The Objective of prayer

In the Exodus story of the Hebrew people exiting Egypt and leaving a life of slavery, time and time again they allowed fear to cause them to forget God’s involvement with them. When they came to a roadblock in their journey, they forgot how God had demonstrated His power and glory in setting them free. How God had led them Himself through the desert by a column of smoke by day and a column of fire by night. How God had parted the Red Sea, so they could escape their captors on dry land. They forgot how God provided life-giving water when the only water they found in the desert was stagnate. They forgot how God came through repeatedly. I think a lot it has to do with how they prayed. 
 
In Exodus chapter 33, there is this moment of prayer. Moses starts his prayer in verse 12 with a thankfulness of what God has done for the Hebrew people and himself. He then asks God to show Moses His ways. God responds to Moses by simply saying, “My presence shall go with you and I will give you rest”(Exodus 33:14). 
 
I think a lot of us can relate with this. We pray to God for a specific answer and God answers us like He answers Moses in Exodus 33:14. It’s not the answer Moses wants. 
So, Moses makes another request in verse 15 and 16. “If Your presence does not go [with me], do not lead us up from here. 16 For how then can it be known that Your people and I have found favor in Your sight? Is it not by Your going with us, so that we are distinguished, Your people and I, from all the [other] people on the face of the earth?”
And God responds again to Moses with an answer in verse 17 Moses doesn’t want and maybe doesn’t understand. God’s response is, “I will also do this thing that you have asked; for you have found favor in My sight and I have known you personally by name.”
 
Moses, like us, is asking for something from God. God responds with something entirely different. I think it is important we understand when we pray to God, we pray from our perspective. We are looking for answers or something from God through our eyes. But what God has in mind is so much bigger, in fact, what He desires is holy, righteous and ultimately for our good. 
 
In that second request, Moses wants confirmation from God, he and the people have found favor in God’s eyes. It boils down to being a security thing. We do that with God too! We try to pull the “If, then” thing with God. Moses tried it and now he decides He is going to change the direction of his prayer to God. In verse 18, Moses now asks God, “Please show me Your glory!”God grants this request and things change. God allows Moses to see His goodness and proclaims the Name of the Lord before Him. However, He protects Moses by not allowing him to see His face because no one can see the face of God and live. 
 
In the next chapter, we see how things change and turnaround. In Exodus 34, starting at verse 6, an exchange takes place between God and Moses. But this time, God speaks first. 
 
God reveals His goodness and declares the following in verses 6 and 7: “The Lord, the Lord God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth; 7 keeping mercy and lovingkindness for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin; but He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished, avenging the iniquity (sin, guilt) of the fathers….” 
 
Moses responds with humility in verse 8 and 9. “Moses bowed to the earth immediately and worshiped [the Lord]. 9 And he said, “If now I have found favor and lovingkindness in Your sight, O Lord, let the Lord, please, go in our midst, though it is a stiff-necked (stubborn, rebellious) people, and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us as Your possession.”
 
The difference this time and the important thing for us to gather from this exchange is now Moses’ prayer is shaped by what God has said. The object of Moses’ prayer changed from being an answer, a specific want or specific need; to being focused on God Himself. It is important we understand our prayers should be shaped around God Himself and or what God has said. It will change your life! Try praying for God in your life, not stuff and things and see how your life will change for the good.