KP: Prayer is the Deepest Function of the Human Spirit

KP Writes:

OK, so I admittedly am not an Old Testament scholar and I do not know much about many things. But, one of the glorious things about home schooling is that you are a perpetual learner. As a teacher of a younger student I was able to 'wing' it and draw on my previous education especially in the realm of secular academics. Let's face it, I have now graduated from high school, twice, and from medical college.

But as the teacher of a high school student in a year long study called History of God's Kingdom, I am at a loss. To that regard I am reading more than I thought humanly possible and learning things that astound me. Of particular appeal is a book Mallory is reading (therefore I have to read) which is a comprehensive guide to the entire Bible. Now, I typically steer clear of commentary type books until I have tried to do my own word studies, etc....But I am amazed at the way the Scriptures are being opened to me by understanding more of the historical and cultural context of certain books and passages. (I also believe these revelations are the answer to an apostolic prayer we have been praying over ourselves and each other for the last two years - Eph. 1: 17-19, "That the Father of glory, may give to me(us) the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of my(our) understanding being enlightened; that I(we) may know what is the hope of His calling, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power..."

Anyway, back to the Old Testament. This is very rudimentary for you who have studied, but my point is prayer, which I am getting to. In the Holy of Holies there were only two articles of furniture: the ark of the covenant and the golden altar of incense. Basically the ark of the covenant had the mercy seat under the overarching wings of the cherubim, where God's Shekinah glory dwelt. The golden altar of incense was that by which a nation was to offer its praise to God. This author was drawing a correlation that these two objects are symbolic of what is hidden in the depths of humanity.

The mercy seat speaks of human relationship with God. Hebrews tells us that it is blood alone that can make that relationship possible and acceptable.(Heb 9:22) It was the blood upon the mercy seat that released God's forgiveness and grace. Our Lord entered into the hidden spirit of humanity and offered His own blood. Hebrews 9:12, "He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, having obtained eternal redemption."

The altar of incense speaks of the communication between people and God, the place of prayer. Prayer is the deepest function of the human spirit. Nothing goes deeper than that. God, in the humanity of Jesus Christ, made the way through His redeeming blood for us to communicate with GOD! Us, not some saintly high priest, not some pastor we esteem, but US. We can pray anytime, all the time. We can 'do' what the human spirit was created to do. Whether driven to our knees by despair, defeat, exhaustion, need, joy, thanksgiving, sorrow, our spirit can cry out to the God of the universe. That is what prayer is at its most fundamental level: the cry of the spirit. God gave us a spirit that with the need for communion and the function of prayer. Then He gave us redemption through the blood of Jesus so that we could have those needs met and perform that function. He is our all in all. Through prayer we exercise that cry in our spirit.

Blessings, Kristian