So Moses cried out to the Lord, “Please, God, heal her!” (Numbers 12:13)
At first glance, there’s nothing unique about Moses’ prayer for his sister. Most people pray for God to heal a loved one at some point in time – even those who profess no faith in anything other than themselves.
What makes Moses’ prayer unique is the situation leading up to it. Faced by all kinds of challenges to his God-given authority as well as uprisings from various Israelites, the last thing Moses needed was to be challenged by his own flesh and blood. And yet his sister – his sister of all people – rose up against him. God struck her with leprosy because of her failure to trust her brother. And let’s be honest: there were a lot of signs that God’s blessing was on Moses’ leadership.
Moses had every right to hand his sister over to God’s wrath, but rather than giving her what she deserved, he interceded on her behalf. Rather than playing the spite card, Moses overflowed with grace.
Is there a situation in which you have every right to be spiteful and wish the worst for someone else? Take a moment and offer a unique prayer for that person – a prayer of intercession. Ask God to bless the person in an undeserved way. And don’t be surprised when He answers your prayers just as He answered Moses’.
Father, I don’t want to spend my life being spiteful and wishing ill upon others. You have been so gracious to me in times when I deserved nothing more than Your wrath; help me to be gracious with others. Let me bring their needs to You, and let me find joy in doing so.
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