Many churches today don't understand the ministry of the altar. Many do not even have altars in them. To understand the role of the altar, we don't need to look any further than "The Golden Altar of Incense" as described in Exodus 30:1-6.
The Golden Altar of Incense was placed against the veil of the Tabernacle. Behind the veil, unseen by human eyes, was the Mercy Seat, where the blood offerings were placed on the Day of Atonement. There was something else in this little room behind the veil, called the Holy of Holies. The Shekinah Glory of the presence of God dwelt there. The only access to the glory of God was through the veil.
In a sense, Jesus is the veil. It is through Him alone that we access to the riches of God through prayer - John 14:13-14; John 15:16; John 16:23-24; 26. The Lord Jesus is the only access that have into the hidden riches and glories of the Lord - 1 Tim. 2:5.
It is not an accident that the Altar of Incense was placed just outside the Veil. Think of prayer like you would of a wall outlet. When we take a plug and place it into the wall outlet, we are able to tap into the hidden resources inside the wall. When we take the plug of prayer in the hand of faith and use it properly, we find that prayer does change things and that there is great potential in praying to the Lord.
So in summary, we as royal priests of God offer up prayers at the altar to Jesus who has torn down the veil and serves as our mediator before the mercy seat of God, our Father. I encourage you today to make an altar of prayer somewhere and enter into the Holies of Holies, the presence of God Almighty. What a great privilege we have!
-Pastor Randy
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