Exodus 3:1-6 says:
Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father in law, the priest of Midian: and he led the flock to the backside of the desert, and came to the mountain of God, even to Horeb. And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed. And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt. And when the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I. And he said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground. Moreover he said, I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look upon God.
For the last couple of weeks we have been focused on prayer and what it means to have an effective prayer life. If our area of prayer suffers, then our walk with God suffers.
“MEN CAN AS WELL LIVE PHYSICALLY WITHOUT BREATHING, AS SPIRITUALLY WITHOUT PRAYING.” —D. L. Moody
HIS
Exodus 3:2-3 says:
And
What a humbling joy to know that the God of all creation desires to come visit with us! Humbling because we are in no way deserving of His visit, and joyful because He would desire to visit us.
The Hebrew word is “
TO HIS
Exodus 3:4 says:
And when the LORD saw that he turned aside to see,
Prayer and communication has ALWAYS been initiated by God. It was God who first loved us, first came to us, first cared for us, and also who first communicated with us.
Many do not pray possibly because they don’t understand how to pray. It reminds me of the young prophet boy named Samuel. You can read about his story in 1 Samuel Chapter 3. He heard the Lord calling him and thought it was Eli the priest. Three different times the Lord called him. Eli told him to return and answer the Lord by saying:
1 Samuel 3:9-10 says:
Therefore Eli said unto Samuel, Go, lie down: and it shall be, if he call thee, that thou shalt say, Speak, LORD; for thy servant heareth. So Samuel went and lay down in his place. And the LORD came, and stood, and called as at other times, Samuel, Samuel. Then Samuel answered,
ADJUST OUR
Exodus 3:5-6 says:
And he said,
What is the supreme aspect or characteristic of God?…
Holiness means separation. Something holy is set apart. In the case of God, holiness means that he is set apart from everything he has made. Holiness is not simply his righteousness (although that is part of it), but also his “otherness”. It is the distinction between the Creator and the creature, the infinite distance between God’s deity and our humanity.
Hosea 11:9 says:
“…for I am God, and not man;
the Holy One in the midst of thee:”
Hanna said in her prayer:
1 Samuel 2:2 says:
There is none holy as the LORD:
for there is none beside thee:
neither is there any rock like our God.
Daniel said in his prayer:
Daniel 9:3-4 says:
And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes: And I prayed unto the LORD my God, and made my confession, and said, O Lord, the great and dreadful God, keeping the covenant and mercy to them that love him, and to them that keep his commandments;
When we see the holiness of God, we shall adore and magnify Him. Moses had to learn the same lesson. Let’s look closer at what Moses learned:
Moses was told to, “draw not nigh hither”. He was not to take another step toward the presence of God. Although this was the first encounter with God for Moses, it would not be the last. God set the scene of communication by saying that He could only come so close into the presence of the Holy One. Remember, holiness means that God is set apart from all people and things. Moses was obedient to hear the words of God.
God told Moses to remove his shoes from his feet. While there are many different opinions about this act, we must understand it in light of the Eastern world and their practices. To remove your shoes before someone, or before entering into someones home was a sign of respect and reverence.
We in the Western world have tried to adapt this into the removal of our hats before entering a home or church. At the singing of our national anthem, we are reverent by removing our hats and placing them over our hearts. And to the shame of the church, we have adopted this as a theological doctrine within the sanctuary. Never reading the scriptures about God commanding the priests and others to cover their heads when they come before the Lord because of their sinful flesh needing to be covered.
WORSHIP
Our prayers should reflect and rejoice with worship! They should be as the Psalms of the Bible which reflect, and deflect honor, glory and adoration back unto the Lord who created us.
“Moses hid his face…” This is also another characteristic from the Eastern world. When greeting or entering a conversation with someone who was respected and revered, they would bow their head and take the hand of the person being greeted. Sometimes they would place their hand upon their head, or even kiss their hand.
In each of our prayers, we should remember these focal points and keep things aimed in the right direction.
• Obedient to listen
• Reverent in answering
• Worshipful in all!
While understanding… “WHO ARE WE TALKING TO?”
1. Acknowledge His Appearing (He came to us)
2. Attentive to His Appeal (Listen for and to Him)
3. Adjust Our Aim (Site in our Prayers)