Leviticus 24:1-3

And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Command the children of Israel, that they bring unto thee pure oil olive beaten for the light, to cause the lamps to burn continually. Without the vail of the testimony, in the tabernacle of the congregation, shall Aaron order it from the evening unto the morning before the Lord continually: it shall be a statute for ever in your generations.

I have been reading Leviticus and seeing things I have not seen before. God commanded the children of Israel to keep the lamps in the tabernacle lit all day and night. So, I started to think about that and wondered if there was an equivalent thing in New Testament time. At first, I thought of John 8:12, where we learn that Jesus is the light of the world. And we know that he is eternal, and his light shines forever.

But this constant light reminded me of something else.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.

Just like the people of God were called to keep the lamps lit constantly, we are called to pray constantly. Prayer is basically communication with God. This means that we are to have constant communication with God. And that lamp was such a great reminder of the need to have constant communion with God. It reminded me that we should be connected with him in everything we do. Remember him with every word we speak and every step we make. I know this is not an easy thing to do. It’s common to forget God when things get busy, and we focus on everything else. But we can get there bit by bit if we intentionally choose to spend time with him, in his word, in prayer and ultimately in everything.  

In the past, the priest prayed for the people. He went to God on their behalf. They could not do it themselves. Now we can do it ourselves. Jesus has made it possible for us to skip over every obstacle, and we can access God directly. And so we need to recognise what a privilege it is and fully use it. This is the lamp we need to tend to and keep it lit for God continually. It’s like having an open communication line with God all the time. Having a best friend that you tell everything. What’s on our hearts, what hurts us, how much we appreciate that he is there with us taking care of us, our desires and our dreams.

So, let’s light that lamp of prayer now!