7 Portraits in Prayer, Day 8: Morning

Week 2, Radiant Prayer, Day 1: Repentance

(Read Exodus 34:29–35) 

²⁹ Now it was so, when Moses came down from Mount Sinai (and the two tablets of the Testimony were in Moses' hand when he came down from the mountain), that Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone while he talked with Him. ³⁰ So when Aaron and all the children of Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone, and they were afraid to come near him. ³¹ Then Moses called to them, and Aaron and all the rulers of the congregation returned to him; and Moses talked with them. ³² Afterward all the children of Israel came near, and he gave them as commandments all that the Lord had spoken with him on Mount Sinai. 

³³ And when Moses had finished speaking with them, he put a veil on his face. ³⁴ But whenever Moses went in before the Lord to speak with Him, he would take the veil off until he came out; and he would come out and speak to the children of Israel whatever he had been commanded. ³⁵ And whenever the children of Israel saw the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses' face shone, then Moses would put the veil on his face again, until he went in to speak with Him.

                                                                       Exodus 34

When Christians have a vibrant prayer life, it shows. There’s a glow about a person who has been in prayer and communion with a Holy, Loving God. Maybe not physically, but spiritually, prayer affects us. How could it not?

In this second portrait, Moses came from the presence of God with a radiant glory reflected on his face (verse 29). We see a beautiful picture of how our lives can reflect the glory of God which surrounds us, and as a result, become radiant through prayer.

Repentance: To have a radiant prayer life, we must first have a close examination of our lives, our sins, our selfishness, and expose it to God, confessing it with contrite repentance. The wisdom of Proverbs 28:13 states that “He who covers his sins will not prosper, But whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy.” Repentance is not just an Old Testament practice; it was the thrust of Jesus’s first sermon (Mark 1:15) His ministry (Luke 13:3, 5), and throughout the book of Acts (2:38, 3:19, 17:30, 20:21, 26:20). Five of the seven churches in the book of Revelation are called to repent.

Moses spent time in God’s presence, hearing directly from God and praying to Him. Undoubtedly, he confessed his sins and repented, not just for himself but for all of Israel.

In Exodus 32, when Moses went to the mountain the first time, the Israelites made a golden calf and claimed it represented the god who had delivered them from the hands of the Egyptians. Moses sought to atone for Israel, trying in vain to take the brunt of the sin himself (Exodus 32:30–32). He went so far as to ask God to blot his own name out of the book, even though he did not commit their sin.

God’s response was that no mere human can atone for the sins of another. Only Jesus, who knew no sin, could receive the punishment for sin on someone else’s behalf (Isaiah 53:6, 2 Corinthians 5:21) and make an adequate atonement.

Repent means to regret. The word repent begins with regret; we must truly grieve for our sins. In the Hebrew, repentance is a mixture of lament, or to truly have sorrow, and compassion, both dealing with our emotions of regret and love. We ourselves must come penitent and remorseful over our own sins.

Repent means to relent. Someone has said that the first rule in getting out of a pit you may find yourself in is: STOP DIGGING. And when you want a prayer life that radiates the light of Christ in our lives, we must regret what we have done (change our affections) and relent (change our actions). We must stop digging ourselves deeper in our pit and come clean with God.

 

Pray this prayer to God: “Holy Father, I repent of my sins. Keep me from evil. Let Your law, Your Word be forever written in my heart. In Jesus’s Name, Amen.” 

Click here for Day 8, Evening