How do we prepare for worship and/or access to God’s presence?

In Moses’ days it was dangerous to encounter God’s holy presence without appropriate cleansing and preparation. The preparation was detailed and meticulous. How about in the 21^st century? How do we prepare to access God’s presence?

First, I must mention that in Moses’ days, God’s presence was no always available for every person. The priests were the ones who had access to God’s presence, and their preparation to meet with God was literally a matter of life and death.

How was it? 1 Chronicles 15:

¹¹ Then David summoned Zadok and Abiathar the priests, and Uriel, Asaiah, Joel, Shemaiah, Eliel and Amminadab the Levites. ¹² He said to them, “You are the heads of the Levitical families; you and your fellow Levites are to consecrate yourselves and bring up the ark of the Lord, the God of Israel, to the place I have prepared for it. ¹³ It was because you, the Levites, did not bring it up the first time that the Lord our God broke out in anger against us. We did not inquire of Him about how to do it in the prescribed way.” ¹⁴ So the priests and levites consecrated themselves in order to bring up the Ark of the Lord, the God of Israel. ¹⁵ And the Levites carried the ark of God with the poles on their shoulders, as Moses had commanded in accordance with the word of the Lord.

Here are some things to note from the above passage: a place was prepared for the Ark of Covenant/God’s presence, (vs. 1); they had to seek the Lord (Prayer, vs 13); the levites and the priests were to consecrate (make holy) themselves vs.14. Barry Hall, “A technical definition of consecration means that you are to set yourself apart from evil, turn to the Lord, and be prepared to be used by God.” The Bible says, "You shall consecrate yourselves therefore and be holy, for I am the Lord your God" (Leviticus 20:7).  2 Chron. 29:31, “Then Hezekiah said, ‘Now you have consecrated yourselves to the Lord; come near and bring sacrifices and thank offerings into the house of the Lord....’”

To approach God’s presence the priests were required to be consecrated in a specific manner (Ex. 29:1-46; Lev 8:1-36); wear sacred garments (Ex. 30:7-8); burn fragrant incense on the altar every morning & evening (Ex. 30:7-8); wash their hands and feet with water from the sacred basin (Ex 30: 19-21); and make atonement annually with the blood of the sin offering for atonement (Ex. 30:10). There was stiff penalty for the priests if they did not comply with these regulations (eg. Aaron’s sons missed the mark, and God literally sent fire to consume them-Lev 10).

There are many times I have approached God’s presence with presumption. The holiness of God can be so familiar to us that we lose the respect of where we are and how we got there. There are times I have rushed into the throne room instead of waiting for His guidance.

In the 21^st century, every person has access to the throne room. God’s presence is available to every person. God expects us to approach His throne of grace with confidence (Heb 4:16) and at the same time in humility.

In his sermon no. 1024 delivered on November 19th, 1871, C. H. Spurgeon states that God is to be viewed in prayer as our Father; that is the aspect which is dearest to us; but still we are not to regard Him as though he were such as we are; He is infinitely greater than ourselves and is to be regarded as King, and in prayer we come, not only to our Father's feet, but we come also to the throne of the Great Monarch of the universe. The mercy-seat is a throne, and we must not forget this. He then suggests the following:  prayer should always be regarded by us as an entrance into the courts of the royalty of heaven; our spirit should, in the first place, be one of lowly reverence. It is expected that the subject in approaching to the king should pay him homage and honour. The king before whom we come is the highest of all monarchs, the King of kings, the Lord of lords. Emperors are but the shadows of His imperial power. “My soul be thou sure that when thou drawest nigh to the Omnipotent, who is as a consuming fire, thou put thy shoes from off thy feet, and worship Him with lowliest humility.” Secondly, the throne is to be approached with devout joyfulness. Whenever we approach the throne of grace, it should be with complete submission. We are called to the throne of grace, not to the throne of law. Rocky Sinai once was the throne of law, when God came to Paran with ten thousand of his holy ones. Who desired to draw near to that throne? Let us ask the Spirit of God to put us in a right frame, that every one of our prayers may be a reverential approach to the Infinite Majesty above.