I think, like others I'm sure, I've taken my prayer time with the Lord for granted. We live by sight often and shouldn't. We need to live by faith. We're to worship Him in Spirit and Truth. We're to walk in the Spirit and to deny our flesh. It can be tough, though, with the cares of this world. Obviously we're still living in it, but the bible says that we're not to be of it! :)
Isaiah 56:7 says "I will bring them to my holy mountain and make them joyful in my house of prayer; their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be accepted on my altar; for my house will be called a house of prayer for all peoples."
That's us! The bible (aka "the Word") in 1 Corinthians 6: 19-20 says "Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? 20 For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's" We are his temple! :) God's Spirit dwells in us. We're His housing and He calls us to be a house of prayer.
What are we doing in our "house"? Are we filling it with prayer, setting aside time to Worship the Lord? In the Old Testament, the original house of God for the Israelites was called the Tabernacle. You'll find explanation of how the Tabernacle was built and all that occurred within the Tabernacle in the book of Exodus. What I want to point out is that there were three parts to this Tabernacle. There was the Outer Court, the Inner Court, and the Holy of Hollies. Each area was divided. You started in the Outer Court and worked your way inward. In order to reach the Holy of Hollies, you would need to pass through a REALLY big curtain, but it was only the High Priest who would do this. Inside the Holy of Hollies was the "ark of the covenant." This was the mercy seat of God. This was where the Spirit of God dwelt and when the High Priest entered this area, he would burn incense before the Lord. As the curtain swept aside, the incense would wander in and fill the temple. The incense was symbolic of worship and even now as we enter into the presence of God, worship is one of the first things that should precede anything we do.
Here's the perfect word for this Thanksgiving week. (Adonai = Hebrew for "My Lord")
Psalm 100
1(0) A psalm of thanksgiving:
Psalms 100:1-5 (CJB)(1) Shout for joy to Adonai, all the earth!
2 Serve Adonai with gladness.
Enter his presence with joyful songs.
3 Be aware that Adonai is God;
it is he who made us; and we are his,
his people, the flock in his pasture.
enter his courtyards with praise;
give thanks to him, and bless his name.
5 For Adonai is good, his grace continues forever,
and his faithfulness lasts through all generations.
All of this, the Tabernacle and what occurred there, was all symbolic of Jesus and what he did for us. Jesus died on the cross for us! In order to enter into the presence of God, we need a High Priest. We need a sacrifice. Back when Adam and Eve brought sin into mankind, they tried to cover up the sin with fig leaves, but it was God that took the initiative to restore us to himself. It took skins. It took the shedding of blood to atone and make right. This is why the Israelites made animal sacrifices in the Tabernacle and later the Temple. The temporary innocent blood of bulls, goats and doves wasn't going to cut it. These sacrifices had to be made as sinful acts were committed and yearly to atone for the sin of man, but praise be to God it was only temporary. The ultimate plan was Jesus! He is called "The Lamb of God." He was perfect. He sacrificed Himself on the cross in our place. He took on our sins and abolished them when he died on the cross. BUT, praise God! He arose and overcame death. He overcame sin.
Not only was He our perfect, one time needed, sacrifice, He became our High Priest. And, included in this, was the fact that when he died, the REALLY BIG veil in the temple of Jerusalem was really torn in two from top to bottom. This was a feat fit for only the hand of God. It was a REALLY thick veil. After he arose, he went into the heavenly temple of God and sprinkled (like in the Old Testament, the Tanakh) his blood over and before the mercy seat in the MOST holy of hollies. He made the GREAT and FINAL atonement for the sin of all man and now offers himself as a FREE gift to all who will accept His grace and mercy. We can't earn anything that he did. We can offer nothing equal in comparison to what He did for us. All we can do is say "yes" in obedience and humility before Him. Sweet surrender to our majestic King.
So, if you understand all of this and are in a place to do so, I would truly recommend taking a moment or more to worship Him! Do not be ashamed of what He has done for you. It doesn't matter what you're going through. It doesn't matter the sins you've made or how often you've repeated it. You're His bride and He loves you. He knows you can't change by yourself. He knows that you're powerless without Him. This is why He wants you to come and fall into His forgiving and loving arms. This is why He wants to nestle you in His bosom and give you His strength. Jesus wants to remove all the stains on your garment, so to speak, and to give you a new glorious white, pure garment that you can wear as His bride. He wants to put you in His royal garb and prepare you for the wedding feast to come!
For you see, Jesus is coming back for His bride. He's coming back to collect us unto Himself. He's coming to finally overthrow the evil kingdom and to reclaim what's His. Those who refuse Him, won't be with Him and will be sent away, eternally far away from His presence to a place of death where demons and the devil himself will be eternally, forever and ever punished! We definitely don't want to be there. This is why it's so crucial that we turn to Him as our Savior. This is why it's so crucial to place our faith and trust in Him! He wants none of us to perish! He's calling every human being to himself - men, women, children, the old and the young!
I pray that the Lord would bless you and if you don't know Him and the power of His resurrection, that you would take a moment and speak real words to a God that you might not know. Speak out loud and trust that He hears you. He's standing at the door of your heart, knocking. Answer the door and let Him come in! The bible says that He'll come in and dine with you! Don't be afraid of what He'll find. He already knows what's there. He's come to help you. Lay it ALL down at His feet. You don't come to Him perfect - there's no such thing. You don't come to Him with all the answers and with everything figured out. You come to Him in brokenness and humility. This is the heart He's looking for. He's looking for the ones who are heart sick and need Him. He loves you. :) I love you. As your Sister in Christ, as a member of the Bride of Christ, go now in prayer, in worship and find your heavenly husband. Let His love flood you. Let His grace and mercy overwhelm you. Let the time for refreshing have it's way.
If you have a prayer request, feel free to send it my way. I'm here to pray with you. God bless!
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