This is part two of a series that revolves around prayer, and more specifically the meaning and the power of prayers. This topic is important to new believers and mature believers alike. If we are being honest, we have all wondered whether God hears our prayers, whether He is listening, and sometimes even wondered if our prayers matter.
This week we focus on the model for prayer (and for approaching God in general) found in the Old Testament Tabernacle. If you missed part one, please visit our archives to listen.
And here’s a great picture of the OT Tabernacle we found online that is helpful to look at as we discuss:
I loved learning about the symbolic meaning of the bronze water basin. Asking forgiveness with the knowledge that God promises to forgive us when we ask (1 John 1:9), is awesome. However, we may not realized that we haven’t ACCEPTED that forgiveness and still see ourselves in the mirror as the person who did something awful. I often find that God teaches me things through repetition and this appears to be one of those times. My pastor recently challenged us with an opportunity during service which led me to write her this email:
“Dear Pastor Wendy,
On Sunday during your sermon something from many many years ago popped into my mind even as I told myself that what you were saying didn’t apply to me. But then I thought about why God brought it to mind…
Thank you for your message and the time at the altar where I was able to have a moment with God accepting forgiveness where I had asked for it before but continued to feel shame.”
Don’t you love it when God does that?!