“And he said, I beseech thee, shew me thy glory” (Exodus 33:18).
One of the great stories in the Bible is the day God called from a burning bush and revealed Himself to the man named Moses. From that encounter with the Eternal, Moses was never the same.
As he grew in spiritual understanding, the moment came when he pleaded with God saying, “Show me Thy glory.” The Lord said to Moses, “Behold, there is a place by me, and thou shalt stand upon a rock: 22 And it shall come to pass, while my glory passeth by, that I will put thee in a clift of the rock, and will cover thee with my hand while I pass by” (Exodus 33:21, 22).
The full glory of God is incomprehensible, but that should never stop any heart from pleading with God and saying, “Lord, show me Thy glory.”
Dwight L. Moody asked to see God’s glory, according to his own testimony.
I remember two holy women who came to my meetings. It was delightful to see them in the congregation. When I began to preach, I could tell by the expression on their faces that they were praying for me. At the close of the Sunday evening service they would say to me, “We have been praying for you.” “I said, ‘Why don’t you pray for the people?” They answered, “You need power.” “I need power?”, I said to myself. “Why, I thought I had power.”
I had a large Sunday school and the largest congregation in Chicago. There were some conversions at the time. I was, in a sense, satisfied. But right along, these two godly women kept praying for me, and their earnest talk about being anointed for special service set me thinking. I asked them to come and talk with me, and we got down on our knees. They poured out their hearts that I might receive the anointing from the Holy Spirit, and there came a great hunger into my soul. I did not know what it was. I began to pray as I never did before.
I really felt that I did not want to live if I could not have this power for service. The hunger increased. I was praying all the time that God would fill me with His Holy Spirit.
Well, one day in the city of New York – oh, what a day! I cannot describe it. I seldom refer to it; it is almost too sacred an experience to name. Paul had an experience of which he never spoke of for fourteen years. I can only say that God revealed Himself to me, and I had such an experience of His love that I asked Him to stay HIs hand. I went to preaching again. The sermons were not different, I did not present any new truths; and yet hundreds were converted.
I would not now be placed back where I was before that blessed experience if you gave me all Glasgow – it would be as the small dust of the balance.
On March 1, 1981, one of God’s preeminent saints was dying. Dr. Martyn-Lloyd Jones was a Welsh Protestant minister, preacher and medical doctor, who was influential in the Reformed evangelical movement in the 20th century. In the providence of God, he was dying of colon cancer. His body grew weak, but his mind remained clear to the end. His loving family stayed by his bedside. Near the end, Dr. Jones said to one of his daughters, “Do not pray for healing. Do not pray for my recovery. Do not hold back the glory.” How lovely that comment. Dr. Lloyd-Jones wanted more of the glory of God.
In life, or in death, let us seek to not hold back the glory by inappropriate behavior, unworthy thoughts, or excessive emotionalism. Rather, seek the glory of God in prayer, in meditation, in the study of Scripture, in holy conversations, and in a holy life of faith. Pray today, in this very hour: “Lord, show me thy glory”. God will show Himself when we search for Him, and seek Him with all our heart.
