by Dr. Rebecca Dowden

abdowden@aol.com



Prayer is the mystery that lifts us up and connects us to God. Like the fragrant smoke of the ancient priests’ incense swirling towards the heavens, our prayers mysteriously combine the depths of our souls with the heart of God.

Has your fire for God gone out?  God wants to ignite your heart and create the incense of prayer in your life.

Revelations 5:8 tells us the prayers of God’s people are like bowls full of incense.
Psalms 141:2  says, “May my prayer be set before you like incense”
Andrew Murray a renown writer, teacher, and Christian pastor of the early 20th century said ,"We must begin to believe that God, in the mystery of prayer, has entrusted us with a force that can move the Heavenly world, and can bring its power down to earth."

I’m sure we have a lot in common when it comes to prayer.  I have seen God answer yes to my requests in ways I never imagined, but I have also felt the sting of His answer No, and I have waited…longing for a word from him….but some of the most meaningful times I have had in prayer with God is when I have sat in his presence and basked in his majesty and incomprehensible love for me…these were usually times when I realized that I had nothing without Him and that the hole in my soul couldn’t be filled by anything I could ask for or any person on this earth.

While I know that just like in any kind of relationship, there are ingredients that can make prayer richer and more meaningful. If we do things in our relationship with God, just like with others we love, just as steps or formulas and they haven’t grown out of love and reverence to God, they will be meaningless. Every day, I must remind myself that God desires my heart above all things.

Because we desire the fire that only God can ignite in our heart AND want our prayers to be lovely fragrances that rise up to Him—it is only logical that we go back to God’s word and explore the origins of this beautiful image of prayer.

In Exodus 30 He gives Moses specific instructions for making the Altar of incense. This was one of the altars inside the Tabernacle that the Israelites built. The priests would place the burning incense on this special altar & the smoke from the burning incense represented the prayers of the people as it ascended into heaven for all to see.

Obedience to God

In Exodus 19:2 God makes it clear that the end goal of all of these instructions is to make His people holy – meaning to be set apart. The most important and obvious aspect of God’s instructions for the altar of incense is the call to obedience.  God was very specific in His instructions. And worship & communion with God would come out of the Israelites obedience to God instructions.

Placement of Altar

In Verse 6 says, “Put the altar in front of the curtain that shields the Ark of the Covenant law—where I will meet with you.” 

The altar of incense was placed in front of curtain which shielded the Ark of the Covenant, which was the Holy of Holies inside the tabernacle.  The Holy of Holies was where God’s presence resided inside Tabernacle, and it was so holy that the high priest could only enter it once a year after the cleansing on the Day of Atonement.

The altar was a place set a part for the purpose of burning the incense. The burning incense, like our prayers, was brought before God.

And like this altar, God wants us to come before Him and set ourselves apart.  He wants us to do this through the time and the place of our prayer and through purifying our hearts through confession.

So many times we are busy and we push God and our time with him to the back burner.  I know I struggle with this every day.  And I’m amazed how I can forget the mystery of God and prayer and what a difference it makes me my life.  If I remembered, I wouldn’t  place it farther and farther down on my to-do list, I wouldn’t cut my time short with God – simply running through the paces of my time with him.

How about you, are you willing to make God your first priority? Are you willing to open your heart to him and confess your sins?  Ask God for His holy spirit to prompt you and move you to prayer. He will --because he desires time with you and he loves you.

My prayer for you today is that you will desire the fire in your heart that only God can give you for him.  I pray that you will set yourself apart and give yourself whole heartedly to God and in doing so I pray that your prayers will not only be fragrant smoke that lifts to the heavens but that it will be the sweet aroma of God’s love that engulfs you and gives you the peace that passes all understanding. 
Next month will continue to look at the instructions for prayer in Exodus 30.
 
© Rebecca Dowden