In Old Testament times the Holy of Holies was the inner sanctuary of the Tabernacle, where the presence of God dwelt. The High Priest would be allowed to enter once a year to offer sacrifices, but the Israelites had such great fear of the Lord that they would tie a rope around the Priest's leg in order to pull him out if anything happened. Once a year, one man could enter into the presence of the Lord.
What would it be like to be in the presence of God?
In Exodus 34 Moses goes up to Mount Sinai and encounters the Lord, and upon returning to his people he is unaware that his face was radiant. Paul was in the presence of God on the way to Damascus, and he went blind for three days.
Fast forward hundreds of years to Jesus' crucifixion. When Christ died, Matthew 27:51 tells us, "At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook and the rocks split" This was a symbolic way of showing that there was no barrier between the those who believe and the Lord.
This may seem like a history lesson to many of you, but I do have a point! My youth leader is Adam Osier (who got this saying from a teacher), and every week before we go to prayer he asks someone to "take us to the throne room". I think far too often we don't realize that we can enter into the Holy of Holies now; we have the ability through the blood of Jesus to enter into His presence. We are blessed to be able to pray, but in our culture today prayer is seen as a last resort to many. Would our lives look different if we prayed?
I encourage each of you to listen to "What if His People Prayed" by Casting Crowns sometime this week, and really listen to the lyrics. He does hear, and He's waiting in the throne room for us every moment of the day.
We are allowed to enter into the presence of the Living God daily! Do we show it?
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