God has a purpose and a move on the earth, and for Him to accomplish His purpose He needs His people to pray one with Him.
In the Old Testament God moved with the tabernacle in the midst of His people, and the purpose of our journey into God to enjoy all that He has is that we may experience the prayer at the incense altar in the Holy of Holies.
The prayer at the incense altar is for God’s move! In Exodus 30:1-16 we see that right after God speaks of the incense altar, there is the numbering of the people for the formation of the army.
For God to move and accomplish what He desires, He needs us to pray for the formation of an army to fight for His interest on earth (Num. 10:35).
Satan opposes God, and most people on earth today are also opposing God and His interest. Who wants to hear about God’s economy, and who cares for God’s purpose? Because of this, God needs an army to fight one with Him for His interest on earth.
There’s no “making a deal” or “signing an agreement” with God’s enemy – God needs to destroy His enemy, and He will do it through and with the help of the army of His people fighting for His interests on earth!
Lord, make us those who pray at the incense altar. Lord, gain an army! May there be an army formed to fight for Your interest on earth! Lord, number many believers to form them in Your army that fights one with You on earth!
The Church is for God’s Move on Earth
The church today is God’s expression on the earth, the embodiment of Christ for all men to see.
Just as in the Old Testament God moved with the tabernacle among His people (Exo. 25:8-9), so today God moves with the church among His people on earth. Everything related to our experience of the items in the tabernacle is related to God’s move on the earth.
We experience Christ as the reality of all the offerings for our peace and acceptance with God so that God can move on earth today. We experience the washing of the water in the Word, the bread of life, the light of life, the hidden manna, the resurrection life, and the law of life – for God to have a way to move on earth!
Particularly, we need to experience the intercession at the incense altar so that an army would be formed on earth to stand for God’s interest.
In Ephesians we see that the church is what is in God’s heart, and the church is the fullness of God (just as the tabernacle was in the Old Testament). Also, in Ephesians we see that the church is a corporate warrior fighting against not flesh and blood but the rulers and authorities and powers in the heavenlies, which oppose God (Eph. 6:10-12).
Today we as the church are God’s expression, God’s fullness, and God’s embodiment in Christ, and we need to pray at the incense altar for many of God’s people to be formed as an army to fight for God’s interest on earth!
God Moves by Fighting
Why does God need to fight? Why can’t He just “freely move and do what He wants to do”? In the universe today God has an enemy, Satan, and this one instigates most of the people on earth to oppose God.
This is the same when the people of Israel wanted to go into the good land (which was their land, given to them by God yet usurped by many other nations) and they were opposed by the Egyptians, the Amalekites, and all the tribes of Canaanites in the land of Canaan.
Today we have the same situation – whenever and wherever God wants to move, the enemy is fiercely opposing. When God tries to move in another direction, other enemies are opposing and frustrating. This is why today if God wants to move He needs a people to fight for Him and destroy His enemy.
God moves by fighting. When we pray at the incense altar one with Christ, we pray for the formation of an army to defeat the enemy and gain the land, the people, for God!
We need to advance in our experience and enjoyment of all the items in the tabernacle until we arrive at the incense altar and intercede for God’s move on the earth.
When God gains such prayers for His move at the incense altar, He can “number His people”, forming an army that will fight for Him. This army will destroy the devil and all his armies, which are not human beings but all kinds of angelic powers, evil spiritual authorities, demons, etc.
Hallelujah, God moves by fighting, and we can pray for His move at the incense altar that He may form an army to fight one with Him for His interests!
Pray for the Formation of God’s Army!
In the world today we see how most people live as if there is no God. Whether in so-called “Christian countries”, “Muslim countries”, or “Communist countries”, man is either ignorant of God or opposes God. Satan and his armies are working tirelessly to deceive man and turn man into God’s enemy.
But God wants to save man and give man life, and God loves man. God doesn’t want to judge man or condemn man; rather, He wants to be in an organic union with man and even make man the same as Christ in life and nature.
For this, for God to gain more human beings to be members of Christ for His expression on the earth, we need to rise up and pray. We need to pray not merely for our needs or the needs of the church, but pray for the formation of the army of God to fight for God’s interest on earth.
We need to grow in life and advance unto maturity so that we may be those who are formed as God’s army for God to move on earth. God moves by fighting, and He wants us to be part of God’s army that we may be part of God’s move on earth today!
May we really learn how to pray and pour out our God-touched-and-moved-heart to God for God’s intention and God’s will to be carry out!
We need to pray for God to have a breakthrough in all the countries in the world that many overcomers may rise up and intercede one with Christ at the incense altar for God’s move on earth!
Lord, we love You and we love Your heart’s desire. Save us from any passivity, Lord, and make us those who rise up to pray one with You at the incense altar. May we advance in our experience and growth in the divine life unto maturity, so that we may be fully joined to You in Your intercession for God’s move. Lord, form the army! Gain Your people to be in the army who fights for Your interests on earth! Gain the army to defeat all Your enemies and bring in Your kingdom on earth!
References and Further Reading
- Sharing inspired from brother Benson’s sharing in the message and portions in, Life-study of Exodus (msgs. 147-148, 153), as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on Prayer and the Lord’s Move, week 3 (entitled, Praying at the Incense Altar for the Formation of an Army to Fight for God’s Move on Earth).
- Hymns on this topic:
# Conflict today is fierce, / The strength of Satan more; / The cry of battle calling now / Is louder than before. / The rebel voice of hell / E’en stronger now becomes; / But list, the midnight cry resounds, / Behold, I quickly come!
# Fight the good fight with all thy might! / Christ is thy strength, and Christ thy right; / Lay hold on life, and it shall be / Thy joy and crown eternally.
# God wants His holy people to become His army; / Rise up, all ages! March on for His testimony. - Pictures source: with permission via, Inspiration Unlimited (Prayer and the Lord’s Move set).
We need to be impressed with the fact that when God’s chosen people arrive at the incense altar, they intercede for God’s move. The answer to this intercessory prayer requires the formation of an army. If we see this, we shall understand the relationship between the incense altar and the propitiation silver. At the incense altar we pray for God’s move. In order for this prayer to be answered, a census must be taken of those who are able to be formed into an army to fight for God’s move on earth. (Life-study of Exodus, pp. 1648-1650)
Thy hymns were enjoyable and encouraging. Num.10:35 is a great verse to pray-read. The paragraphs are great for pray-reading. However, I'd add "Lord Jesus" to each part of the prayer.
Oh Lord Jesus, may we "come forward" to the incense altar to pray with You Lord for Your heart's desire. Lord let us not remain in the outer-court but cause us to come forward. Oh Lord Jesus!
God needs us to interceded and pray for His move so that He can destroy His enemies. By interceding, the Lord form an army which He can use to fight for His move on earth. Lord Jesus, I want to be part of that army that fights for Your move!
We need to see that the tabernacle and everything related to it is for God’s move on earth. As God’s chosen people, we must experience all the aspects of the tabernacle until we arrive at the incense altar. At the incense altar, we intercede for God’s move. In particular, we pray for the formation of the army of the Lord, an army to fight for God’s move on earth. In the Old Testament, the Egyptians, the Amalekites, the Canaanites were God’s enemies, opposing God’s move on earth. Even His own people could be enemies to Him, hindering Him. Who is for God? In ourselves we also are God's enemies, O Lord Jesus.
Today, Satan is deceiving people on the earth to join him to fight against God and His move on earth. What, then, shall He do? God must fight in order to destroy all His enemies. Ephesians tells us that the church, God’s people, should be a warrior fighting not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities and powers in the air. God moves by fighting…
“O Lord Jesus, grow in all Your people, so that we would be qualified to be Your army, so that You could rise up, and let Your enemies be scattered, and those who hate You flee before You.”
Amen Hallelujah, Praise be to God. We have to grow unto maturity so that we are qualified for Gods purpose here on earth. To be the army of God to fight and destroy all His enemies. We are God's people we should be a warrior fighting not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities and powers in the air. Oh Lord Jesus, gain us more and more so we will be qualified as your army. Amen.
Amen I really enjoy it. Praise the Lord
God need to destroy His enemy and with the help of his army.His people fighting for his interest on earth.God has a purpose to accomplish his interest to move on earth.God need us to pray one with Him…Amen