The Tabernacle Prayer

A worshipper without a prayer life is about as useless as a song without a melody or as my grandfather used to say “As useless as a screen door on a submarine”. The Bible is very clear that anyone that worships God must do so in 1: The Spirit and 2: The Truth. This can be represented in many different ways, but for me it always comes back to my prayer life and my time in God’s Word. Everything else about our Christian walk hinges on these two things. I would first like to address the necessity of having a strong, daily prayer life and some practical steps you can take to go deeper in your prayer time.

Over the next few weeks, I will be taking you on a journey through the Old Testament wilderness Tabernacle. This is the formula I use in my personal prayer time. Every item in the Tabernacle is a point I stop at in my prayer time. I have even begun writing and recording an album based on this concept. I would encourage you to get a notebook or journal of some sort and begin to write down these steps.

Part 1: The Outer Court

Read Exodus 25-40 to get a good understanding of how specific the layout of the Tabernacle was and how every piece of furniture was made.

There was only one way to get into the Tabernacle and that was through the gate of the Outer Court. This is our first stop in praying through the Tabernacle.

Step 1: Thanksgiving and Praise - Psalm 100:4, Philippians 4:6, 1 Thessalonians 5:18

I begin every prayer with a time of thanksgiving and praise to God. I thank Him for His mercy and grace, His goodness, His faithfulness, etc. I spend as much time as I can here. The first thing I would do is begin a list of things to thank God for. It could be your family, answered prayers, your health, your job, or anything that you would want to take time and thank God for. Why would we want to spend so much time here? Giving thanks or “counting your blessings” builds up your faith. It reminds you of what God has already accomplished and what He is capable of doing in the future. I often use this time as a time of declaring to the enemy that no matter what he is trying to tell me, I know what God is able to do for me!

Step 2: The Brazen Altar - Exodus 27:1-7

The first piece of furniture we come to the brazen altar. This is where the sin atoning sacrifice was made. This is the next step in praying through the Tabernacle. We have to lay down everything at the altar. Repent of every sin, every thing that has exalted itself above God, everything that has come between me and God. Those things must die here before I go any further. I don’t want anything to come between us. An interesting thing to note is that every piece of furniture was small enough to fit into the altar. The ultimate goal is to reach the Ark of the Covenant (The presence of God) but the Ark could fit inside the altar. The trouble is many people want huge Arks but only have small altars. The presence of God in your life will never be larger than your altar. The bigger the altar, the bigger the Ark.

Step 3: The Brazen Laver - Ephesians 5:26

The next piece of furniture we come to is the brazen laver. This is where the priest would wash himself from all of the blood of the sacrifice. He could not have one blemish on him in order to enter the holy of holies. This is the part of my prayer time that I spend praying the word of God. I pray for the renewing of my mind by the washing of the Word. I quote scripture that tells me who I am in Christ. I recite prophecies that have been given over me and my family. This is where I solidify who I am in Christ and drive out the lies of the enemy. I am a victor not defeated. I am the head and not the tail. Greater is He who lives in me than he who lives in the world. This is a powerful time in prayer to remind yourself who you are and to remind the enemy who he is messing with.

Next time: The Holy Place

In the next newsletter, we will enter the Holy Place. If you are being blessed by this simple newsletter, please share it and encourage others to subscribe. Until next week, be blessed, child of God.

All my love,

Ryan Richmond