The Ladder to Heaven

UV 577/10,000 Genesis 28 v 12 Building the Ladder to Heaven Genesis 28 v 12 And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven: and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it By our prayer life we build a ladder to heaven. It is a two way staircase, on one side the angels take our prayers and petitions to the Lord. On the other, the angels or messengers of God carries back to us the answers to our prayers. It is also a two way channel by which our praise and worship rises to the Lord and His blessings and grace flows back to us. Our priorities should not be earth-bound. When we climb a ladder, we don’t think of anything else but to reach the top. Similarly, we too must always aim for excellence in order to glorify God. We cannot take rest while climbing a ladder. Hence, we must be tireless in our pursuit of excellence and spiritual growth. The sight of a climber of a ladder is fixed upwards. He does not look backward or downward or he will loose focus and balance. Hence, we too must have our focus upwards and not downwards. The ladder should not be shaky and weak. A ladder needs a firm footing. Similarly, in our spiritual life, we need to have a firm footing in the Word of God or instead of seeing dreams sent by the Lord, we will be deluded and eventually disillusioned by our own dreams. The ladder should not rest on the wrong wall. If the ladder is resting on the wall of career and earthly pursuits, we will find at the end of life that all along we were climbing the wrong wall. The ladder needs to rest on the wall of heaven. We need to desire to be in the presence of God. The angels are ministering spirits sent to aid, assist and guard our steps towards the Lord. Our destination – Heaven is so high, it is impossible to reach it on our own strength. We can ask the Lord specifically to send His angels to our help. A believer who met me recently explained a vision he had of a huge ladder some twenty feet in width that stood all the way to heaven and a very tall and massive angel about 12 feet in height, helping people up the ladder. A ladder is climbed rung by rung. Similarly, we climb the ladder to heaven, day by day, moment by moment and experience by experience. Our spiritual growth needs to be gradual and consistent. A ladder is also a metaphor or symbol for a leader. A leader is one who enables others too to climb into heaven. Jacob’s dream was not meant only to encourage him but it was meant to be shared and experienced by all mankind. Eventually, Jesus the Messiah sent by God became the ladder by which we enter the presence of God. Prateep V Philip