Praying for My Pastors

Ex 24:17 "The sight of the glory of the Lord was like a consuming fire on top of the mountain in the eyes of the children of Israel."

There is a new song that we sing at church that was written by Christy Nockels called: "A Mighty Fortress". It's first line is: "Our God is a consuming fire, burning holy flame with glory and freedom." This is what the children of Israel experienced. The glory of God. Moses and Joshua went up the mountain to be in the presence of God, and what did the people see? The glory of God. They didn't see God, they just saw the top of the mountain and it looked like it was being consumed by fire. The people saw that the presence of God was not something sweet and simple and felt good. No, it was hot. Bright. Massive. Devouring. Something to be feared. Something to stand back in awe.

I know that I just wrote about how God wants our fellowship. How He desires relationship. How He calls us a holy nation, His chosen people, a royal priesthood. (9-9-11 post.) And He does. He wants personal closeness. But I think that we in the modern church have emphasized that to the point where we forget about the glory of God. The massiveness of God. The awesomeness of God. The power of God. The fear of God. "Our God is a consuming fire, burning holy flame with glory and freedom. Our God is the only righteous Judge ruling over us with kindness and wisdom." (Nockels) There is a balance. God is loving, but God is also just. God is kind, but God is also powerful. God is merciful, but God is also a righteous Judge. And when we truly see His glory, we will be awestruck.

This leads me to think of how this happened. Moses and Aaron and Nadab and Abihu and seventy of the elders of Israel lead the way. They went to the mountain and worshipped. Then only Moses and Joshua actually approached God and got the closest. When Moses went up into the mountain a cloud covered the mountain and the glory of the Lord appeared. The thing that hits me is that I really need to pray for my pastors. The leaders of people can approach, but it can all boil down to the spiritual condition of a few. When those that God has placed in leadership approach God, commune with God, live in the presence of God, learn from God, walk with God, see God then the people that they lead will see the glory of God. If those in leadership just go through the motions, people will not experience that God is a consuming fire. But if those in leadership have a genuine walk with God and spend time in His presence, people will see. People will experience the glory of God. People will be awestruck.

This is how I will pray: That my pastors will be so consumed with living in the presence of the Holy that His glory is revealed to everyone who watches.