When we Pray we need to be in God, have God in us, and Offer Christ as Incense to God

The Lord Jesus in His heavenly ministry is interceding for us; He is at the golden incense altar offering prayers and intercessions for God’s interest, His administration, His people, and everything that is in God’s heart.

Actually, Christ Himself is the reality of the incense altar: He is the One who constantly prays, constantly intercedes, and He has a praying life, an interceding life, into which we as His Body can and should enter.

We as believers in Christ are members of the Body-Christ, and we should be joined to Christ and one with Him in His intercession today. The more we respond to Christ’s heavenly ministry by praying one with Him at the golden incense altar, the more God can accomplish what is in His heart, and the sooner the Lord’s return is.

However, before we can intercede with Christ at the incense altar we need to realize three crucial matters: first, we need to be in the tabernacle (we need to be in God, in the incarnated God – Christ); then, we need to be supplied with Christ as our food (God needs to be in us in the form of food); and thirdly, we need to offer Christ as our prayer to God (the reality of incense is Christ as the One acceptable to God).

Not everyone can offer the intercessory prayer God needs at the incense altar – it only those who are in God, who have God in them as their life supply, and who offer Christ as their prayer can intercede with Christ at the incense altar.

We all need to see three matters. First, when we pray, we should be in the tabernacle. Second, when we are about to pray, we should first be satisfied by eating holy food. Third, when we pray, we should offer incense to God. This means that when we pray, we should pray in God, we should pray with God within us as our energizing supply, and we should pray with Christ as the incense. Then we shall burn incense to God. I believe that if we have this view concerning prayer, our prayer life will be revolutionized. May we all see this view and experience such a revolution. (Witness Lee, Life-study of Exodus, p. 1616)

When we Pray, we should be Experientially be in God

Only the priests could come to the incense altar, and in order for them to burn the incense on the altar they had to be in the tabernacle, in the Holy Place. In order for us to intercede with Christ at the incense altar, we should be in the tabernacle, that is, we should be in God.

Our God is enterable: Christ came as the tabernacle of God with man (John 1:14), and He has prepared many abodes for us in the Father’s house so that we may be in God as the many members of the Body of Christ (John 14:2-3, 30, 13-14).

We are the many branches in the vine (John 15:4, 7), and we should abide in Him, that is, we should be in Christ. Christ’s desire is that we would be with Him where He is, that is, that we would be in God (John 17:24) and He would be in us (v. 26).

The picture of the tabernacle portrays Christ as the incarnated God, and because the incense altar is in the center of the tabernacle, for us to be at the incense altar we need to be in the incarnated God, in Christ! Whenever we pray, we should experientially be in God; then, we will not only pray “to God” but also pray IN GOD.

However, too many prayers are offered by genuine believers who are not in God; they pray for many things related to their health, family, work, situation, etc, but they are not in God. We need to realize our sinful and unclean condition, and we need to come forward to God through Jesus Christ (who is the way, the reality, and the life, John 14:6) to be in God by means of Christ as the reality of all the offerings.

When the Jews pray, they may be closer to God than the Gentiles, but they are still outside of Him. Many Christians who lack enlightenment and experience or who are indifferent offer God prayers at the altar in the outer court, but they don’t come into the tabernacle, in God Himself.

When we pray, we should experientially be in God so that we may pray in God; this kind of prayers are acceptable to God.

Lord Jesus, we want to intercede with You at the incense altar by being in God. Save us from praying merely at the altar in the outer court. Bring us on with You until we are IN GOD to pray one with Christ at the incense altar. Lord, we want to experientially be in God so that we may pray not only to God but pray in God for the fulfillment of His purpose. Lord, we want to abide in You, be in You, and pray in You.

Before we Pray we should be Satisfied by Eating Christ to Pray with God as our Energizing Supply

Before the priests offered the incense on the golden altar, they had to be supplied with the bread of the presence. When we are about to pray, we should first be satisfied by eating holy food – that is, we should pray with God within us as our energizing supply.

Christ is the Lamb of God taking away the sin of the world (John 1:29), and we need to eat His flesh and drink His blood in order to have a part in Him and with Him (John 6:53-56). This means that before we can intercede with Christ at the incense altar we need to feed on Christ and take Him in our supply so that we may have God in us as we pray in God and to God.

Christ is the reality of all the offerings, and the meat of the offerings are for the supply of the priests; before we can intercede with Christ at the incense altar, we need to be properly supplied and inwardly satisfied with Christ as our energizing supply.

We need to feast upon Christ as the bread of the Presence (Exo. 25:30) and we need to eat Him, masticate Him, digest Him, and assimilate Him, so that He may be in us.

If we are about to do anything, we need to have the proper supply; if we go on a long journey or are about to do a certain activity, we need to first eat and be properly nourished. The food we eat energizes us to do the things we need to do. Similarly, as priests to God we first need to be in God and we need to have God in us as our inward energizing element for us to pray one with Christ at the incense altar.

On the one hand, Christ is the tabernacle for us to enter into God, and on the other hand, He is the offerings and the bread of the presence for us to have God in us as our supply. If we would come to the incense altar, we must be persons who are in God and who have God in us; we should be one with God and mingled with Him (John 14:20; 1 Cor. 6:17).

Praying at the incense altar requires that we are a certain kind of person, a person who is in God and who has God in him, a person who is one with God and is mingled with Him.

Lord Jesus, we want to experientially be in God and have God in us as our energizing supply so that we may be mingled with God and pray in God at the incense altar! Amen, Lord, mingle Yourself more with us! Keep us in Your word, eating Your flesh and drinking Your blood, until we are fully mingled with You and You become the factor of our living and our being! Lord, we want to be one with You and be mingled with You so that we may pray one with You at the incense altar!

When we Pray, we should Offer Incense to God: we should Pray with Christ as the Incense

In order for us to pray at the incense altar, we need to be IN the tabernacle (we need to be in God), we need to be supplied with the holy food (we need to have God in us as our energizing supply), and we need to offer incense to God (we need to pray with Christ as the incense). When we pray, we should offer incense to God, that is, we should pray with Christ as the incense (Exo. 30:34-38; Rev. 8:3-4).

How should we pray at the incense altar, now that we are in God and God is in us? We must burn the incense. What is this incense? The incense is Christ, and to burn the incense is to pray Christ.

At the incense altar we don’t pray to God about the trip we’re about to make, our job, our children’s health, or anything outward; here we offer Christ to God in prayer. Too many of our prayers are focused on material things: our health, our house, our travelling, our rest, etc…and too little has been gained of God through these prayers.

What God wants is that we offer Christ to Him as the incense; God is satisfied with Christ, and whenever Christ as the incense is offered to God, God is happy and He accomplishes His economy. We need to learn how to motivate the throne of authority to execute the divine administration and release the supply of grace for the saints to grow in life by praying Christ to God.

As seen in Rev. 8, it is not the prayers of the saints but the incense added by Christ as Another Angel that satisfies God and causes Him to release His judgements for the carrying out of His divine administration.

We need to experientially be in God and have God in us as our supply, and we need to offer Christ as the incense to God for Him to be satisfied, carry out His administration, and release the supply of grace.

Lord Jesus, we want to be in God and have God in us as our supply, and we want to offer Christ as the incense to God! Lord, save us from offering natural prayers to You, prayers that do not touch Your throne or move Your hand. We want to learn to pray Christ to God, offering Christ as the incense to God so that God’s economy may be carried out, the supply of grace may be released, and God’s administration may be accomplished. Lord, uplift and revolutionize our prayer life until we are in God, God is in us, we are mingled with God, and we pray Christ to God!

References and Hymns on this Topic

• Inspiration: the Word of God, my enjoyment in the ministry, brother Ron Kangas’ sharing in the message for this week, and Life-study of Exodus, msg. 149 (by Witness Lee), as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, Crystallization-Study of Exodus (3), week 5 (week 29), The Golden Incense Altar.
• All Bible verses are taken from, Holy Bible Recovery Version.
• Hymns on this topic to strengthen this burden:
  # Just to be in You as You’re in me. / Just abide in You, Lord, constantly. / Here I’m one with You, as You’re with me. / Here we’re joined as one, Lord, mutually. (Song on Abiding in Christ)
  # I would inhale Thee, Lord, e’en as I breathe, / And eat and drink Thee as my life supply. / A deeper fellowship with Thee bequeath / That Thou express Thyself through me thereby. (Hymns #764)
  # Thou art the incense unto God, / In Thee acceptance is complete; / I want to pray yet more and more, / To offer up this fragrance sweet. (Hymns #813)