August 7, 2018 Tuesday

“9  Then Moses spoke to Aaron, “Say to all the congregation of the children of Israel, ‘Come near before the LORD, for He has heard your complaints.’ ” 10  Now it came to pass, as Aaron spoke to the whole congregation of the children of Israel, that they looked toward the wilderness, and behold, the glory of the LORD appeared in the cloud. 11  And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 12  “I have heard the complaints of the children of Israel. Speak to them, saying, ‘At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall be filled with bread. And you shall know that I am the LORD your God.’ ” 13 ¶  So it was that quails came up at evening and covered the camp, and in the morning the dew lay all around the camp. 14  And when the layer of dew lifted, there, on the surface of the wilderness, was a small round substance, as fine as frost on the ground. 15  So when the children of Israel saw it, they said to one another, “What is it?” For they did not know what it was. And Moses said to them, “This is the bread which the LORD has given you to eat.” (Exodus 16:9-15 NKJV)

            Prayer, even when it is just complaining, is a time when we can experience the presence of God.  The passage calls for us to “Come near before the LORD, for He has heard your complaints.”  God is always with us so prayer is coming near to “the Lord”.

            When we spend deep time in prayer we can grow our relationship with God and experience his presence.  Without long and deep times of conversation with God we never will see and discover not only the presence of God but also the wondrous works throughout creation.

            The result of the children of Israel’s prayer is they see the presence of God and receive the nourishment they need.  Coming into the presence of God renews us and nourishes us physically, emotionally and most of all spiritually!

            The trouble is we sometimes do not recognize the blessing or the provision.  Like the children of Israel our response is “What is it?”  How can a struggle nourish us?  How can persecution and death be a blessing?

            Like Habakkuk we prayed our nice prayer so how can God give such a horrific answer?  But if we honestly look at the history of Christianity we see times where Christians were accepted and not persecuted are rare.  Many brothers and sisters in Jesus have suffered and died for the God who suffered and died for them?

            Have you ever complained to God when you prayed?  Do you take time to listen to God?  Are you willing to see the celebrations and the suffering as blessings from God?