If you’ve ever been to Jerusalem, you’ve probably visited the Western Wall. It is what’s left of a retaining wall built on the Temple Mount to create a flat area to add more buildings around the Temple. I’ve been to the wall a few times to pray. On my last couple of trips over there, I’ve been able to go underground where the foundation of the Temple is. There’s a long corridor running beside it. As we moved down that hall, we came to a place where these women were praying. Our guide informed us that this was the closest spot to where the Holy of Holies was, and that these women come there to pray instead of praying above ground at the wall. In the Jewish culture, God’s presence is found in the Holy of Holies and the closer you are to that point, the closer you are to God. In the Old Testament, all of Israel would come to Jerusalem for the feasts and to pray so that they could be close to God and be heard.
In Ephesians 2, Paul is addressing people with this mindset. In verse 13, he wrote, “Once you were far away from God, but now you have been brought near to him through the blood of Christ” (NLT). The phrase “far from God” in that culture had a two fold meaning. People that lived outside of Jerusalem were considered far from God which is why they visited Jerusalem so often. They wanted to be close to God. There are times that you and I feel like we’re far from God. It’s like He can’t hear our prayers. We can’t feel His presence. We feel isolated and alone. We all go through these feelings of being far from God, but the truth is that God never leaves us. In fact, He’s made His home in our lives so that He will be with us always.
Paul makes more analogies about us and the Temple as the chapter continues. He then ends it with, “God is transforming each one of you into the Holy of Holies, his dwelling place, through the power of the Holy Spirit living in you!” (TPT) You and I have become the Holy of Holies because He dwells in us. When those feelings come that we are far from God and He doesn’t hear us, declare this verse over your life. Your feelings will lie, but God’s Word never will. You are never far from God because you are the host of His presence. You don’t have to go anywhere special for Him to hear your prayers. He hears ever prayer, spoken or silent, and knows how you feel. God is close to you today, listening to your prayers, walking with you and working things out for your good despite what your feelings are telling you. Push past your feelings and enter the presence of God. You are closer to Him than you think.
Photo by Thomas Vitali on Unsplash
Devotions by Chris Hendrix 