“Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, Surely the Lord is in this place and I did not know it. He was afraid and said, How awesome is this place? This is none other than the house of God. This is the gate of heaven.”
– Genesis 28:16–17
Now, Genesis 28:16–17 come right after a dream, a pretty awesome dream in which God met with Jacob, and made promises to him. Much like we’ve seen his promises to Abraham and to Isaac, to bless Jacob, to cause his offspring to multiply so that all the families of the earth would be blessed through him. We see this theme again of multiplying, filling the earth. It just comes up over and over and over again. But what I love is the conclusion. Right after that, Jacob wakes up and says, “Wow! God is here. God is here. How awesome is this place? This is the house of God. I’ve just met with God. This is like the gate of heaven.”
Christ dying on the cross in our place has given us access to God. We constantly have communion with God.
We Have the Same Privilege as Jacob
Now, this picture in the Old Testament is awesome, this picture of Jacob meeting with God, but do we realize that this is the privilege that is no less awesome but that is available to you and me every day. All day long because of the work of Jesus on the cross? Like because Jesus has died on the cross, rose from the grave, made a way for you and I to be forgiven of our sins and reconciled to relationship with God, you and I have the privilege of communion with God. Like meeting with God anytime, all day long.
Just let that soak in. Any time, all day long. Right now, you have the privilege of meeting with God. I have the privilege of meeting with God. We’re about to pray in communion with God. How awesome is that?
Genesis 28:16–17: Asking God to Help Us See That We Have the Privilege of Communing With Him All Day
God, help us to realize how awesome this is, what Jacob was so overwhelmed by in Genesis 28:16–17 is an everyday privilege for us. When we think about even his words, “This is the house of God,” like we are your house. We are the temple of your Spirit. Our bodies are the temple of your Spirit. You dwell in us, with us, your presence with us just like you promised, Jesus, “I will be with you always.” That we are with you, that we have the privilege of communion with you at any moment all day long.
God, help us to realize how awesome this is and help us to live in it. Help us to live in this awesome reality all day long. Lord, help us to pray without ceasing. Teach us to pray without ceasing. Teach us to walk in communion with you, to live all day long in communion with you.
Jesus, we thank you. Thank you for making this privilege possible. Lord, keep us we pray from being a prayerless people when you’ve given us this privilege. Make us a praying people. Surely you are with us. Surely our bodies are a temple of your Spirit. How awesome is this? We praise you and we pray all day long as we take full advantage of this awesome privilege. In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.
David Platt serves as a pastor in metro Washington, D.C. He is the founder of Radical.
David received his Ph.D. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and is the author of Don’t Hold Back, Radical, Follow Me, Counter Culture, Something Needs to Change, Before You Vote, as well as the multiple volumes of the Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary series.
Along with his wife and children, he lives in the Washington, D.C. metro area.
