“Then the glory of the Lord went out from the threshold of the house and stood over the cherubim.”
– Ezekiel 10:18
So this chapter, Ezekiel 10, records what’s basically the beginning of the withdrawal of God’s glory from the temple. The temple was this place where God had chosen and set up for His glory, to dwell His presence in a powerful way, to dwell in the middle of His people. And with judgment coming upon Jerusalem, the temple is going to be destroyed.
This picture of the glory of God in the middle of His people being withdrawn. When I read this, I realize in a fresh way that the one thing you and I need most today is the presence of God in all of His glory with us. We’ve seen this apart from God, with us, we are hopeless. So realize that in a fresh way today, apart from God with you, you are hopeless.
Ezekiel 10:18 Reminds of Our Greatest Need
Your greatest need today is the presence of God with you. And the good news is for all who’ve trusted in Jesus, you have the Holy Spirit of God dwelling in you. Your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. So, God, we pray, in total dependence on You and Your presence, Your spirit in us. We pray. We need You. And we can’t do anything today apart from You. And we don’t want to do anything today apart from You, we don’t want to wander from You. We don’t want to grieve Your spirit. And we want to obey Your spirit. We want to walk in step with Your spirit in everything we do today.
So God, we pray that You would help us to turn from sin, to glorify You with everything we think, everything we desire, everything we say, everything we write, every decision we make, on everything we do today. The way we relate to people around us, God, may it all be a reflection of Your glory, Your spirit in us, and oh God, may Your glory spread through us.
Ezekiel 10:18 Teaches Us about God’s Love for the Nations
I think about Your word to us in Acts 1:8, that we have power from the Holy Spirit in us, to be witnesses for You today. So God, may Your spirit in us achieve its intended effect that people might hear about the glory of Your name through our mouths today, that You would use us to share the gospel today and the power of Your spirit in us to lead others to know You.
Right around us, God, as we pray, knowing You set up the temple as a display of Your glory for all the nations to see. And now here we are, temples of Your Holy Spirit commissioned to go to all the nations, to spread Your glory so that all of them will see and know You.
Praying for the Makua People of Mozambique
God, we pray for the Makua people of Mozambique, half a million of them, hardly any followers of Jesus in this Muslim people group. God, cause the Makua people to see You in Your glory, through temples of Your Holy Spirit, going and spreading the gospel to them. We praise You for Your spirit inside of us today. Help us to walk in step with Your Spirit, follow the leadership of Your spirit as witnesses where we live and from where we live to the ends of the earth for the spread of Your glory, all over the world. In Jesus’ name, we pray according to Ezekiel 10. 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.
