Burning Incense

Scripture

So let there be a regular burning of incense before the LORD for all time.

~Exodus 30:7, REB

Quote

We are not to pray so we can get on with the business, prayer is the business.

~Jack Taylor

In the Old Testament, burning incense was a parallel to prayer. There was a special altar where Aaron placed the incense, it was very close to the curtain that separated the most Holy Place from the Holy Place. When the incense was ignited, the smoke rose upward, a symbol of our prayers ascending to heaven. This particular spot in the Tabernacle was the place of prayer and it was not to be used for anything else. Before dark, Arron would lite the lamps and at sunrise he would snuff them out. So at these two times, right before dark and right after daylight, the priest would offer incense while the people stood outside in a state of prayer. This was what Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist, was doing when the angel appeared to him. When he went outside to the waiting crowd, he could not speak.

I’m sure you have heard people make jokes about burning incense but smoking tobacco and pot is not the same thing. The only thing that separated the altar of incense and the ark was a curtain; other than that, they were very close in terms of proximity. So confession of our sin and understanding our brokenness is paramount to prayer. Of course, it is good to begin our prayers with praise and adoration but sometimes confession has to come first.

What I like about the Exodus account is not only the PLACE prayer but the HABIT. They did it every morning and night, every day of the week and every month of the year. Moses said, “This is to be a regular practice before the LORD for all time.” We can learn from their example: we need a place to pray, a time to pray and we need to make pray a practice. A passion for prayer will not just happen. It takes some effort on our park to show up for practice and once it becomes a practice, it will become a passion and you will not be able to live without it.

Looking forward to another LORD’s Day. LORD willing, I will be preaching twice at the POINT, 9:15 and 10:15 and then again at DBC at 6:15. We are still in the Miracle of Mark in the a.m. and Psalm 13 tonight. Hope to see you in one place or the other today.

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