When God gave instructions to Moses on building the tabernacle He also included instructions for the garments  of  the High Priest.  Moses is to have two onyx stones engraved with the names of the sons of Israel and set in gold.  These were to be placed on the shoulder pieces of the Priest’s garment as stones of remembrance.  Aaron was to bear their names before the presence of God for remembrance of each family.   So God had a faulty memory?  Is that what this is all about? 

No, I don’t think so.  But why would the great Creator require a reminder?  Yet even though we ask these questions, we all have experienced times when it seems as though God has forgotten us; times when we’d be thankful if someone with connection in the heavenly court could mention our name in His presence.  So why would God who knows all need this reminder? The rabbis have pondered this for centuries.

When we face deep disappointments, a serious illness or loved ones who wander from God’s ways, financial pressures that only increase with time…..what a comfort it would be to imagine a High Priest who comes into God’s presence daily carrying our names upon his very clothing.

 But, thanks be to God, we have a living High Priest, Yeshua (Jesus) who bears the stones of remembrance engraved with our names, continually before God.  He is the ultimate High Priest and has an unchangeable priesthood.  Because Yeshua intercedes for us, God never forgets us. This means that whenever we pray in His name, God “remembers” us. It means that He always hears us when we call upon Him in prayer.

Prayer, then, involves revisiting the goodness, power, and mercy of God continually.  In prayer, we not only ask God to remember us and our needs, but we remember Him with thanksgiving and a sense of awe.

The stones of remembrance teach another lesson which is perhaps the most striking.  In the presence of God, the priest does not bear his own name, but the names of his fellow Israelites.  Indeed, the names of the children of Israel are part of the clothing the priest must wear if he is to come into the Holy Place at all.  Without them he has no priesthood. 

As we learn about prayer from our Savior, our High Priest, we will begin to bear the names of others, as He does, into the presence of God.  Prayer is not just a satisfying spiritual activity; it is a discipline we practice on behalf of others. 

In this way, we not only benefit from the Messiah’s priesthood, but we participate in it as well.  Through our Messiah, we have access into God’s presence but we do not use this access just for ourselves.  Rather, we bear the stones of remembrance before God on behalf of others. 

Prayer then, involves remembrance: God remembers us, we remember God, and we remember others when we come into His presence.  This then becomes our service to others.  It is part of our discipleship.