One of the most surprising prayers in the Bible appears in Exodus 32:9-14. Take a moment first to read that passage.
Often when people read Moses’s prayer, they struggle with how bold Moses sounds as he speaks to God. But when we look closely, this prayer teaches us several important things about how we can approach God ourselves.
Boldness in Prayer
Moses speaks very directly and honestly to God. He doesn’t try to mince words or talk around things. He just says what’s on his heart.
We too can speak boldly to God. He can take it. When we are up front with God about a situation, He can help us understand what He is doing. Our boldness opens our heart to hear more clearly.
Friendship with God
Moses speaks from a place of closeness with God, a sense of friendship. Many of us hesitate to do so because we want to be reverent toward God. We recognize He is truly Other than we are. But God created us for relationship. Moses shows us how to bring relationship with God into the heart of our prayers.
Reminding God of His Promises
In his prayer, Moses reminds God of His promises. In doing so, Moses helps us learn how to bring a reminder of God’s promises into our prayers. For example, when a parent sees their adult child struggling with faith, they can hold fast in prayer to God’s promise in Proverbs 22:6.
Asking God for Mercy
Moses knows God has every right to judge people. Yet Moses asks for mercy on their behalf. I’ve seen the same plea for mercy from victims of abuse when they see the horror of the consequences their abusers face. They often say, “Lord, it’s too much. Have mercy.” We can learn from Moses how to pray for mercy in the midst of God’s judgment. It’s a great reminder that Jesus continues to intercede for us.
Moses’s prayer in Exodus 32:9-14 may be surprising, but it teaches us a lot about boldness, friendship with God, reminding God of His promises, and asking for mercy for others.
Take a few minutes to read the prayer again, slowly. Notice what Moses says and how God responds.
This short prayer is part of a much larger interaction between God and Moses in Exodus 32-34. If you’d like to explore that passage more deeply, I wrote a study of 10 Things Moses Has Taught Me about Intercession based on an inductive Bible study of those chapters.
Adventures with God 