God asks Moses to build him a tent - the "tabernacle", so he can be present with his people. The next piece of furniture is an altar for incense.
Incense is symbolic of prayer. What God says is that:
- there is to be non-stop incense before God
- don't burn "strange" incense or
use this altar for sacrifices
- apply sacrificial blood on it once a year.
In the same way, God instructs us to pray without stopping. That is, prayer is much more than something we do - it is a state of mind of continual awareness of God and dependance on him.
Second, we need to take care to not pray in "strange" ways. Prayer is nothing more complex than conversation - speaking and listening to God. "Strange" prayers are likely the kind that people invoke on their carved idols. Everything we need to know about prayer is in Jesus' "Lord's prayer". Notice how much of the Lord's Prayer is about aligning our will to God's desire for the world. We would do well to learn to pray in the way Jesus prays.
And thirdly, we pray as forgiven people. We approach God not out of merit or achievements, but by God's grace and mercy through reliance on Jesus' death on the cross on our behalf.
Write
Think about your faith story: how have you experience the intimacy of prayer.
Presently, how vibrant is your "prayerful" life? How reliant are you on God? How obedient are you to his instructions? How honest are you about your pains and struggles?
Who do you know has stopped praying?
Pray
What
is God saying to you today? What's Good News to you?
Talk to God about your experience of his friendship in prayer. Thank God for his desire to have a relationship with you through conversation.
Pray about your prayerful state of mind. Ask God for the wisdom and support to learn to live prayerfully.
Pray for yoru friends who has stopped praying. Pray for the wisdom and opportunity to help them become open to hearing God again.
Pray for an experience of God's love, grace and mercy in the way he speaks to your and hears your prayers, and the way he changes you in intimate conversation.