The Power of Persuasive Prayer

The Power of Persuasive Prayer

Exodus 32:1-14

I heard a story this week about a tavern that was being built in a small town that until recently had been a dry town in a dry county. A group of Christians in a certain church were opposed to this being built so they began holding all night prayer meetings, asking God to intervene.

One day there was a terrible storm and lightning struck the tavern building and it was burned to the ground. The owner brought a lawsuit against the church, claiming they were responsible. The Christians hired a lawyer, claiming they were not responsible. The judge in the case said, “No matter how this case turns out, one thing is clear. The tavern owner believes in prayer and the Christians do not.

Now, I don’t think for one moment, we are Christians who don’t believe in prayer, but I do think we are Christians who do not spend very much time praying. There are several reasons why I believe this to be true.

1. We are way too busy to pray. Our lifestyles will not allow us to stop and spend any quality alone time with God. 2. We are way too impatient to pray. When we don’t get immediate results for what we are asking we simply give up.

3. We don’t believe our prayers have the power to change anything. We have the mindset that God is going to do what God is going to do, so why should I pray.

While I can’t do very much to help you slow down your schedule, and I can’t instill in you, patience, to endure in prayer. My goal today is to show you from the scripture, Prayer has the power to change the world, because prayer has the power to change the mind of God. So, let’s read this passage here in Exodus 32:1-14 and talk about the power of persuasive prayer.

1 Now when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain, the people assembled about Aaron and said to him, “Come, make us a god who will go before us; as for this Moses, the man who brought us up from the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.”

2 Aaron said to them, “Tear off the gold rings which are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me.”

3 Then all the people tore off the gold rings which were in their ears and brought them to Aaron.

4 He took this from their hand and fashioned it with a graving tool and made it into a molten calf; and they said, “This is your god, O Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt.”

5 Now when Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made a proclamation and said, “Tomorrow shall be a feast to the Lord.”

6 So the next day they rose early and offered burnt offerings and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play.

7 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, “Go down at once, for your people, whom you brought up from the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves.

8 “They have quickly turned aside from the way which I commanded them. They have made for themselves a molten calf, and have worshiped it and have sacrificed to it and said, “This is your god, O Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt!”

9 The Lord said to Moses, “I have seen this people, and behold, they are an obstinate people.

10 “Now then let Me alone, that My anger may burn against them and that I may destroy them; and I will make of you a great nation.”

11 Then Moses entreated the Lord his God, and said, “O Lord, why does Your anger burn against Your people whom You have brought out from the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand?

12 “Why should the Egyptians speak, saying, ‘With evil intent He brought them out to kill them in the mountains and to destroy them from the face of the earth’? Turn from Your burning anger and change Your mind about doing harm to Your people.

13 “Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, Your servants to whom You swore by Yourself, and said to them, ‘I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heavens, and all this land of which I have spoken I will give to your descendants, and they shall inherit it forever.”

14 So the Lord changed His mind about the harm which He said He would do to His people.” (Pray)

Our passage this morning takes place about four months after the children of Israel came out of slavery in Egypt. And it seems as though from the moment they were set free all they did was complain.

When they came to the waters of the Red Sea they complained because they were afraid of the Egyptians who were pursuing them. When they crossed over into the desert they complained because they didn’t think they had enough food to eat. Then they complained because they didn’t think they had enough water to drink.

When they arrived at Mount Sinai, they saw the power of God as he descended on the mountain in lightning, thunder, and smoke. They heard the voice of God as He spoke to Moses giving him the Ten Commandments, and they said to Moses (in essence), “You go talk to Him, we can’t stand to listen to Him anymore.”

It seems, from the moment they left Egypt all they did was grumble and complain. And finally, while Moses was up on top of the mountain, speaking with God almighty, the people down in the valley got bored. They talk Aaron (Moses’ brother), into making them a golden calf they can worship and call their god, even though this was a direct violation of the second commandment, they had received just 40 days earlier.

The children of Israel were nothing but trouble from the moment that God set them free, and now, it appears that God had enough. He was done dealing with them and he tells Moses He is going to destroy them and start over. But was God serious? I believe He was.

Moses certainly thought He was serious. Moses was so convinced that God intended to do what He was threatening to do, He immediately begins to intercede for the people. He immediately turns to God in prayer and what was the result of his prayer? We are told, God changed His mind. He decided not to destroy the children of Israel.

This goes against everything we believe about God. From the very beginning of our Christian walk, we have been taught that God is unchanging. God Himself tells us in Numbers 29:13, “God is not a man, that he should lie, nor a son of man, that he should change his mind.” And when we hear that, it affects our ability to pray, because most Christians believe, “If God already knows what He is going to do then why should I bother to pray?”

Well Exodus 32 tells us why. Some scholars will try to explain Exodus 32 away. They will say God didn’t really change His mind but this was GOD’s will all along.

However, I think we clearly see here, the power of prayer can change the mind of God. And maybe, if we believed that, it might just help us to pray.

The first thing I want you to see in this passage is the setting of Moses’ prayer. Vs. 1-6. God’s people fall into terrible sin. Their sin causes the anger of God and prompts Moses to pray. There are several things I want to show you here because we fall into terrible sin for the same reasons.

Notice God’s people fall into sin when they become impatient with God’s plan. Look at Vs. 1, “Now when the people saw that Moses delayed coming down from the mountain, the people assembled about Aaron and said to him, “Come, make us a god who will go before us; as for this Moses, the man who brought us up from the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.”

Remember, when God’s people came out of Egypt, they were on their way to the promise land. They knew this was the plan of God for their lives. They stopped at the foot of Mount Sinai so Moses could go up and receive God’s instructions for the people.

But the people didn’t realize Moses was receiving God’s law. He was receiving the instructions for the tabernacle, and he was receiving the Ten Commandments in written form. He had already received them in verbal form and now they were being itched in stone by the hand of God.

So, they became impatient, and really that’s understandable after all, Moses was gone for six weeks. He didn’t send back a progress report. Notice they say, “we don’t know what’s become of this man.”

So, at this point, their mind is running wild. They want to begin the journey to the promise land. They want to take matters into their own hands. They don’t know if Moses is even alive. They don’t know if he has forsaken them and left them to die in the wilderness. All they can do is speculate and when people begin to speculate, they become impatient.

Notice the difference in God’s view of timing from the peoples’ view of timing. Look at Vs. 8, “They have quickly turned aside from the way which I have commanded them.” So, while the people think that Moses has been gone for to long, and they are becoming impatient, God says, “the people have given up to soon.”

Isn’t that exactly the way we function in life? I mean especially when it comes to our prayers. We are impatient. When we don’t get immediate results, we take matters into our own hands and try and fix things ourselves. Isaiah 40:31 says, “Those who wait for the Lord will gain new strength.”

We must be patient with the plan of God for our lives. God has not given us a script to follow. He says, “trust me, trust my timing, trust that I know what is best for you.”

Notice God’s people fall into sin when they forget God’s grace. Verse 2 tells us that Aaron instructed the people to tear off their gold earrings and bring them to him. But where did this gold come from? Well, it came from Egypt. God had given it to them. He took it from the Egyptians as plunder during the Exodus. The gold was a picture of God’s victory, of God’s grace, and of God’s faithfulness to His people. And now they are going to take the gift of God And give it to an idol.

The Psalmist talks about this moment in Psalm 106:19-21, They made a calf in Horeb And worshiped a molten image. Thus, they exchanged their glory for the image of an ox that eats grass. They forgot God their Savior.”

When we forget God and what He has done for us, we become ungrateful people, and sin becomes the natural result. We should enjoy God’s gifts and be thankful for them but notice what the Israelites did with God’s gifts. Vs. 3-4. “Then all the people tore off the gold rings which were in their ears and brought them to Aaron. He took this from their hand and fashioned it with a graving tool and made it into a molten calf; and they said, “This is your god, O Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt.”

Instead of using God’s gifts to honor Him they used them for idolatry. I can’t help but wonder what you do with the gifts of God in your life? Do you use your time, talent, and resources to honor God, or do you use them to honor yourself? We might not worship a calf made of gold, but we worship all the things we buy with our gold.

Notice God’s people fall into sin when they distort God’s worship Vs. 5-6. “Now when Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made a proclamation and said, “Tomorrow shall be a feast to the Lord.” So the next day they rose early and offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play.”

This whole scene is a picture of what distorted worship looks like. The people wanted to do things their own way, instead of God’s way. They wanted to decide what they would worship, when they would worship, and how they would worship, and none of this was prescribed by God. In fact, it was rebellion against God.

Today, we see this whole story played out by the church in America. We want to worship our own way. We don’t care what the scripture says. We are Christian consumers, led by Pastors who act just like Aaron. They do what the people say, instead of what God would say. the church has become impotent.

We need to understand true worship is God honoring and gospel centered. It is saturated in holiness and humility and teaches lost people how to be forgiven and saved.

True worship is about glorifying God, not gratifying ourselves. The golden calf was what the people wanted because the golden calf couldn’t speak. The golden calf didn’t need to be feared. They could manipulate the golden calf, but you can’t manipulate God. God is holy, and just, and when He speaks, He confronts our sin. And He invites us to join Him in bringing about change in this world through prayer.

The next thing I want you to see in this passage is the intercession of Moses, Vs. 7-14. God becomes angry with His people, and He tells Moses, “I’m going to wipe them off the face of the earth. I am going to start over with you.”

But was God serious? Did He really intend to annihilate the entire nation? I believe He did.

One thing I learned a long time ago, when I first became a parent, is you never threaten a punishment that you don’t intend to follow through on. Kids are way too smart, and they begin to pick up on it when you make idol threats. I don’t think this was an idol threat from God.

Moses certainly didn’t think so. He was convinced that God was going to do what He was threatening to do, He immediately interceded for the people. And what is amazing is; God changed His mind. He decided not to destroy the children of Israel.

This is a difficult passage for us to comprehend . You might be thinking my theology teaches me God is sovereign. He is omnipotent and omnipresent. He is the Alpha and Omega, who knows the beginning from the end. Why would He make a threat He knows He is not going to keep? It’s a problem.

Well throughout scripture we are taught that prayer is a powerful force. For example, Matt. 18:19 Jesus said, “I say to you, that if two of you agree on earth about anything that they may ask, it shall be done for them by My Father who is in heaven.”

In Mark 11:24, He tells us, “Therefore I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask, believe you have received them, and they will be granted you. John 15:7 says, “If you abide in me and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.”

So, throughout the scriptures we are taught that prayer has the power to change things, yet in the back of our mind we are left with this sinking doubt every time we pray. We don’t believe in the effectiveness of prayer.

Notice Vs. 10, “Now then let Me alone, that My anger may burn against them.” Why do you think God bothered to tell Moses to leave Him alone? Why doesn’t God just wipe Israel off the face of the earth and tell Moses what He is going to do next? I mean after all; He is God what difference does it make if Moses approves of His plan or not?

Well, it seems to me it made all the difference in the world. It seems to me that God is asking Moses for permission to do what He has decided to do. But why would God do that? Because God had given Moses’ authority over the people of Israel.

Notice Vs. 7, “ Then the Lord spoke to Moses, “Go down at once, for your people, whom you brought up from the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves.” This isn’t like when a woman gets mad at her children and yells at her husband to take care of them. No, what is happening here is God has given Moses’ responsibility for these people, and even now that they have rebelled against God. He is not about to take that responsibility away.

I’ll give you an example, when I first came here, we made Taylor and Tim our youth leaders. Now, they understand they are under my authority, but their responsibility is the student ministry of the church.

So now, if I or another leader of the church wants something done with the youth, who do we go to? Taylor or Tim because that is their area of influence. We gave them that responsibility and it won’t be easily taken away. BTW, that goes for every leadership position in the church. Not because I say so but because I believe God has placed them in the position.

Well, the people of Israel had been given to Moses. They are his responsibility, and even though God wants to destroy them, He is not going to do it without Moses. So, God is prompting Moses to pray. He is prompting Moses to intercede for the people. And God does the same thing in our life.

We have authority in prayer because God has given it to us. We have a responsibility to pray and intercede on behalf of our nation, our leaders and on behalf of the people in our lives. Those who are sick and those who are hurting, those who are lost.

As the children of God prayer is our area of influence with God and not only is that a privilege but it’s a responsibility. And God has given us the influence to change His mind.

Notice Moses doesn’t automatically assume He is going to change the mind of God. When he prays for the people, he intercedes according to God’s will. Look at Vs. 11-13.

Notice how Moses appeals to all the reasons why God would want to spare the nation: He says, “God you wouldn’t want Egypt to think that you brought the people out into the desert just to destroying them. God don’t forget about the promise you made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Don’t forget you said you were going to make them a great nation.

So let me be clear. Even though Moses has been given the responsibility and authority over the people, he still prays with one eye on the will of God. As Christians we have the responsibility and authority to pray. To ask God to shape His will according to our requests but we must be wise. We must understand what God’s desire is and pray that way.

Jesus said in John 14:14, “If you ask me for anything in my name, I will do it.” But to ask for something in the name of Jesus is to ask for it according to His character, His desire, and His will.

So, it is important we understand we can’t use prayer to manipulate God. There are people who believe because they have the authority to pray that we can some how force God to do what we want. This is a terrible evil. We are never going to force God to do anything, He knows the motives of our heart.

I heard a story about a long time Christian who was praying for mother to be healed. When she died, he became so angry with God, he left the faith and walked away from the church forever. Even though he would never admit it, he was trying to manipulate God.

True prayer is authentic, it is pouring your heart out to God, and it is powerful. The scriptures tell us that it is so powerful it can change the mind of God. And maybe if we truly believed that we would go to God more often in prayer. Think about it, the Creator of the world has given us the authority and responsibility to intercede on behalf of His creation.

Don’t let your walk with God become impotent Because you don’t believe in prayer. The Bible tells us, we can approach the throne of God boldly, and the boldest way you can approach the throne of God is in prayer. Prayer has the power to change the world because prayer has the power to change the mind of God.