Bread of Presence
The Bread of Presence represents the Word of God.
John 1:14 (KJV)
14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.
The Word of God (Jesus) become flesh and dwelt upon the earth as a human but at the same time Jesus was also God and was the only begotten of the Father and was full of grace and truth. So when the believer approaches the table of the Bread of Presence this speaks of God’s presence being manifest in the word of God.
Deuteronomy 8:3 (NIV)
3 He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your fathers had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD.
Humans need more than just natural food like natural bread made from flour. Humans are also spiritual beings and they need the bread of God’s word to feed them spiritually. Just as natural bread satisfies natural hunger so the Word of God is spiritual bread which can satisfy spiritual hunger.
Luke 4:4 (NIV)
4 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man does not live on bread alone.'”
Jesus said that mankind cannot live by natural bread alone thus signifying that humans are both natural and spiritual beings. They need natural food for their natural body but they also need spiritual food for their spiritual being.
Praying the Word
When the believer formulates their prayer request to the Lord they need to do so in line with God’s word. God’s word is a reflection of God’s will so if they pray according to the Word of God their prayers will be scriptural and will receive answers from God.
See the link “Praying the Word” for more details
Illustration of Prayer for a Spouse
One example of illustration of praying according to God’s word could be that of a prayer for a spouse.
Genesis 2:18 (NIV)
18 The LORD God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.”
It is evident from God’s word that praying for a spouse is a good thing for a single-man because God’s word says it is not good for a man to be alone. A woman was created for the man and she holds all of the missing parts of a man. Therefore, when a single man is married to a woman then he has all that is missing within him restored back to him again and then he becomes one complete-person in marriage!
But at the same time, one must consider the full-counsel of the word of God when formulating prayer petitions. For example, it would be absurd for a single-man to pray for the wife of another married man because that would be unscriptural.
Matthew 5:31-32 (NLT2)
31 “You have heard the law that says, ‘A man can divorce his wife by merely giving her a written notice of divorce.’
32 But I say that a man who divorces his wife, unless she has been unfaithful, causes her to commit adultery. And anyone who marries a divorced woman also commits adultery.
This scripture above says that if a man marries a woman who was divorced then he would be committing adultery and the same would also be true if he took a married woman for his own wife. This is because God views the marriage union as permanent until death parts the husband and wife. If a woman is divorced then it is as if she is still married in the sight of God and to marry a divorced women causes a man to commit adultery in God’s sight.
Therefore, if a single man prays to God for a spouse then it should be understood that he should pray to receive an unmarried single girl and a virgin. If he is a widow and his wife passed away then it would be alright if he married another woman who is a widow like himself since both are free from the marriage covenant by the death of their own spouse (rather than by divorce).
Obvious Application
This may seem like an obvious thing to consider but it is also an illustration that when making a prayer request that the full-counsel of God’s word should be considered. A single man should therefore ask God for a spouse but his spouse should be an unmarried virgin girl for his first preference.
All of the scriptures should be considered when making a prayer petition so that one scripture does not come into conflict with another. Thus, by having a scriptural prayer request a single unmarried man can ask for an unmarried virgin girl for his spouse and that would be the best choice for him and is something that is scriptural and based upon God’s word.
Therefore “Praying the Word” is equal to praying God’s “will” because God’s word is his “will” made manifest. By taking the full-counsel of God’s word, a believer can formulate their request to God based on scripture and know that God always hears and answers prayers that are based upon the Word of God.
When the believer approaches the table of Bread of Presence, they should formulate their prayer petitions based upon the word of God. God’s presence is contained in this Word so scriptural prayer requests based on the Word of God find ready acceptance from God and answers to prayer.