A Very Short Intercessory Prayer

We are familiar with Moses as an intercessor. And often his prayers of intercession are long. I was surprised to find that he once offered a very short intercessory prayer.

In Numbers 12 we are told that Miriam and Aaron opposed their brother Moses. 

This is a family quarrel. We’ve all been a part of them. This one was played out in front of a whole nation. I am so thankful my family’s quarrels take place inside our home! 

Miriam's name is listed first. She also received a greater judgment than Aaron. Perhaps because she is older? Perhaps because she began the complaint and brought Aaron into it? 

The complaint, the presenting issue, was that they did not like the Cushite woman that Moses had married. If you have lived in a family long enough to experience family strife, you know that most times the issue that starts the problem is not the real issue. The heart issue was their jealousy of the authority Moses had. They thought they had similar credentials to Moses and should be equal with him in authority. Competition between family members is an everyday occurrence. Sometimes it is comical the things that siblings will find with which to compete with each other. 

But this struggle for dominance was not funny. God took their jealousy and competition very seriously. Notice that when he steps in to stop their conflict, he does so “suddenly.” This was not an issue to be ignored. Moses was his chosen leader and God would not have this debated. Moses would not have defended himself - we are told he was the meekest person on the face of the earth. But he didn’t have to - God silenced Miriam and Aaron with his clear and indisputable argument for Moses’s superior position, and then he exposed their arrogance with the question, “Why then were you not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?” 

Miriam and Aaron were not only silenced. Miriam was struck with leprosy - further evidence of how serious God takes any opposition to his leaders. Aaron pleads to Moses for her life. Notice how quickly this disaster causes them both to recognize that Moses is God’s appointed leader! Neither Miriam nor Aaron feel qualified to speak to God directly. They admit their wrong doing, appropriately calling it sin, and plead with Moses to help them. 

And Moses will help them. He will intercede for them to God. But his prayer will not be long. It will not include his usual arguments about God’s nature or his covenant or his name. He will not ask questions of God. He only says,

“Oh God, please heal her-------please.” 

What an emotionally tender request! 

I get that. There are many scriptures that I use to pray for my unbelieving family members and friends. I ask God to save them on the basis of his merciful character and for the glory of his name. But sometimes, the heart is heavy with concern, the connection is personal, the pain is physically felt, and all I can pray is, “Oh God, please save her-------please.”  Somehow it was a comfort to find that the great intercessor of the Old Testament once prayed a very short prayer.