Psalm 77:13 says, “Your way, O God, is in the sanctuary.” The sanctuary was a 3-D teaching tool, designed by God to show us how to come to Jesus, stay with Jesus, and be ready for Jesus when He comes. As a priest entered through the gate into the courtyard, he would walk past the altar, past the laver, and into the holy place, where he would see three articles of furniture. The table of showbread, representing God’s Word, was on the north side. Opposite this was a seven-branched candlestick on the south. This symbolized our witness for Jesus, when our hearts are ignited with the oil of the Holy Spirit. Then right in front of the veil was the altar of incense. This altar symbolized the prayers of the saints that ascend with the sweet merits of Jesus’ righteousness (Rev. 8:3).
In these three sacred articles of furniture we see represented three essential things to sustain our daily walk with Jesus. Namely, Bible study, Spirit-filled witness, and prayer. But have you ever stopped to think about the placement of the altar of incense?
It was right in front of the veil. On the other side of the veil, in the most holy place, was the ark of the covenant. This sacred chest had a special lid with two golden angels on it called the mercy seat, because it symbolized the throne of God. I love that this is the name given to God’s throne; truly His throne is a throne of mercy, not marble!
The placement of the altar of incense, right in front of the veil that separated the holy place from the most holy place, means that nothing brings us closer to God than prayer. Prayer is the opening of our hearts to God, not His secretary, or His inbox, but to God as to a friend.
Whenever I look at Jesus’ life, I’m always impressed by how much He saw the need to pray even though He was perfect and the Son of God. He started His ministry in the wilderness, praying and fasting. Then He closed His public ministry in the Garden of Gethsemane and on the cross, praying as well. The Gospel writers tell us that Jesus withdrew to a mountainside to pray early in the morning and sometimes all through the night. If you’ve never known what it is to kneel where no human voice can be heard, beneath a tree or in the silent starlight, and look up to talk to God, you’re missing something words can’t describe; something a child of God should know. Jesus saw the daily need to pray and ask for God’s direction and wisdom. And if He did, how much more should we? Nothing brings us closer to God than prayer. He is only ever a prayer away.