A prayer they wished they had never made

 'As I live,’ says the Lord, ‘just as you have spoken in My hearing, so I will do to you' (Numbers 14:28 NKJV)

And all the children of Israel complained against Moses and Aaron, and the whole congregation said to them, “If only we had died in the land of Egypt! Or if only we had died in this wilderness! (Numbers 14:2 NKJV)

Be careful, be very careful of what you desire in your heart. I was amazed how the children of Israel could easily forget what God had done for them, to the extent that they readily believed the bad report from the ten spies sent to the land of Canaan.

Boy oh boy was God furious with them and He was ready to 'strike them with the pestilence and disinherit them,...'(Numbers 14:12 NKJV). Their complaints and whinging was even worse because ... they had experienced the Glory of the presence of God and the signs He did in the land of Egypt and in the wilderness (Num14:12), yet.. they kept putting God to the test (ten times since they left Egypt) by refusing to listen to God's voice (Num14:22).

What did God do? He granted them their heart's desire. Talk about a prayer that you wish was not answered. 'As I live,’ says the Lord, ‘just as you have spoken in My hearing, so I will do to you' (Numbers 14:28 NKJV). Basically, ‘you wished you had died in the wilderness - your wish is granted’. All the people who complained from twenty years and older would all die in the wilderness. Not only that, they would spend in the wilderness, the equivalent years of the number of days they spied the land - forty days will become forty wilderness years.
It is a terrible thing to fall into the hand of the LORD.

After hearing this, the Israelites went into mourning and wanted to now go and fight the Canaanites. Still they did not listen and they were attacked by their enemies (Numbers 14:45). Talk about stubborn fools!

Help me LORD not to let my circumstances and situations birth evil desires in my heart. Help me to trust in You instead of complaining, in Jesus Mighty name, Amen.

This story has also highlighted the need to teach our children not to complain about anything and everything. A child that learns to be grateful for what they have and be thankful in all circumstances will avoid the trap of wrong desires.

How about you? Do you let your circumstances birth the wrong desires in your heart? Say the prayer above.

Shalom.