was a dispute over the position of serving God, he prayed again for 40 days and nights and asked God for forgiveness (Deuteronomy 10:7-11).
When Moses sees these numerous complaints, complaints, and disobedience, he realizes that their lives are worthless. First, let's see what kind of God Moses believed in!
(90:1-2) O Lord, you have been our dwelling place from generation to generation. Before the mountains were created, before you formed the earth and the world, from eternity to eternity you are God.
The phrase “you are God” here is “atah el” in Hebrew, which means “you are the Almighty.” Actually, this is not the God Moses knew. He is the one who makes a promise and always keeps that promise. He is who He is, and He is the One who fulfills His will by making the people who do not believe believe in Him through His Word and fulfillment. He is not easily angered, and he is kind and merciful. However, in the 40 years of the wilderness, God is “a God who grumbles and complains, and is angry and angry with those who do not believe.” Life is futile with that anger and anger. How absurd is it? It is said in verses 3 to 10. Verse 3-4
You have turned people to dust, and you have said, “Your descendants must return.” For in Your sight a thousand years have passed, as yesterday, and as a watch in the night.
Anyway, Moses confesses that a life that does not live according to God's will is futile, and prays for wisdom from God. See Ecclesiastes 6:3-6
3 If a man begets a hundred children, and lives many days, yet his spirit is not satisfied and his body is not buried, I say, The one who has had an abortion is better than the one who has had an abortion. It is covered with darkness, 5 It does not see the sunlight and does not know it, but this one is more peaceful than the other.
To put it simply, even if a person gives birth to a hundred children and lives for a thousand years, if he does not enjoy his wealth and cannot be buried comfortably after death, the aborted child would be happier. Even if the aborted child does not see the light and comes and goes like bubbles, he is dead and resting in peace. But isn't the person who has lived for a thousand years now in a state of not being able to rest in peace? Then, it is not how long you have lived on this earth that matters, but can you rest in peace right now after you die? Or is it more important to not be able to rest comfortably?
So what does Moses confess? In verses 6 and 10
The grass blooms and grows in the morning, and at night it is cut and withered. . . . Our years are seventy, and if we are strong, we are eighty years old, but their pride is only toil and sorrow, and they go quickly and we fly away.
confess that And in verses 12-17, we can see this confession as the conclusion of the prayer.
12 Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom. 13 How long, O LORD, return, have mercy on your servants. 14 Satisfy us in the morning with your lovingkindness, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days. Let us rejoice in the number of days we have suffered, and the years of our woes. 16 Show your works to your servants, and your glory to their children. 17 Let the grace of the Lord our God come upon us, and the works of our hands will be ours Fortify the work of our hands.
Look at Bae Sam-ryong, who was called the king of comedy in Korea! He is now lying in a hospital bed and living in pain every day. For him, the happy times of the past must have been the same as he had dreamed of last night. During his time of wealth and honor, he was married three times and divorced three times. And his face is swollen and he is lying in a hospital bed in the care of his children.
In October, there was news that garnered a lot of attention. Rinaldo Wavek, a 24-year-old man, married his 82-year-old grandmother. It is said that this young man has been living with this grandmother since he was 15 years old. This grandmother is a friend of her mother, and when her mother passed away, she decided to marry her friend's grandmother. However, after three weeks of marriage, this grandmother developed a heart problem and went to the hospital, but eventually died.
After all, won't we all stand before God's judgment seat? At this time, if our souls are swept away like a flood, how futile our lives would be in the past. The conclusion of Moses' prayer is in verse 12.
Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.
To put it simply, I want you to teach us how to count and know the days we live. That is why I ask you to gain wisdom so that even if you live a single day, you will not be in vain, so that you do not become a day of God's wrath, that is, a life that is blown away by the wind.
What we living in the 21st century need is the prayer of Moses. Moses is not in a joyful state when he prays this prayer. It was a desperate and earnest prayer that seeped from the depths of my heart. With a pitiful and pitiful heart, he earnestly prayed for the people before the Lord. Because of Moses' intercession prayer, God turned away his wrath over and over again and showed mercy to the people. The reason Israel exists today is because of Moses' prayer. Had it not been for Moses' prayer, they would not have been called "Sons of Israel" but "Sons of Moses."
Oh Lord! Please help me. Help me not to see the time in vain day by day, build my life on the word of truth, and lead me to eternal life!