"Take me into the Holy of holies."

"Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you?" ~ 1 Corinthians 3:16

"But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light." ~ 1 Peter 2:9

"Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks." ~ John 4:23


I never noticed how these verses connected until last night at Fortnight, an event the UGA Wesley Foundation put on just for guys. I was only there for a little over an hour, but the message I heard was really insightful. The message was about prayer and worship, the only two things that we will take with us from this life on earth into the next in heaven. When the speaker mentioned these verses together, something seemed to click for me.

We are God's temple, the house of the Lord, the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit. At a designated time every year, the high priest of Israel would go into the Most Holy Place inside the temple, which was where God's Spirit resided and where offerings of sacrifice and praise were presented to the Lord. Only the high priest was allowed to enter the Most Holy Place, and only at a specific time each year.

We are a royal priesthood, the Levites who were set apart to be the priests of Israel to present offerings to God on behalf of the people. We are now all called to enter into the Most Holy Place, into the presence of the Spirit. We offer up our lives to God because it's all we have to give.

We are no longer required to worship in a specific place because the temple moves wherever we go, because we are the temple. So whenever we come to God to worship, we enter into the tabernacle—into ourselves—to praise Him. That's why we often close our eyes when praying or when singing in church: we are withdrawing into ourselves, into the temple. That's also why quiet time is so important: we need the time to separate ourselves from the rest of the world and enter into God's presence, where nothing can distract us. It was in solitude that Moses entered God's presence on Mount Sinai and learned His will for the Israelites. It was in solitude that Abraham showed his devotion by being willing to sacrifice his son Isaac, and it was in solitude that God came to him and confirmed His covenant with Him. It was in solitude in Arabia that Paul entered into God's presence and learned the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ, which he then shared with the Gentiles, eventually coming to us today. And it was in solitude that Jesus Himself prayed to the Father for perseverance to carry out His will; He was in constant communion with the Lord, frequently withdrawing to spend time alone with God in order to discern His will and receive a willing Spirit to carry it out. Jesus, although He was God in the flesh, chose to live as a human, setting an example for us to follow; with this mindset, He displayed for us the way to know God, rather than simply acting on His identity as God to instantly complete His plan. Because He set the example for us, we are to imitate Him, being in constant prayer and worship, withdrawing into the temple frequently to speak with God. Yes, there is a reason for fellowship with our brothers and sisters in Christ, but there is also a purpose for spending time alone with God; there's a reason God made Eve for Adam, but there's also a reason He made her separate and independent from him instead of attaching them like Siamese twins.

I've been hearing a lot lately about the advice one president gave to his successor: "Use Camp David." This president frequently withdrew to Camp David to remove himself from the rush of life in the White House. Although a president cannot lead from Camp David, the rest Camp David provided for him was essential for his success as a leader. In the same way, although we cannot serve the world from our withdrawn state inside the temple, frequent visits to the house of the Lord are crucial to our understanding of God's will and our success in carrying it out. So "use Camp David"; use your alone time wisely.