Always Praying
The Altar of Incense
1 “You shall make an altar on which to burn incense; you shall make it of acacia wood.
The articles of the Tabernacle all served as a purpose for God in His message to the nation of Israel in regard to how they worshiped. The above text is no exception. God instructed Moses to build an Alter of Incense that would sit right outside the vail of the Holy of Holies. Remember, the vail separated the people from God. It was torn in half when Jesus was crucified, symbolizing that Jesus took away that want separates us from God. But, while the vail was enacted, there was an Alter of Incense right outside the vail. Everyone would be able to see it burning. The priest were to put incense on it in the morning and at night. It would burn continuously. This is a picture of the prayers of the saints that go continually before God. Note these passages of Scripture:
2 Let my prayer be counted as incense before you,
and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice!
Revelation 5:8 (ESV)
8 And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.
Revelation 8:3-4 (ESV)
3 And another angel came and stood at the altar with a golden censer, and he was given much incense to offer with the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar before the throne, 4 and the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, rose before God from the hand of the angel.
17 pray without ceasing,
God takes our prayers seriously. It is great to have a morning prayer time. It is greater to have a morning, noon and night prayer time. It is even greater to never stop praying. It has been well said we should not only have stated prayers, we should constantly be in a state of prayer. We are the priest of God now, through Christ. And, as such, we are to burn incense (our prayers) continually before the presence of God.
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