Sometimes I wonder how people connected with God in the past. Don’t you?
I mean, what exactly did Eve talk to God about as they strolled through the garden?
When Hannah prayed for her son Samuel, did she have a scripted prayer she learned as a child? When she wasn’t at the temple praying, what did she do to connect with God at home?
How did Deborah hear God’s voice directing her as judge of the Israelites?
And did Mary have daily devotions before Gabriel told her she would bear the Son of God?
All interesting questions, and all the more reason for us to look in the past and learn from those who have walked with God before us.
As a side note, this post was over 2,000 words long. I decided to spare you the pain of reading all that and provided a simple summary below. You’re welcome.
What I want to offer with this brief overview of how people have dwelled with God throughout history is to contextualize how we understand dwelling with God. It has looked different for different people in different places at different points in history.
History teaches us that there is no single method to dwell with God. God meets people in a variety of ways. So we can shake off the expectations that abiding in Christ must look a certain way and learn from those who have gone before us:
Today, write down a 2-3 sentence description about how you approach your connection with God. What rituals or routines do you include? Why do you do those things? Where did they come from historically? And are they really helpful in your relationship with God? I’d love to hear your answers in the comments below.
Father, thank you for Your faithfulness to us, your children, throughout history. You have revealed Yourself increasingly more and more to every generation, calling us to dwell with You. But most of all, thank you for Jesus and His loving sacrifice to break the barrier between You and us and usher us into Your presence. What a privilege it is to connect with You directly, no longer dependent on sacrifices or priests to mediate between us. Your Spirit is in me, and You’ve restored to us the ability to commune with You just as Adam and Eve did. Thank You, Lord Jesus, for making a way. Help me to be faithful in seeking You with all my heart day in and day out.
Photo Credit: ©iStock/Getty Images Plus/Nicolas Garrat
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