13

We have seen something of the vital part that prayer should take in the life of a believer. To work for the Lord and

seek to spread the Truth of His Word without praying is like sowing seed in the ground and then forgetting all about

it. The gardener knows the attention that must follow seed sowing.

Likewise in the realm of spiritual things; God's Word is likened to a seed (1 Pet. 1:23; Luke 8:11). This Word is

living and incorruptible and is therefore always good seed. In the parable of the sower, we find that good seed was

sown, but in three instances the sowing was ineffective owing to the nature of the soil. This represented the state of

mind and heart of those who heard, and we are therefore reminded that it is not sufficient just to proclaim Truth.

Good seed on bad soil produces no results, and making known God's Word will not achieve what we desire unless

the mind of the recipient is prepared to receive it.

Now this work is not ours but that of the Holy Spirit, but prayer becomes effective when we ask the Lord to prepare

the soil, so that the seed of Truth may fructify. Nor should it stop after the seed has been sown; we should still

persevere in prayer that, in the Lord's time growth and harvest may result.

Let us wait on the Lord and ask Him to bring our way to people who are needy and hungry for Truth. One can do

nothing with self satisfied people whether believers or unbelievers. There must be a sense of need in the mind first,

and so it is our privilege to pray along these lines and to watch for His answer which will surely come if we do not

grow weary in well doing.

`In due season we shall reap, if we faint not' (Gal. 6:9).

14

`We know not what to pray for as we ought' (Rom. 8:26). This realisation comes to every child of God at some time

or other. We know how inadequate our praying often is. If the apostle Paul felt this, how much more it applies to

us! It makes us wonder whether our Heavenly Father gets any pleasure at all from our poor prayers. Yet we believe

that the Word indicates that He does.

There was an altar in the Tabernacle ritual which had no outward connection with sacrifice or shedding of blood.

This was the Golden Altar of Incense in the Holy Place. Incense was compounded to a Divine formula not to be

copied and specially fragrant to God (Exod. 30:34-38).

Now the Psalmist connects his praying with the symbolism of incense - `Let my prayer be set forth (directed -

margin), before Thee as incense' (Psa. 141:2) and we find the same association in Revelation 8:3,4 : `Another angel

came and stood at the altar ... and there was given unto him much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers

of all saints upon the golden altar ... `.

Can it be that for all their inadequacy our prayers give God delight? The answer is `Yes', if they are covered by the

fragrance of Christ. God loves to hear His people pray and He is far more ready to listen than we are to make

intercession to Him.

If we pray along the lines of His will in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ (as we are bidden to do, John 16:24; Eph.

5:20), then our prayers rise to our Heavenly Father as fragrant as the incense of the Old Testament.

What encouragement to us to pray and that continually.

15

In article No.14 we were concerned with the typical teaching of the Golden Altar of incense which stood in the Holy

Place of the Tabernacle, and we saw that it represented intercession as being specially fragrant to God. There is one