Prayer of Intercession for Forgiveness

“So Moses returned to the Lord and said, ‘Alas this people have sinned a great sin. They have made for themselves gods of gold. But now if You will forgive their sin—but if not, please blot me out of Your book that you have written.’ But the Lord said to Moses, ‘Whoever has sinned against me, I will blot out of my book. But now go, lead the people to the place which I have spoken to you; behold, my angel shall go before you. Nevertheless, in the day when I visit, I will visit their sin upon them.’ Then the Lord sent a plague on the people because they made the calf, the one that Aaron made.” (Exodus 32:31-35. ESV).

Moses returned from a wonderful meeting on Mt. Sinai with God in which he was given the Ten Commandments. When he got to the valley below, he found an abomination. The people were worshiping a golden calf made from the molten golden jewelry they had brought out of Egypt when they escaped slavery. What made the deed even more dastardly was that Aaron, the chosen priest who was charged to lead the people in worship of Jehovah God, had given in to the people’s demands and allowed the pagan idol and altar before which they danced and worshiped. Moses became very angry when he saw the golden calf and the orgies. He cast down the tablets of stone and they broke. Later the commandments would be given again to Moses. But now he had a job to do. He must rid the camp of the abomination of the idol and call the people back to God. Notice the prayer of intercession Moses prayed: “But now, if you will forgive their sin—but if not, please blot me out of your book that You have written.” Moses loved his people—sinful and rebellious as they were—so much that he was willing to forego his own life and his standing with God as a penalty for the people’s sins. He was willing to have his name blotted out of the book of life so that his people could live. As generous as it was, God rejected Moses’ offer of his own death for the sins of the people. God needed Moses to lead the people. He gave him an angel to guide him and told him to get on with the work of leading the people. Moses’ prayer was not an attempt to bargain with God. It showed instead his love for and identity with the people for whom he was praying. He was willing to sacrifice himself to have his people restored to God. Paul himself likewise prayed in Romans 9:2: “For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, those of my own race, the people of Israel.” Jesus stood in the stead of all and was cut off for the sins of the people: “I lay down my life for the sheep.” (John 10:15). Intercessory prayer is a vital ministry. Praying for others should include pleas for their right relationship with God—salvation, first and foremost, restoration, following God’s way, peace, godliness, righteousness, forgiveness of sins and God’s grace to meet specific needs and crises. Keep a prayer journal with requests and answers. Be ever sensitive to what God is accomplishing through prayer and thank and praise Him!

c Ethelene Dyer Jones; Thursday, November 4,2010