On day 4 of this year of GRACE, and I must say--the depths of it already!  Feeling like a fool for questioning the simplicity of the word "grace" for 2012.  As the Word says, the foolishness of man points to the wisdom of God.  

SO, day before last, we were talking about how the first form of the word grace found in the Bible was favor.  At least according to my Wycliffe Bible dictionary--I make no claim to be a Biblical scholar.  Wycliffe pointed me to Jeremiah 31:2 where we saw how God gives us favor, even in our deserts.  The next passage that Wycliffe pointed me to was Exodus 33.

When I turned there, I saw my notes in the margin from some previous reading, and I knew this was gonna be good.  I love, love Exodus 33!  I love how Moses talks with the Lord so intimately--pouring himself out.  I think it's a picture for me of what prayer should look like.  Honest.  Bold.  Confident.  Intimate.  Talk about storming the Throne room!  Today, let's dive in to Exodus 33: 12-14.  I want to hit a few highlights that really stood out to me about FAVOR.

First, in verse 12, we see that Moses notes that he has found favor with God because God knows him by name.  Just sit and think about that one little fact.  Let's stop and consider this.  Picture some major celebrity--I mean someone you greatly admire--on an award show.   Imagine they make the big win, and in their acceptance speech, they mention you by name.  Wow.  They know YOU?  Okay, now a million times more--because we're not just talking about a celebrity. We're talking the God of creation, the Lord of the Universe, the Name at which every knee will bow.  Yep, He knows you that intimately.  Yet, how often we take that favor shown to us for granted.

The next verse just sings to me as a prayer we could all adopt.  Read Exodus 33:13: