The Altar of Incense

It's good to be with you this morning in the House of Prayer. I want to continue my study in the Tabernacle and I'll try to draw it up here on the board again.

I had it drawn up here lightly. Somebody must have erased it.

Sorry if you're watching over. That's what it was for. That's okay. I wouldn't expected you to. I just thought maybe I'd get by with it.

Anyhow, it's not going to be that special of a drawing but.

Well, we have two more things here.

That didn't work out.

Anyhow, that's supposed to be the altar.

So as the worshiper approaches the Tabernacle in the Old Testament times, first he comes to the altar and almost all things are by the law purged with blood and without the shedding of blood is no remission. So as we come to salvation, we come first to the cross and there this man, Jesus, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down on the right hand of God, for by one offering hath he perfected forever them that are sanctified.

When Abraham placed his son on the altar, God arrested him and stopped him. But when he placed his own son on the altar, he did not stop. He died a death for us. And he's saying that we need to identify with him in his death to die to ourselves there on the altar.

And when we come to the cross of Calvary, the next step then is to cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit in the labor. And the priests were to wash themselves morning and evening. Every time before they entered the Tabernacle, they had to wash their hands and their feet.

So they shall wash their hands and their feet that they die not. And it shall be a statute forever to them, even to him and to his seed throughout their generations. Christ also loved the church and gave himself for it that he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, that he might present to himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing.

But it should be holy and without blemish. So that becomes our responsibility to wash. Jesus answered him, said, "If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me." Dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. So we receive the atonement. Then we have the responsibility to live holy lives, to cleanse ourselves, to purify ourselves, to put away those things which God reveals to us that are not of his kingdom. Holy living.

And then we enter into fellowship and we partake of the bread on the table of showbread. I am that bread of life. This is the bread which cometh down from heaven that a man may eat thereof and not die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven.

If any man eat of this bread, he shall live forever. And the bread that I give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world. So we come into here and we partake of Jesus' life.

Then we go over to the candlestick there. I am come a light into the world that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness. That was the only source of light inside the Tabernacle. And Jesus is our only source of true light.

And we allow that light to penetrate our lives, having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which he hath consecrated for us through the veil, that is to say, his flesh. And having an high priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us draw near. This morning, we want to talk about the altar of incense here right before the veil

in Exodus chapter 30.

And thou shalt make an altar to burn incense thereupon of shedderwood. Thou shalt make it. A cubit shall be the length thereof and a cubit the breadth thereof. Four square shall it be and two cubits shall be the height thereof. The horns thereof shall be of the same. Thou shalt overlay it with pure gold, the top thereof and the sides thereof round about and the horns thereof. And thou shalt make unto it a crown of gold round about. And two golden rings shalt thou make to it under the crown of it. By the two corners thereof, upon the two sides of it, shalt thou make it. And they shall be for places for the staves to bear it with all.

And thou shalt make the staves of shedderwood and overlay them with gold. And thou shalt put it before the veil, that is, by the ark of the testimony, before the mercy seat, that is, over the testimony where I will meet with you.

And Aaron shall burn thereupon incense every morning when he dresseth the lamps. He shall burn incense upon it. And when Aaron lighteth the lamps at even, he shall burn incense upon it, a perpetual incense before the Lord throughout your generations.

You shall offer no strange incense thereon, nor burnt sacrifice, nor meat offering. Neither shall ye pour drink offering thereon. And Aaron shall make an atonement upon the horns of it once a year with the blood of the sin offering of atonements. Once in the year shall he make atonement upon it throughout your generations. It is most holy unto the Lord.

This altar wasn't real big, about 18 inches square, about three feet high. But it's interesting as you enter the Tabernacle that this altar and this labor were made of brass. But as you enter in here, everything is pure gold or either wood overlaid with gold. As you enter there, all you see is gold. As we become closer and closer in our relationship to God's presence, we see more and more beauty.

Draw near to God and he will draw near to you. We become more and more conscious of his majesty and his holiness. Wouldn't it be true that the closer one comes to us, that the more beauty they would see? Those who know us best, do they see more and more beauty as they get closer and closer to us? Do they find the fruit of the spirit? Do they find a heart of gold?

Peter writes, "What manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness?" James tells us that pure religion involves keeping ourselves unspotted from the world. That's a tall order. Put off your shoes for the place you're standing on is holy ground. Gold is one of the most precious things that we know of on earth. And God uses it to impress us with his glory.

When John describes the holy Jerusalem, he speaks of gold. Revelation 21, the building of the wall of it was of jasper and the city was pure gold like unto clear glass. And the 12 gates were 12 pearls. Every several gate was of one pearl. And the street of the city was pure gold as it were transparent glass.

What a description of our God. Beauty, splendor, wealth, luster, purity, elegance, radiance, magnificence, glamour, excellence, perfection. Oh, yeah, I wish I could describe it to you. Someone said that. Yes, this is our God. And as we draw near in true hearts and full assurance of faith, we see this and this becomes more a part of our life. In 2 Corinthians 3:18, our favorite verse, "But we all with open face, beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image, from glory to glory, even as by the spirit of the Lord." Amen.

Let it be that way, Lord. So this golden altar is mentioned different times in Revelation. I was wanting to Revelation 8. Let's see here.

Verse 5, "The angel took the censor and filled it with fire of the altar and cast it into the earth. And there were voices and thunderings and lightnings and an earthquake." Each of these verses speaks of God's voice speaking. 9:13, "And the sixth angel sounded and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar, which is before God." 16:7.

"And I heard another out of the altar say, 'Even so, Lord God, almighty, true and righteous are thy judgments.'" Each time it seems like this altar, it seems like God speaks at this altar.

We know that Zacharias was standing at that altar when the angel spoke to him.

So this altar, I think, typifies prayer. Excuse me. In Revelation 8 also, it says, "Another angel came and stood at the altar having a golden censor and there was given unto him much incense that he should offer it with the prayers of all the saints upon the golden altar, which was before the throne. And the smoke of the incense, which came with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before God out of the angel's hand." What a picture of our Heavenly Father being pleased with our prayers.

It smells sweet to him.

I lost my sense of smell. But I remember smelling some very pleasant perfumes. I love the scent of lilacs, the lilies of the valley. And I have them in my memory. One can only wonder what the aroma of our prayers must be like before God. But this was a very special incense.

And I think Brother Wendell referred to this the other Sunday back in Exodus 30, verses 34 to 38. "And the Lord said unto Moses, 'Take unto thee sweet spices, stacti and ointia and galbanum, these sweet spices with pure frankincense of each shall there be like weight. And thou shalt make it a perfume, a confection after the art of the apothecary, tempered together, pure and holy.

And thou shalt beat some of it very small and put it before the testimony in the Tabernacle of the congregation where I will meet with you. It shall be unto you most holy.'" Excuse me. "And as for the perfume which thou shalt make, ye shall not make it make to yourselves according to the composition thereof. It shall be unto thee holy for the Lord. Whosoever shall make like unto that to smell thereto shall even be cut off from his people."

We really get a sense of God's standards of holiness as we read about the art of the Tabernacle and his dealings with the priests. God's teaching us the difference between the holy and the unholy.

So we must approach, not approach God casually. And that word casually means not planned, random, careless, nonchalant, and aimless.

We should come with a plan when we come to worship. We should come prepared to share something. When Brother Harvey asked if anyone has any inspiration, I've been convicted of my quietness through the years. I've tried to do better. Let the redeemed of the Lord say so. Share a Bible verse.

Share a promise. Share an inspiration.

Offer a prayer during prayer time. God isn't looking for eloquence. He's looking for willingness. As we come to worship, come with a plan. We can't come casually before our God. I beg of you, those who have not shared much, stick your neck out a little bit and share.

Participate. We all need you. There's nobody that's not needed.

It doesn't speak well of us when asked if anyone has any inspiration and it's just quietness. And I don't mean to be scolding us at all. I think we have a lot going on. But I want to encourage us to do more. We can do better.

Purposeful worship. Open your Bible. Follow along. Look at the speaker. Make a few notes. Feel responsible to have something to say when the brother ends his message and says, "Is there any response?"

That silence somehow bothers me.

And like I said, we do have a lot going for us. Parents, teach your children to sit still. They can sit nicely beside you at church. I was visiting a congregation and sitting behind a father with his wife, three children, I think. The mother went out with the baby and the father went up front to have devotions. And the children, the two boys, the boy was one and a girl maybe, just had a they were running around. They were out in the alley. They were jumping up on the bench and back. And it was quite a commotion.

And I just really felt bad. Father came back then afterwards and apologized, said, "I'm sorry about my children." And I just took the opportunity and said, "Well, you know, I've listened to a lot of pre-sermon talks through the years of teaching your children." I said, "Really? If you just take your children at home and sit them on a chair, tell them, 'Put your hands on your lap and just be quiet now. I want you to be quiet for a minute.' Set the timer.

Good job. Good job." And then you set it for five minutes. And then you set it for 15 minutes. And it's not that hard. We can teach our children to sit still. And they're not going to suffer.

It's a parent that suffers when their child jumps up, gets down, gets the book, takes the book on the bench, drops the book, goes down, gets the book. It's just not we don't want to do that. We're in the house of worship. And God is expecting a plan. And he's expecting a discipline.

And I'm just encouraging us in that. And I'm not trying to scold us. Whenever a child says, "Well, I'm thirsty," after his bathroom, be wise. How urgent is it? Now, if we had a cold, stinky outhouse, would the need still exist?

I told you before about Ella Mae's story. When she was a girl, they'd go to Florida. And, "Oh, after his bathroom, bathroom. Well, okay, they stop at the next service station." And then pop would go in and get them a little treat. He's like, "Oh, here's something." Okay, good, good. They'd go on. Oh, got to use the bathroom.

And go in and get a little treat. And Chris said, "Oh, got to use the bathroom again." Oh, stop again. And didn't get a treat. Pop, "I want a treat." He said, "Oh, oh, okay. I understand. No more bathroom stops right away."

So we just have to be wise. I sat in the back there for years with Ella Mae. And I watched people go in and out, children go in and out, just casually go back, get a drink, maybe before even devotions were over. And I'm like, "Really?"

So anyhow, please, maybe I'm off the subject. I'll stay as Edsel does. That was extra.

A casual attitude toward worship is spiritually dangerous.

That you die not. And the children are going to develop their thoughts about worship with the way they're brought up, with the perspective. There we go.

Well, not all prayer rises as a sweet incense to your heart. The sacrifice of the wicked is abomination to the Lord. But the prayer of the upright is his delight.

Bring no more vain oblations. Incense is an abomination to me. The new moons, the Sabbath, the calling of assemblies. I cannot away with it. It's iniquity, even the solemn meeting.

So if we come to God in prayer, but we don't have sincere hearts and we don't have clean hearts, God might not be feeling that great about it. If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me.

This is a strong warning. Jesus said, "Why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?"

So sincere prayer has a special place with God. Jeremiah 33:3 is God's phone number. Call on me and I will answer. I know how it feels when my children call me. It's a delight. And I'm sure that God feels the same way when we come to him and call on him. The priest was to offer this morning and evening. And certainly, God requires no less of us. David said, "Seven times a day do I praise thee." When you get up in the morning, you eat breakfast. When you have the morning break, when you have lunch, when you have the afternoon break, when you have supper, and when you go to bed, that's seven times.

Well, pray continuously, really. Pray without ceasing. I've been singing the first verse of Air You Left Your Room this morning with my primary class. How important to begin the day with God. Maybe we could just stand and sing that song right now, number 829.

We're not going to sing the chorus except after the last verse.

829.

So me, hail you that you're with this morning.

Did you think to pray in the name of Christ our Savior? Did you sue for loving favor as a shield today?

When you bathed with great temptation, did you think to pray by his dying love and merit? Did you claim the Holy Spirit as your guidance day?

When your heart was filled with anger, did you think to pray?

Did you plead for grace, my brother, that you might forgive another who has crossed your way? When sore trials came upon you, did you think to pray? When your soul was bound in sorrow, of a gilead did you borrow at the gates of day?

Oh, how praying rests the weary.

Prayer will change the night to day.

So when life seems dark and dreary, don't forget to pray.

Thank you.

I think I can feel that bomb of gilead.

Oh, how praying rests the weary.

When burdens come so hard to bear, an earthly friend can share. Tears drive away the smile and leave my heart in pain.

Prayer, we can find rest. Commit it to God. It's sweet.

Not only to the Lord, but to the one who prays. Well, what is prayer? Webster said it's any spiritual communion with God. The Bible pictures it in Revelation.

Revelation 3:20.

Behold, I stand at the door and knock.

If any man hear my voice and open the door, I will come into him and will sup with him and he with me.

Jesus knocks at our door.

And he wants us to open. And when we open the door, he comes in and sups with us. And we with him. Beautiful picture of joyous fellowship. All he needs is for us to open the door. So prayer, that's what prayer is. Open the door to Jesus.

Without me, you can do nothing. Prayer is the breath of the soul. When we open our lungs, the air pressure just fills our lungs. When we open the door, Jesus fills our hearts.

Something deeper than words. It's more of an attitude of the heart. Prayer is an attitude of helplessness. As mothers, you can very well understand this. Your baby is entirely helpless. He cannot utter a single word. He prays the best he knows how.

All he can do is cry. And you understand. You understand. It is in times of helplessness that we're moved to open the door for Jesus to come in and sup with us. It has been said, man's extremity is God's opportunity.

And we know there Hezekiah I was going to read. I guess I will. Second Kings 18.

The Assyrian general, Rabsheka, stood, verse 28, stood and cried with a loud voice in the Jews' language and spake, saying, "Hear the word of the great King, the King of Assyria. Thus saith the King, Let not Hezekiah deceive you, for he shall not be able to deliver he shall not be able to deliver you out of his hand.

Neither let Hezekiah make you trust in the Lord, saying, 'The Lord will surely deliver us.' And this city shall not be delivered into the hand of the King of Assyria. Hearken not to Hezekiah."

Then over in chapter 19, verse 14, Hezekiah received the letter from the hand of the messengers and read it. And Hezekiah went up into the house of the Lord and spread it before the Lord. And Hezekiah prayed before the Lord and said, "O Lord, God of Israel, which dwellest between the cherubims, thou art God. Even thou alone of all the kingdoms of the earth, thou hast made heaven and earth. Lord, bow down thine ear and hear. Open, Lord, thine eyes and see. And hear the words of Shanakharib, which hath sent him to reproach the living God of a truth, Lord. The kings of Assyria have destroyed the nations in their lands. And they have cast their gods into the fire, for they were no gods.

But the work of men's hands wouldn't stone. Therefore, they'd have destroyed them. No, therefore, O Lord, our God, I beseech thee, save thou us out of his hand. And all the kingdoms of the earth may know that thou art the Lord God, even thou only."

Then Isaiah, the son of Amoz, sent to Hezekiah, saying, "Thus saith the Lord, God of Israel, that which thou hast prayed to me against Shanakharib, King of Assyria, I have heard. I have heard." Those are sweet words. I have heard.

When we come to God in our extremity,

we can have assurance that God said, "I have heard. I have heard." And then, of course, in 1935, and it came to pass that night that the angel of the Lord went out and smote the camp of the Assyrians 104 score and 5,000. And when they arose early in the morning, behold, they were all dead corpses. So Shanakharib, King of Assyria, departed and went and returned and dwelt at Nineveh. Came to pass as he was worshiping in the house of Nizrach, his God, that Adramalek and Sharezer, his son, smote him with a sword and they escaped into the land of Armenia.

And Ezarhadan, his son, reigned in his stead. So that was Hezekiah's prayer and God's answer. Praise God. I have heard. Ask and it shall be given.

Just Christmas Eve, the Brendans were there and Heidi went out to the car about 10 o'clock to get something and put her keys down inside and got what she wanted and closed the hatch. Oh, it's locked. So it was raining.

We had umbrellas. We were out there prying the door open and trying to get down to touch the right buttons. And it went 15 minutes and 20 minutes and a half an hour. We just couldn't get it. And I was getting desperate. I was really cold. And I said, "Lord, please help us." And it wasn't too long until Brendan hit the right button and the lights started flashing and the beeping started and we were in. Praise God. You know we all have those stories.

God is a prayer answering. God, I have heard. I have heard.

Prayer is a two-way conversation. I will sup with him and he with me. Sometimes the most important part is listening. Be still and know that I am God. Zechariah's there. I'm going to read that too. Luke 1. We just had this in our primary class.

Zechariah was standing at this altar.

Verse let's see where we are. Verse 8. It came to pass that while he executed the priest's office before God in the order of his course, according to the custom of the priest's office, his lot was to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord. And the whole multitude of the people were praying without at the time of incense, time of prayer, the altar of incense.

The representative, the priest, was in there, the people were outside praying. There appeared unto him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. When Zechariah saw him, he was troubled and fear fell on him. The angel said, "Fear not, Zechariah. Thy prayer is heard.

Thy prayer is heard." There again we have those words. And thy wife Elizabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John.

Yes, he was listening.

So that's a part of our prayer. Speak, Lord, for thy servant, hear it.

Even though he struggled to believe it, it was a very special encounter with God there with the angel Gabriel. I'm Gabriel who come from the presence of the Lord. Wow. And he lingered there a long while. The people waited for Zechariah and marveled that he tarried so long in the temple.

So when we're in our place of prayer, maybe that could be said of us sometime.

And then I wanted to read the words of 785. I'm listening. Speak, Lord. I'm listening. It's beautiful. Him. Master, speak. Thy servant, hear it, waiting for thy gracious word, longing for thy voice that cheereth. Master, let it now be heard.

I am listening, Lord, for thee, what hast thou to say to me? Speak to me by name, O Master. Let me know it is to me. Speak that I may follow faster with a step more firm and free, where the shepherd leads the flock in the shadow of the rock. Master, speak.

Though least and lowest, let me not unheard depart. Master, speak. For, O, thou knowest all the yearning of my heart, knowest all its truest need. Speak and make me blessed indeed. Master, speak and make me ready when thy voice is truly heard with obedience, glad and steady, still to follow every word. I am listening, Lord, for thee.

Master, speak. Oh, speak to me.

Beautiful hymn.

Well, the altar of incense stood nearest to the presence of God in the most holy place. And prayer is as close to experiencing God's presence as we'll get on earth, I believe. That's why we have songs like Sweet Hour of Prayer. Sweet Hour of Prayer that calls me from a world of care and bids me at my Father's throne, make all my wants and wishes known.

And I love to steal a while away from every combering care and spend the hours of setting day in humble, grateful prayer. I love in solitude to shed the penitential tear and all my cares and sorrows cast on Him whom I adore. I was going to read that, but I can't remember all the verses.

Well, another attitude of prayer is faith. You know our cry of helplessness without faith is just a distress call in the night. Hebrews 11:6, without faith, it's impossible to please Him. He that cometh to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.

James says, if any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God who giveth liberally. And if raideth not, it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. Let not that man think that he shall receive anything of the Lord. Wow.

Lord, I believe. Help my unbelief.

Jesus often said, go thy way. And as thou hast believed, so be it done to you. So if He tells that to us, as we have believed, so be it done. May we be strong in faith, giving glory to God.

We have enough faith when in our helplessness we open the door.

That's all we need.

The mother of Jesus at the wedding, they have no wine.

What have I to do with you? You know. And then she knew she didn't have to help Him. She just said, well, whatever He says, do it. Whatever He says, do it. And that was her faith. We don't need to exert ourselves and try to force ourselves to believe or try to close out all doubts from our hearts. Both are equally useless.

We face these things. Simply open the door to Jesus. Share our weaknesses with Him. He'll meet us there. If you go down through Hebrews 11, the heroes of faith communicated with God. They knew how to pray.

Daniel, he prayed three times a day faithfully there when he was confronted with this request about his dream. He called his friends together and they prayed together. You know, I don't know. Sometimes I think we shortchange God when we get together. Sometimes I feel that way when our family gets together.

We visit.

We're together for a special day, Christmas maybe, Thanksgiving.

I think we shouldn't leave until we pray together. Somehow just to play some games and to interact somehow leaves me a little bit empty still. When we meet each other in our homes and go to our visit, I think we should pray together before we leave. I think prayer is vital.

And I think it should be something that isn't just put on Sundays or private or pray together. Tell people we're praying for them. Tell our brothers and sisters we're praying for them. Yes, it's a part of our spiritual lives.

David was a man of prayer. Psalm 141, I was going to read a couple of verses there. Well, I'm going the wrong way. Psalm 141, 142, 143. It's all, Lord, to Thee I cry. Make haste unto me. Give ear to my voice when I cry to You. Let my prayer be set forth before Thee as incense. Here we are again with the incense and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice. And then 142, I cried unto the Lord with my voice, with my voice unto the Lord while I make my supplication. I poured out my complaint before Him. I showed Him my trouble when my spirit was overwhelmed within me. Then thou knewest my path.

And 143, hear my prayer. O Lord, give ear to the supplications in thy faithfulness. Answer me and in thy righteousness. And it just the Psalms are just full of that. I just happened to have the Bible opened there in my study and there it was.

May we in our generation be a people of prayer. And may we put emphasis on it as important in our worship. Jesus is our finest example in prayer. One of the things He warned us of is vain repetition. When you pray, use not vain repetitions as a heathen do, for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.

Someone said that when Jesus prayed in the multitudes, His prayers were short. When He prayed with His disciples, His prayers were longer. And when He prayed by Himself, He prayed all night. That was an interesting thought. I went to notice His prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane, Matthew 26.

And verse 36.

Then cometh Jesus with them unto the place called Gethsemane. Saith the disciples, sit ye here while I go and pray yonder. And He took with Him Peter and His two sons, the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and very heavy.

Then saith He to them, my soul is exceeding sorrowful even unto death. Tear ye here and watch with me. And He went a little further and fell on His face and prayed saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me. Nevertheless, not as I will, but as I wilt.

When He cometh through the disciples, He finds them asleep and saith to Peter, what could ye not watch with me one hour?

Watch and pray that ye enter not into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. He went away the second time and prayed saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me except I drink it, thy will be done.

And He came and found them asleep again, for their eyes were heavy. And He left them and went away again and prayed the third time saying the same words. Then cometh He to the disciples and saith to them, sleep on now. Take your rest. Behold, the hours at hand, the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners.

Did God answer Jesus' prayer? Well, He didn't grant Him His request, but He answered His prayer. And that's been a challenge to me. You know we desperately want something. We pray. We cry to God. We ask Him. We intercede. We implore.

And then at the end of our prayer, we say, Lord, not my will, but Thine be done. And then God answers our prayer. And when He answers it, we say thank You because we don't know God's will always.

But when we say, Lord, I'm praying this. You hear me, but I don't want what I want as much as what I want what You want. And then God is free to answer. And I think that's been more vivid to me since Elamah is gone.

You know not what I want, but what You want. And then we can rest in that sweet hour of prayer.

Oh, how praying rests the weary. Prayer can change the night to day. It can put us into a frame of thankfulness. Thank You, Lord. Thank You that You didn't give me what I wanted. Sometimes we can later say,

who in the days of His flesh, when He had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto Him that was able to save Him from death, and He was heard and that He feared.

But though He were a Son, yet learned He obedience by the things that He suffered when He said, not my will, but Thine be done. Beautiful example.

The aroma of that incense will rise up before our throne of our God and He'll be pleased.

That's all I have. May the Lord bless us as we endeavor to cultivate the attitude of prayer and actually the action of prayer as we're together from time to time.

Does anyone have anything to say?