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Exodus 32:11 NLT

But Moses tried to pacify the Lord his God. “O Lord!” he said. “Why are you so angry with your own people whom you brought from the land of Egypt with such great power and such a strong hand?”

In our verse today Moses attempts to pacify God. One so finite venturing to manage the infinite is remarkable. Yet, in essence this is all that intercession is. With both faith and desire we call upon the infinite to restore equilibrium.

At the core of intercession is a confidence in God’s ability; a recognition that God can hear and answer prayer. Yet within that confidence there is awareness that my specific prayer may not be answered in the way that I’ve asked it. We enter upon an uneven path when we turn to intercession.

My father fought throughout the Second World War. I am aware that many prayed not simply for his safe return, a prayer answered, but also for the victory of the Allied armies. On a reconciliation visit to Dresden, Germany, some years ago I met the widows of German soldiers who did not return, despite their prayers. I am sure that many prayed for a German victory in all sincerity and faith. My father returned unscathed physically, yet many of his colleagues did not. Fervent, faithful intercession had not apparently worked.

I can offer few answers to this conundrum. What I can say is that we are naturally going to carry our loved ones to God and pray for their safekeeping. Yet, we also know such intercession is no guarantee of anything. We have to acknowledge that having expressed our desire, that God does hear our prayer and is working something through, as yet unseen, in a positive response. Unsatisfactory, I acknowledge, yet we remain unable to fathom the deeper mysteries of God.

It may be on the broader issue of war, prayers for victory might give way to prayers for a just outcome, for our ways are never God’s ways (Isaiah 55:8). Again we are looking at the mystery that is God. God operates in a way that is far beyond anything we might imagine let alone comprehend.

QUESTION: Has unanswered prayer stopped you from coming back to God in prayer?

PRAYER: All-knowing Lord, I cannot comprehend the complexity of my own life, let alone the whole world, yet I trust in your goodness.