Exodus 30:25 You shall set the bread of the Presence on the table before me regularly.
The priests after sacrificing blood at the brazen altar, washing themselves in the bronze basin, enter the “tent of meeting”. The tent had two compartments; the first was the “Holy Place” and the second “Holy of Holies”. In the Holy place, there were three symbolic representations of the “presence of God”. The first element was the “showbread” or “the bread of Presence”. Twelve pieces of bread baked with fine flour were placed on a golden table. Twelve pieces represented the twelve tribes. When Jesus said, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again. Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty” (John 6:35), He was referring to the “Showbread” or “the Bread of Presence” to Himself. At the altar of sacrifice, we are freed from condemnation and at the basin we are cleansed from corruption and at the table of Showbread we are ready for communion.
This is the fourth stage of prayer. We are free from the chains of guilt and the constraints of stigma. At this stage of prayer we meet with Jesus at the ‘Holy Place’ by consuming His ‘Life Giving Word’, the Bible(Showbread). We would encounter distractions at this stage. Our stomachs would rumble, the worries of life would surface and weariness would cause slothfulness. Jesus drove the tempter, distracter and deceiver, the devil away by quoting the scripture from Deuteronomy 8:3 ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ Ignore the hungry pants or stressful groans as the fourth stage of prayer is the most important place of nourishment and refreshment to the soul. As we read the Bible, faith is hemmed into our hearts and hope is inflamed in our mind.
The fourth stage of prayer strengthens the soul with the “Showbread”:
- Cultivate: Read the same portion over and over again if you are distracted until you understand and allow the Word to nourish your soul. The “bread of Presence” was made out of fine flour ground from the inner kernels of wheat, the best part of the grain. God’s Word(Showbread) is the healthiest diet to our soul. Read until the scriptures resonate in the soul. Read until His Word renovates the hews and reconstructs the hurts of the soul.
- Counteract: Read the Word to build spiritual resilience to fight against the wiles of the devil and the wickedness of the dark places. The Bible equips us to counteract, resist, nullify and negate the arrows of malice that are hurled against us.
- Creed: Read the Word (The Bible) until it becomes the core belief system and the creed of your soul. Search for instructions, directions and corrections not just for promises. When the Bible becomes the influential creed of our soul, His presence will overwhelm us and no temptation can overtake us.
Prayer is not, ‘bless me, feed me and promote me”. Prayer is meeting with Jesus– at The Gate; at the altar through His blood, at the bronze basin by washing our souls with His Word and nourishing the soul with the Showbread (The Bible) in the Holy Place. The “Bread of Presence” brings God’s presence into our soul.
John 6:68 Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.
Prayer: Dear Jesus, Teach me your Word and help me to overcome distractions, diversions and commotions that divert me from Your Word. Amen.
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