Exodus 30:7-10 “Aaron shall burn on it sweet incense every morning; when he tends the lamps, he shall burn incense on it. And when Aaron lights the lamps at twilight, he shall burn incense on it, a perpetual incense before the Lord throughout your generations. You shall not offer strange incense on it, or a burnt offering, or a grain offering; nor shall you pour a drink offering on it. And Aaron shall make atonement upon its horns once a year with the blood of the sin offering of atonement; once a year he shall make atonement upon it throughout your generations. It is most holy to the Lord.”

Remember that the tabernacle was a large portable tent structure that served as the center of
worship for the Israelite’s as they traveled along their journey to the Promised Land.. It was also the reminder of God’s presence among His people
The tabernacle was comprised of three areas
(a)The Outer Court..It was the general meeting area for the tabernacle..All Jewish people who had business at the tabernacle were welcome.. It held the Altar of Sacrifice and the Bronze Washbasin we studied last week..
(b) The Holy Place-This is the area where the priests performed a good number of their daily duties..It held the Menorah (Golden Lamp stand), The Table of Presence (Shew-bread), and the
Altar of Incense(the one mentioned in exodus 30:1-10)
(c) The Holy of Holies- This is the area where only the high priest could enter and do so only once a year to spread the blood on the mercy seat of God on the Day of Atonement..Inside the Holy of Holies was the Ark of the Covenant–God willing we will learn about this as we continue..
Right now we’re going to look at the altar of incense and its relationship to prayer..a wonderful time now that we are on the mountain..
The priest took a censer full of burning coals from the altar of sacrifice in one hand and some
specially prepared sweet incense in the other hand and ignited the incense by sprinkling it over
the burning coals on the altar of incense..A thick cloud of smoke curled upward filling the tabernacle, symbolic of Israel’s prayers to God
Let’s see how we can improve our prayer life through the comparison of the altar of incense with what the Bible teaches us concerning Christ and prayer..The closest the priests could come to God in daily worship was when they ministered at the altar of incense..The closest we can come to God is through prayer..
May God help us even as we purpose to draw close to Him..there is no substitute for prayer we shouldn’t worship and serve God according to our terms but according to His revealed will in the Bible…
The altar of incense was placed directly in front of the veil that separated the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies Because of Jesus, we have no veil separating us from the throne of God as under the Old Testament Law..That veil was torn at Christ’s death..I remember Brother Godfrey saying on Sunday that the veil is no more..we are at liberty ??? Thank you Jesus..We now have access to the throne of God through Him
I want to share with you this morning that for a while i have struggled with my own prayer life…1.My schedule just so tight..2 Is it really effective to pray ?..3.How do I know that my prayers are being heard?

I think there are some strong encouragements for prayer based on this lesson from the tabernacle..Our text this morning tells us that the priests were to ignite the incense twice a day: morning and evening..The incense burned 24 hours a day, 7 days a week so that the pleasing aroma was before the LORD..We’re instructed to “Pray without ceasing’..

The altar of incense portrays our prayer life..As we move through society we are like incense that has been crushed and burned, emitting the perfume of the knowledge of Christ to the glory of God..Without prayer we become spiritually weak and if it progresses, then spiritually powerless..

On the day of atonement, the high priest took some of the blood that was used to sprinkle the
mercy seat and put it on the horns of the altar of incense to cleanse it and separate it from the
sins of the people of Israel..When the blood from the sin offering was sprinkled on the horns of the altar, it symbolized a prayer for the pardon of sin.. It was the blood when applied that gave prayer its value.. it’s Christ’s blood that gives value to our prayers before God..And it is the blood of Christ that open the way for us to come before the throne of grace to find mercy and grace in the time of our need..

I will conclude this session by posting Heb.4:14-16 “Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”

May your day proceed victoriously in Jesus Name..may the revelation about the alter of incense..lead you to effective prayer..May God hear us as we call on Him 24/7..