Enter His Presence

Enter His Presence

by Anne Graham Lotz

In olden days, entering into the presence of God would have been an unattainable privilege for a Gentile woman like myself. If I had stood on a desert sand dune that overlooked the Israelite camp in the wilderness following the exodus from Egypt, I would have seen a sea of tents that stretched out to the horizon of my vision. In the midst of the encampment, I would have noticed a much larger tent surrounded by a dazzling "wall" of linen that shimmered white in the scorching desert sun. If I had left my vantage point on the sand dune and slipped closer, I might have found a bystander who would have been willing to answer my questions.

"What is that big tent?"

"Don't you know? We are God's children, and that tent is the Tabernacle where God is said to dwell in our midst. "

"Can I go in?" I would have naively asked.

"Go in? Go inside the Tabernacle? You must be out of your mind! It's obvious you are not an Israelite and you're a woman. You could never go inside."

"Surely there must be some way I could enter. I would like to draw near to God, too. I long to be in His presence."

"Well, let me tell you something, lady. The only way you could ever enter into the presence of God is if you were totally born again!"

"What's inside those linen walls?"

"On the other side of the walls are the altar, the laver, and the Tabernacle itself."

"And what is in the Tabernacle?"

"The Tabernacle is divided into two rooms that are separated by a heavy curtain, or veil. I'm told that in the first room there is a lamp, a table with a loaf of bread on it, and an altar of incense. Beyond the veil in the second room is the Most Holy Place of God's presence where the Ark of the covenant rests."

"If only I had been born a man, if only I had been born an Israelite, then I would go into the Most Holy Place of God's presence five times a day!"

"Lady, you still don't get it, Israelite men cannot go inside the Tabernacle, either--only the priests are allowed inside. And even the priests can't go inside the Most Holy Place of God's presence. Only the high priest can go beyond the veil."

"Oh, how I wish I was an Israelite man who was also a high priest. Then I would go into God's presence every day. In fact, I would just stay there--I would live in God's presence!"

Perhaps with sympathetic softening to his eyes, this bystander would reply gently but with finality, "But the high priest himself can only enter within the veil once a year."

And I would be turned away, with no hope of ever entering into the Most Holy Place of God's presence.

Until Jesus came! Through His death the veil separating us from the presence of God was torn in two from top to bottom! God Himself opened up the way for us to enter into His holy presence---through prayer.

"Since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, His body, and since we have a great high priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith."

Through prayer, we are invited to come into His presence as children come to their father.