I was reminded this week of the story of Moses, and the coping strategies that he used in order to avoid getting too stressed out and over-burdened. On at least two different occasions, other people are called in to help Moses and to help ease the burdens of leadership (cf. Ex. 17-18). However, on an ongoing basis, Moses is strengthened and renewed by regularly meeting with God in the tent of meeting (Ex. 33).

In case you’re wondering, the tent of meeting was basically a portable temple. The tent went with the Israelites as they traveled through the wilderness, and when they would stop and set up camp, the tent would be set up far outside the camp. Anybody who wanted to be in the presence of God would go out to the tent of meeting. Moses also went out to the tent of meeting on a regular basis in order to talk and to listen to God. For Moses, this was his place of prayer.

I remember hearing a speaker a number of years ago talking about how he had set up his own “tent of meeting.” It was a place that he would go to on a regular basis in order to pray and be aware of the presence of God. It was a place where he could get away from distractions and be by himself. It was a place which he used only for prayer.

While it is perhaps easy to say that we don’t need such a place (after all, God is everywhere, right?), there are some very good reasons to have a “tent of meeting.” For one thing, most of us get distracted pretty easily, and it helps to have a place where our focus is only on God. At the same time, when we have a specific place for prayer, we are far more aware when we haven’t been there for a while.

As to where a tent of meeting might be, here are a few options: For some people, there is actually a room available in their place of residence, and that becomes their place for prayer. For others, a corner of a room might be all that’s available, and that can be set up as a place for prayer. For some, an outdoor place works better (although that’s rather difficult in the winter!), or perhaps there is an actual tent or shack or cabin available. Others make the church their place of prayer, and come when nobody else is around in order to pray. Still others – if they don’t get much “alone” time or live in a particularly busy household – might have to settle for the bathtub as a place of prayer.

Different things are going to work for different people, and not everybody has the same options available to them. Whatever it is that is going to work for you, it is well worth taking some time to think about it and to set up your own “tent of meeting.” It wasn’t only Moses who needed regular times for prayer and communion with God.
You might recall that even Jesus needed such times and that his “tent of meeting” tended to be on mountains (Mk. 6:46). Where is your tent?

In Christ,

Pastor Lynne Hutchison