In the Bible, symbols are often used to represent spiritual truth. For example, the lamb is Jesus, the bread is God’s word, the water is the Holy Spirit.
The Old Testament has many symbols that represent the spiritual truth that was revealed through Jesus Christ.
The law, [has] a shadow of the good things to come.
Heb. 10:1a
The Old Testament, particularly the law of Moses, contains symbols, shadows, types, or examples of New Testament truth.
One such symbol is incense. Incense symbolizes prayer.
Let my prayer be set before You as incense.
Ps. 141:1
The four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each having a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.
Rev. 5:8
As a symbol, incense helps us understand prayer.
God told his people to make incense in a very precise way.
And the Lord said to Moses: “Take sweet spices, stacte and onycha and galbanum, and pure frankincense with these sweet spices; there shall be equal amounts of each. You shall make of these an incense, a compound according to the art of the perfumer, salted, pure, and holy. And you shall beat some of it very fine, and put some of it before the Testimony in the tabernacle of meeting where I will meet with you. It shall be most holy to you.
Ex. 30:34-36
Four ingredients went into incense: stacte, onycha, galbanum, and frankincense.
These four ingredients reveal four aspects of effective prayer.
Ingredient #1: Stacte
The first ingredient of incense was stacte. Most ancient sources say that stacte was myrrh.
The word stacte is natap in Hebrew, which comes from the Hebrew word nataph. This word means to speak, especially to prophesy (Ezek. 21:2, Amos 7:16, Mic. 2:6).
We are called to pray according to the word of God, by the Holy Spirit. As we do, we pray according to God’s will. We are not just praying for whatever we want according to our own mind. We are praying for what God wants by the leading of his Spirit.
Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.
Rom. 8:26
Real prayer is authored by God. God himself is praying through us for God’s will to be done. We are praying according to God’s word – which was revealed to God’s servants as they prophesied.
When someone prophesies, he speaks the word of God by the leading of the Holy Spirit.
As we pray by the Holy Spirit, we become more and more sensitive to God. If we learn to be truly led by the Holy Spirit in prayer, we will pray according to God’s mind. His heart will become our own. His burdens will be ours. God will pray through us. Our prayers will be prophetic.
There is often only a small step between praying and prophesying. As we learn to pray by the leading of the Holy Spirit, we might begin to prophesy.
True prayer is to be prophetic, authored by the Spirit of God. It must be according to God’s word.
Ingredient #2 Onycha
Onycha is the Hebrew word shecheleth. This word comes from the Hebrew word shachal which means lion.
Lions are bold. They are unafraid.
A lion, which is mighty among beasts and does not turn away from any
Prov. 30:30
When lions roar, fear strikes their enemies. When we pray by the Holy Spirit, demons tremble.
We need boldness in prayer.
Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
Heb. 4:16
in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through faith in Him.
Eph. 3:12
As we become bold in prayer, we will gain victories. We need to pray for big things, lay hold of them in faith, and keep persevering in prayer until they become earthly realities. Through prayer we will defeat spiritual enemies.
Look, a people rises like a lioness,
Num. 23:24
And lifts itself up like a lion;
It shall not lie down until it devours the prey,
And drinks the blood of the slain.
And the remnant of Jacob
Mic. 5:8
Shall be among the Gentiles,
In the midst of many peoples,
Like a lion among the beasts of the forest,
Like a young lion among flocks of sheep,
Who, if he passes through,
Both treads down and tears in pieces,
And none can deliver.
Prayer is of infinite power because it is based on God. It demolishes the devil’s strongholds.
Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.
Mark 11:24
We need to bold in prayer, claiming the promises of God and believing for his will to be done.
Jesus is the lion of the tribe of Judah. Prayer is a declaration that Jesus is King. Prayer in the name of Jesus is stamped with the power and authority of Almighty God. And when God speaks, other voices are silenced.
Ingredient #3 Galbanum
Galbanum is the Hebrew word chelbeneh. It comes from the word cheleb which means fat or finest.
When we pray to God, we should give him our best. Prayer is not an afterthought, something we do when we are exhausted at the end of the day. It’s not the last thing we do after everything else has failed. Prayer is the first and most important thing we should do.
Prayer was one of the three fundamentals of the early church.
And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers.
Acts 2:42
The early church prayed, and they saw God move.
God’s people are commanded to pray all the time. Their spirits are to be in continual communion with God.
Pray without ceasing.
1 Thess. 5:17
God’s house is his people. God’s people and their gatherings are to be characterized by prayer.
My house shall be called a house of prayer.
Matt. 21:13
When prayer is our priority, we give God the best part of our time and energy. When God is the main one we look to, we will see powerful results.
Ingredient #4 Frankincense
Frankincense is the Hebrew word lebonah which comes from the word laben. This word means white or pure.
When we pray, we need holiness and purity. God will hear our prayers when we have clean hands and a pure heart.
Lord, who may abide in Your tabernacle?
Ps. 15:1-2
Who may dwell in Your holy hill?
He who walks uprightly,
And works righteousness,
And speaks the truth in his heart
If we want to come into God’s presence, we need to confess our sins and repent (1 John 1:9). Then God will cleanse us from evil, and his ears will be open to our prayers.
The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,
Ps. 34:15-16
And His ears are open to their cry.
The face of the Lord is against those who do evil,
To cut off the remembrance of them from the earth.
Our righteousness comes from Christ. Through faith we are clothed with his righteousness (Rev. 19:8). Because of that, we are able to come boldly into his presence.
When these four ingredients are combined together – prophecy, boldness, our best, and purity, our prayers will become powerful.
Fire: The Catalyst
Incense by itself will not produce anything. It will just sit there, dead. Fire must touch the incense in order for it to fulfill its purpose.
Fire is a symbol of the Holy Spirit. When the first disciples were baptized in the Holy Spirit, he appeared to them like fire and sat on each of them. They were transformed into powerful witnesses of God.
Our prayers must be ignited by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the flame that kindles our prayers makes them spiritually alive.
When incense is touched by fire, the incense is transformed into fragrance and smoke.
Result of Burning Incense #1: Fragrance
For we are to God the fragrance of Christ
2 Cor. 2:15
Incense gives off a smell. In the Old Testament, God was pleased with the smell of the properly compounded incense that was offered to him in the right way. In the New Testament, Jesus is the fragrance that pleases God. Whatever we do in Christ pleases God because it is touched by the fragrance of Jesus. When we pray in Jesus’ name, according to his will and by his inspiration, then God is pleased.
God delights in the prayers of his people. When we pray we commune with God, and he loves to have fellowship with us.
Result of Burning Incense #2: Smoke
Smoke is often a sign of God’s presence. When God led the Israelites through the wilderness, he did so by a pillar of cloud. When he came down on Sinai, the mountain smoked.
Now Mount Sinai was completely in smoke, because the Lord descended upon it in fire. Its smoke ascended like the smoke of a furnace.
Ex. 19:18a
And the posts of the door were shaken by the voice of him who cried out, and the house was filled with smoke.
Isa. 6:4
When God’s presence comes, a cloud or smoke is often revealed.
The temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from His power
Rev. 15:8
Prayer brings the presence of God. When two people gather together in his name, he is there. When they agree together for something to be done on the earth, his presence and power is released. Prayer opens the door for God to work, and it causes the earth to be impacted with heaven.
We can learn many truths from the symbolism of incense in the Old Testament. We need prophetic, bold, pure prayers that are offered to God as our best. With all these ingredients in our prayers, our spiritual life will rise to a higher level. Our prayers will please God, and his presence will be revealed on the earth.
Lincoln House Churches 