“I will lift up my eyes to the mountains; from whence shall my help come? My help comes from the Lord who made heaven and earth.” Psalm 121:1-2
In July of 2009 my wife and I undertook the grueling task of hiking to the top of Half Dome in Yosemite Valley.
Our goal was to let our faith be an action by doing what we felt He had called us to do declaring our sincere earnestness to bring a multitude of needs before Him. Of course we know we don’t have to do this for God to hear us, but we felt it was important for us to experience what could be called the “mountain experience” documented in His word. The Bible reveals that the mountains were a place of great spiritual activity. The ark found it’s first security on a mountain (Gen.8:40), Abraham’s testing took place there (Gen.22:1-19), the ten commandments were given there (Ex. 19:2-25), Moses looked into Canaan (Deut. 34:1), Jesus defeated the devil (Matt. 4:8), Jesus gave the great sermon (Matt. 5:1), Jesus personally prayed there (Matt. 14:23), Jesus transfiguration (Matt. 17:1), prophecy about the end was given (Matt. 24:3), and the ascension (Luke 24:50).
The mountains represent a place where man and God can meet. This is because it is not the result of convenience, but must come about by sense of conviction leading to a journey that requires some sacrifice. The journey itself often is a preparation for the climber, and a real opportunity to conquer obstacles that have hindered the results of prayer in the past.
How wonderfully exhausting yet fulfilling it was to build an altar to the Lord, leaving there all that we wanted Him to deal with.
How grateful one feels as we appreciate the fact that Jesus comes to meet us when we draw near to Him. We know the location was not as important as the activity the location demanded. It allowed our life activity to be our prayer, adding earnestness and desire to our words.
