Perrydox.com is devoted to the pursuit of truth, whether plain or paradoxical, whether simple or sublime, or simply absurd yet absolute.
Exodus 1-2 – Praying through the Bible #22 – A Prayer of Groaning
God remembers those who are His even when they forget they belong to God. Four hundred years ago, a small band consisting of a large family, moves to Egypt. All is well, but is not ending well. Political winds change and the family of the favored leader suffers. God’s blessings turn into a curse. Pharaoh’s fear enslaves the free and murders their baby boys. How long the suffering lasts is unstated although Moses is 80 years old when he returns as God’s deliverer (Ex 7.7). That’s 1 to 79 years too long for some.
Then the king dies, and apparently Israel hopes a political change will bring a change since a political change began their troubles (Ex 1.8ff). The king dies, and the people cry. They cry not for him, but for themselves; crying not silently, but crying out. Their cry ascends to God (Ex 2.23).
Here is where I admit confusion. Is this groaning a “prayer” to God, or just them expressing their pains and suffering out loud? Do they remember the God of their fathers, or are they praying to “whoever” might be listening? Even doubters, when in pain pray, “God, if there is a God….”
Deuteronomy suggests there is a crying out to “Yahweh” (26.7), and Exodus 1.17 shows some Hebrews still feared God. Yet Exodus records Moses asking, “If I go to the Israelites and say to them: ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you, and they ask me, ‘What is His name?’ What should I tell them?” (Ex 3.13). Seeing all this, and knowing the Israelite’s idolatrous sins in the coming wilderness, I admit confusion. One thing is clear. If they know God, they have forgotten much of what they knew.
However, and to whomever, the Israelites are crying out to, sighing and groaning; we know who hears them: The God of their fathers. God remembers His covenant and is paying attention – even when it appears He is an absentee deity. Exodus 2.25 is translated as God “took notice,” “understood” and “knew.” God remembers those who are His even when they forget they belong to God.
Grace is shown in days of confusion. Unemployment causes doubts, both in oneself and in prayer. Emergency rooms are filled with pain, groaning, and prayers. Political winds cause the enslavement of free thought, even taking the lives of the innocent. Answers are not found in men, but in God. These are the days we need to pray, not forgetting we belong to God.
Prayer Challenge: There are days, I cry out wondering if anyone is listening. These are days of grace. Thank God He hears. There are days my words are tears and moans. These days are the days of the Holy Spirit (Rom 8.26). Thank God He understands. If your mind is clear, pray thanking God that you know to whom you pray. If your mind is troubled, if your prayer begins, “God, if there is a God” know He hears. He wants to be in a covenant relationship with you so that when you forget, God knows you are His.
Comments