Prayer Week 22: The Temple of God

We tend to equate worshipping God with church, and church with a specific building. In the Old Testament people had to go to a specific place to worship God because that was where He dwelt, but now it is different. However, we have trouble remembering that in the day to day. We tend to compartmentalize and only think of God in the place where we expect to find Him.

 

1 Corinthians 3:16 New American Standard Bible 1995

Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?

1 Corinthians 6:19 New American Standard Bible 1995

Or do you not know that our body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own?

2 Corinthians 6:16 New American Standard Bible 1995

Or what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; just as God said, “I will dwell in them and walk among them; and I will be their God and they shall be My people.”

Ephesians 2:20-22 New American Standard Bible 1995

Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit.

 

Jesus came to earth to save us from sin. When He left, He sent His Holy Spirit to dwell in us in His place. Before the time of Christ, the Spirit only came on certain people for a certain time. It was not a permanent or common place occurrence. Now, however, the Spirit indwells all believers from the time of salvation on. We no longer need to go to the temple to worship God or be in His presence because we are His temple. We can worship Him anytime, anywhere. Relationship with God is no longer compartmentalized. One of my favorite books is The Practice of the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence and I would highly recommend it. He talks about practical ways to be more aware of God’s presence every day, something all believers desperately need.

 

This week, dwell on the fact that God dwells in you. He is always at home in you. You do not have to seek Him out or get His attention, you already have Him. Your body is His temple, His place of worship. Do you live like it?

 

In the Old Testament, worship engaged all the senses. Set aside some time this week when you pray to create that atmosphere. Go someplace quiet and beautiful. Light a fragrant candle. Play some worship music. Pray and worship God with every part of your being, let your whole self engage and be involved in it. Practice the presence of God.

 Prayer points taken from Praying Through Adversity by Jennifer Kennedy Dean.

Prayer Week 19: Practice of the Presence

Life is busy. There is so much in the physical world to distract us, vying for our attention. It is so easy to live as if that is all there is, to only focus on and heed the physical world, forgetting the spiritual. I mean really, how can we know God is here when we can’t see or feel Him?

 

Luke 12:31 New American Standard Bible 1995

But seek His kingdom, and these things will be added to you.

Zephaniah 3:17 New American Standard Bible 1995

The Lord your God is in your midst,
A victorious warrior.
He will exult over you with joy,
He will be quiet in His love,
He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy.

Haggai 2:5 New American Standard Bible 1995

‘As for the promise which I made you when you came out of Egypt, My Spirit is abiding in your midst; do not fear!’
Zechariah 2:10-11 New American Standard Bible 1995

"Sing for joy and be glad, O daughter of Zion; for behold I am coming and I will dwell in your midst,” declares the Lord. “Many nations will join themselves to the Lord in that day and will become My people. Then I will dwell in your midst, and you will know that the Lord of hosts has sent Me to you."

Luke 17:20-21 New American Standard Bible 1995

Now having been questioned by the Pharisees as to when the kingdom of God was coming, He answered them and said, “The kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed; nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or, ‘There it is!’ For behold, the kingdom of God is in your midst.”

 

Whether we are aware of it or not, God is in our midst. He is in our hearts and all around us. He is omnipresent, everywhere always at once. In a sense, He is like the air; filling up every empty space on earth. Yet He is even more places than that. He not only knows everything but He sees everything. He is always with us.

 

I remember my bible study leader in high school telling me a story about a couple who used to sit as close together as possible when they drove somewhere, but gradually they grew apart. Eventually, she was sitting on one end of the bench seat, and he at the other with his arm on the door. She lamented the time when they used to sit close with his arm around her. He responded, “I never moved.” It is the same with God. If He feels distant it is because we have ceased to become aware of Him. He is always as close as ever, but we often forget that. We let the world distract us and we lose awareness of His presence.

 

We need to cultivate an awareness of His presence. We need to remind ourselves that He is always there, and look for it always. When we are in a check out line, driving in the car, sweeping, mopping, etc., those are all times when we can seek His kingdom and presence. We can and should always talk to God, as if He were right there, because He is. Prayer is the ground work for this awareness. This week, ask God to make you more aware of Him and call attention to kingdom moments. This will not only brighten your day, chase away loneliness and give purpose and meaning to menial chores, but it will also change those irritating moments in life into opportunities to fellowship with God. It will also help transform your heart, your attitude and the way you react in those situations.

 Prayer points taken from Praying Through Adversity by Jennifer Kennedy Dean.