The Centrality of God’s Presence (Numbers 2:1–2)
The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, “The people of Israel shall camp each by his own standard, with the banners of their fathers’ houses. They shall camp facing the tent of meeting on every side.
—Numbers 2:1–2
I love this picture in Numbers 2. Just imagine it: you are traveling together as the people of God, and you set up camp at various points. Whenever you camp, God commands you to gather by clan and by family, with everyone facing the tent of meeting.
This is the place where Moses would go to meet with God and intercede on behalf of the people. It symbolized the presence of God in the midst of his people. Everything in the camp was designed to center on the tent of meeting—to center on the presence of God among them.
As I read this picture in the Old Testament, I find myself thinking, I want that to be true in my life today. And yet, there is no longer a tent of meeting. There is not even a temple where the glory of God’s presence dwells in the midst of his people. The New Testament makes clear that Jesus has died on the cross, making a way for all of us to experience the presence of God, so that we ourselves might be the temple of his Holy Spirit.
Knowing that, I am compelled to pray that God would center everything in my life—in my family, in your life, in your family, in your work, in everything we do—around his presence.
May everything in our lives revolve around the presence and glory of God at the center. O God, we pray for this today: center us around you. Let your presence not be merely a part of our lives, off to the side.
God, we do not want to miss out on life by giving you only lip service—on a Sunday, or at a particular time during the day or week. We want to live fully centered around you, not around anything else in this world.
Not around ourselves, not around other people, not around other pursuits—our jobs, our studies, our sports, or the many things we are tempted to prioritize instead of you. May it not be so. God, be the center of our lives in every facet, at every moment of every day.
May everything revolve around you. Help us to see all things through your perspective. Let your Word be ever before our minds. Let your Spirit lead, guide, and direct every thought, every desire, every word, every action, and every interaction.
May this be true in our families and in our churches—that you would be the center, with everyone focused on you, fixing our attention and affections continually upon you.
And, O God, as temples of your Holy Spirit, help us to lead others to see you, as those who carry your presence and your power within us (Acts 1:8). Help us to be your witnesses today. Help us to point others to you as we live centered on you. Help us to encourage our brothers and sisters in Christ in this way.
God, please use our lives today to share the gospel with someone, that they might experience the life found in you at the center.
A Prayer for the Jola-Felupe People
We pray also for the Jola-Felupe people of Guinea-Bissau. O God, for this small people group in West Africa—an animistic people—we pray that the gods and spirits they are prone to worship would be seen for what they are. Help them to realize that you are the center of the universe, that Jesus, you are the center of history, and that you have come to save and satisfy them forever as the center of their lives.
God, we pray for the spread of the gospel among the Jola-Felupe people of Guinea-Bissau.
We pray all of this in Jesus’ name. Center our lives today wholly around you, all day long. We pray in his name, in the name of the one who makes this life possible. Amen.
