In Communion With God

One of the items in the holy place of the sanctuary is the altar of incense. God instructed Moses to place the altar of incense in front of the veil that separated the holy place from the most holy place “where I will meet with you”, said God. The priest must burn the incense twice daily, each morning and again at twilight. It is most holy to the Lord (Exodus 30:10)

In Scripture, incense is often associated with prayer. David prayed, “May my prayer be set before you like incense” (Psalm 141:2) Our prayers ascend to God as the smoke of the incense ascended in the sanctuary. 

Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise.

James 5:13

Praise and prayer are vital to our Christian life. Prayer brings us closer to God. As we pray, we talk to God and converse with Him. There is no relationship that exists without conversation. Therefore prayer, which is our conversation with God, is vital to strengthen our relationship with God.

Praises and Prayers go hand in hand. We praise God for who He is and how He answers our prayers. We pray because we know that God will answer us in His own time according to His will. At the new church location, we are planning to have an empty jar for people to place their prayer requests in so that we can pray over them. We are also planning to have another jar of praises so we may fill it with many of God’s blessings.

What does praising God mean to you?

Keira (14): To me, praising God means when you admire and thank God for all the difficult and simple things in your life. The different ways you can do to praise and give thanks to God is by singing hymns and praying together in a group, you can start off the meeting with others indoors or even outdoors by praising God through prayer then singing from your hearts as a congregation.

Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
and his courts with praise!
Give thanks to him; bless his name!

Psalm 100:4

What does praying to God mean to you?

Isabelle (14): Prayer is our way of communicating with God because as the result of sin, we cannot see God face to face or else we will die because of the intense light and glory that shines from Him. Prayer is an important thing that we should do daily. Through prayer, we can confess our sins to God, acknowledge His grace and loving character, thank Him for all the blessings He has given us and request for our needs and others needs. Prayer is an important part of my life because it in a way, brings me closer to God and teaches me to rely on Him more. Oftentimes, we try to rely on our own strength when we do things, but we should remember that we should first turn to God when we have problems. 

We should pray every day. Prayer is necessary and should be our priority every morning when we wake up. We should pray and thank God for giving us life each morning when we wake up and ask for Him to help you glorify His name in whatever you do. We should pray to thank God for the day He has blessed you with before you go to sleep.

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

Philippians 4:6

How is your prayer life? Is there anything that you can praise God for? Please leave your comments below. Amidst all uncertainty, God alone remains unchanged. Praise Him in all circumstances and pray without ceasing. For all unanswered prayers, it could be for your own protection. God only knows. Keep praising and keep praying, He hears you. 

Blessings,
El