This morning, I read Psalm 90 as part of my daily reading. It is the oldest of the Psalms written by Moses 3,400 years ago. I stopped and prayed portions of the prayer over my family adjusting the prayer to fit within the issues they are currently processing.

“Give us gladness in proportion to our former misery! Replace the evil years with good. Let us, your servants, see you work again; let our children see your glory. And may the Lord our God show us his approval and make our efforts successful. Yes, make our efforts successful!” (Psalm 90: 15-17).

When I finished praying the prayer and making an application to me, my wife, and my children, I sensed a deep and abiding peace come as the words of Moses’ prayer left my lips and made a connection. The sense I got from praying this 3,400-year-old prayer is no different today than when Moses first wrote it– it invites us to put our hope only in God alone.

Words like “Give us gladness in proportion to our former misery” and “Replace the evil with good” created an expectation in me that the Lord can do turnarounds in our lives that will dismantle the lies of hell and displace the sadness of our past with the joy of His healing presence. The Psalm talks of God doing His works again. This request was made by the man whom God used to lead the Israelites across the dry seabed of the Red Sea. One of the most important parts of this Psalm was the words, “Let our children see your glory.” That has been the request of all believing parents across the ages. 

Moses must have come up against yet another impossible situation to have him pray twice in this short prayer to make his efforts successful. Like Moses, I prayed for God to reveal Himself to my family and make His presence known. The answers to my prayer, and yours, will not be accomplished by producing more effort. It will happen when we realize the Lord is with us. To that end, we pray and believe.