Devotions

You have heard of the prayer of faith but I believe there is a mirror image of this prayer that is based on flesh — the prayer of unbelief. Such prayer is totally unacceptable to God; in fact, Scripture says it is sinful in his eyes.

Moses, a godly, praying man who had followed God’s calling at every step came to a crisis in his life. The Israelites were being chased by Pharaoh and there was absolutely no hope of escape except to go through the Red Sea. Moses knew in his heart that this crisis was ordained of God and yet, the panicked cries of hundreds of thousands of people were ringing in his ears, so he went to an isolated hillside and loudly poured out his heart in prayer. God did not take kindly to his all-night crying because it was evidence of a root of unbelief in his heart.

I doubt that you ever heard the Lord tell you, “Quit crying and get up off your knees.” But the Lord rebuked Moses, “Why do you cry to Me?” (Exodus 14:15). The literal Hebrew meaning of this verse is, “Why are you shrieking at me?”

Why would God say this to Moses? Because when God called Moses to deliver Israel, he promised to give him a voice that people would listen to (see Exodus 3:18). However, Moses responded with unbelief, “But suppose they will not believe me or listen to my voice; suppose they say, ‘The Lord has not appeared to you’” (4:1).

Think how foolish Moses’ unbelief was. By God’s power, he had already performed incredible wonders and he later experienced face-to-face intimacy with God. But here at the Red Sea, he hesitated in unbelief and God commanded, “Take spiritual authority over this crisis and move forward in faith. Hours from now, you’ll be dancing with joy.”

As we face our own crises, we may convince ourselves that prayer is the most important thing we can do. But a time comes when God calls us to act, to obey his Word in faith, lest our prayers be offered in unbelief.

“If you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses” (Matthew 6:14-15, NKJV). Jesus forgave us out of his goodness and mercy and, likewise, he says we are to be loving and merciful toward our brothers and sisters.

Paul refers to Jesus’ command, saying, “Even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do” (Colossians 3:13). He then expounds on how we pursue obedience to this command: “Put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; bearing with one another, and forgiving one another; if anyone has a complaint against another … above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection” (3:12-14).

What does it mean to “bear with one another” or, as it reads in the King James Version, to be “forbearing”? The Greek word means “to put up with, to tolerate.” This suggests enduring things we don’t like. We are being told to tolerate the failures of others, to put up with ways we do not understand.

At an overseas conference where I was scheduled to speak, several prominent ministers warned me against cooperating with a particular minister, claiming he was into bizarre worship and other things they considered foolish. Yet, when I met that pastor, I saw Christ in him; he was a kind, loving, gentle man of prayer. I realized that these ministers refused to “bear with” a brother in Christ merely because they had differences in style.

Why do servants of God, who have been forgiven so much personally, mistreat their brethren and refuse to fellowship with them? I believe it can be traced back to a struggle to understand and accept God’s mercy and goodness, a trap all of us can fall into if we are not careful. We must diligently seek to trust the Lord for patience, mercy and love toward others.

The heart of God was greatly pleased when Moses said to him, “Please, show me Your glory” (Exodus 33:18). Every earthly parent knows the constant pleading of children’s voices asking for things, but nothing warms the parent’s heart like hearing a child say, “I love you!”

When Moses voiced his desire, God readily granted his request, as far as he could allow it. “He said, ‘You cannot see My face; for no man shall see Me, and live” (33:20). God’s unapproachable light is too fierce for humans to experience fully; his holiness is all consuming, but he did want Moses to experience his glory in part. The Lord told him, in effect, “I can’t show you my face but I can show you the effects of my presence and the trail of goodness I leave behind” (see 33:21-23).

In order to protect Moses, God said, “So it shall be, while My glory passes by, that I will put you in the cleft of the rock … while I pass by” (33:22). This verse tells us everything about God’s amazing grace in the Old Testament. Even before the cross — before Christ shed his blood for our salvation — God hid Moses in his grace “in the cleft of the rock.” As Paul explains, “That Rock was Christ” (1 Corinthians 10:4).

Scripture says Moses’ face was transformed by God’s glory — a change so powerful he had to “put a veil over his face so that the Israelites might not gaze at the outcome” (2 Corinthians 3:13). Today we don’t have to hide in a crevice as Moses did; God’s glory has been revealed fully in Jesus and anyone who encounters him experiences the same transformation — a change so profound the whole world sees it and is awed.

What does your heart long for? You may be blessed with many earthly blessings, but there is much more to know of our great God. I urge you to ask God to show you his glory, which is readily available to you. 

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him” (Proverbs 3:5-6).

When you are in the crises of life — trusting God for your finances, your marriage, your wayward children, your health — it is important that you get back to the Word of God and say, “Lord, would you help me not to lean on my own understanding? Would you help me not to try to figure a way out of my dilemma in my own strength? Would you help me to trust in you with all of my heart?” As you pray this way and allow the Holy Spirit to lead you, you will find yourself growing in courage and faith.

I love what King David said in Psalm 44: “Our fathers have told us, the deeds You did in their days, in days of old: You drove out the nations with Your hand, but them You planted; You afflicted the peoples, and cast them out. For they did not gain possession of the land by their own sword, nor did their own arm save them; but it was Your right hand, Your arm, and the light of Your countenance, because You favored them. You are my King, O God; command victories for Jacob. Through Your name we will push down our enemies; through Your name we will trample those who rise up against us. For I will not trust in my bow, nor shall my sword save me. But You have saved us from our enemies, and have put to shame those who hated us. In God we will boast all day long, and praise Your name forever” (verses 1-8).

David was saying, “Lord, you have told us what you have done in the past. You brought your people out of captivity and into the place of promise — not by human intellect, reasoning, or strength, but by your Spirit. Knowing the history, I am not going to trust in my own strength or reasoning. You will be my boast all the days of my life!”

Carter Conlon joined the pastoral staff of Times Square Church in 1994 at the invitation of the founding pastor, David Wilkerson, and was appointed Senior Pastor in 2001.

“May the God of peace who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you complete in every good work to do His will, working in you what is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever” (Hebrews 13:20-21). 

What a joy to be around people who have about them the aroma of having been with Jesus and are living this kind of Christ-life. Like Paul, these saints have a longing to be in the presence of Christ. They possess a hunger to obtain more and more intimacy with him and they exude his love and holiness.

Such people thoroughly enjoy life but they also avoid all foolish conversation. They live wholly separated from the things of this world and God’s favor is evident in their lives and their families. Some may be poor in material things but their lives are fully blessed by the Lord.

Don’t get me wrong; these believers go through seasons of severe trials and testing but, like Paul, although they may be cast down, they are not destroyed. And they never quit! They are determined to finish their walk of faith and ministry in a way that is pleasing to God.

But Satan is determined to put things in your life that hinder your entering into the abundance of Christ’s blessing. Paul recognized this and said to the Galatians, “You ran well. Who hindered you from obeying the truth? This persuasion does not come from Him who calls you. A little leaven leavens the whole lump” (Galatians 5:7-9). In other words, “What is in your life that keeps you from going on in the full blessing of Christ?”

This is a good warning for us today. Many Christians who once were mightily used of God have allowed something to creep into their lives and they have made peace with that compromise. Be careful that you do not allow a single sin to serve as a little leaven that spoils the entire batch.