There are few men in Bible history of more significance than Moses. Deliverer of Israel, giver of the law, a man whose face had to be veiled because he physically reflected God’s glory after being in his presence (Exodus 34:29-35, 2 Corinthians 3:7-18). And though we read that “the Lord would speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend” (Exodus 33:11), there were many times Moses would pray to the Lord. During the time of the ten plagues, Pharaoh pled with Moses to pray to Lord to remove the plagues, and he would do so. Moses also prayed to the Lord on behalf of Israel (Numbers 11:1-3, 21:6-8) and his brother Aaron (Deuteronomy 9:19-21) for God to show his mercy.
But the only prayer we have recorded in the scriptures by Moses is his supplication to God after the sin of the people and Aaron with the golden calf while Moses was on Mount Sinai receiving the stone tablets with the words of the covenant. Remember that Moses had been on the mountain for forty days and nights, neither eating nor drinking. And when he had received the tablets, he was told by God about the idol that the people had made for themselves.
What is perhaps not as well known is that after Moses broke the tablets, he fasted for another forty days and nights before praying to God on behalf of Israel and Aaron!
Then once again I fell prostrate before the Lord for forty days and forty nights; I ate no bread and drank no water, because of all the sin you had committed, doing what was evil in the Lord’s sight and so arousing his anger. I feared the anger and wrath of the Lord, for he was angry enough with you to destroy you. But again the Lord listened to me. And the Lord was angry enough with Aaron to destroy him, but at that time I prayed for Aaron too.
I lay prostrate before the Lord those forty days and forty nights because the Lord had said he would destroy you. I prayed to the Lord and said, “Sovereign Lord, do not destroy your people, your own inheritance that you redeemed by your great power and brought out of Egypt with a mighty hand. Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Overlook the stubbornness of this people, their wickedness and their sin. Otherwise, the country from which you brought us will say, ‘Because the Lord was not able to take them into the land he had promised them, and because he hated them, he brought them out to put them to death in the wilderness.’ But they are your people, your inheritance that you brought out by your great power and your outstretched arm.”
Deuteronomy 9:18-20, 25-29
In Moses’ plea to God, we see his recognition that we do not deserve the forgiveness we seek. His plea with God was to “overlook the stubbornness of this people, their wickedness and their sin”. And his primary reason for the request was ultimately for the glory of God! His fear was that the nation of Egypt would somehow look upon God as a failure, if he were to destroy the people that he had performed such mighty works to deliver.
Similarly, our supplications to God should reflect the same attitudes. We should recognize that we are not deserving of the rich blessings we receive from God, nor of the mercy he shows to us. And our requests should always be those that would give glory to God, because that is why we are here!