As the incense was ignited by coals of fire from the altar of sacrifice (Exod. 30:9), causing the fragrant odour to ascend, so our prayers should be touched with the sacrifice of Christ.

They should be offered in his name, though addressed to the Father. He, himself, instructed that this should be done: "Whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask anything in my name I will do it" (John 14:13-14). "Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, He will give it you. Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full" (John 16:23-24).

Prayer, therefore, should be addressed to the Father through the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul taught: "Through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father." We should combine the Father and the Son in our prayers. It is as wrong to address the Father without the Son, as it is to address the Son without the Father (John 5:23). There is a glorious unity between the Father and the Son that should not be sundered by worshippers on earth.

What is meant by "asking in Christ's name?" The mere appendage of such words to a prayer as "in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, Amen" is not sufficient. Such a phrase sometimes is treated as a magical formula sanctifying prayer.

It does not necessarily do so. In fact, the phrase, when used properly, is extremely meaningful, and will actually limit prayer.

For a Prayer can only be asked "in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ," if he is prepared to endorse it. Therefore, before adding those words, we should ascertain that the prayer conforms to his will, and harmonises with the divine purpose.

Otherwise, he will not authenticate it. He will not offer a petition to the Father in his name if he does not endorse it.
A prayer presented in the name of the Lord presumes that both the petition and the petitioner are such as he will underwrite.

Christ will only present the petitions of those who strive to live according to the Truth. Consider the following references:

"Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain; that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, He may give it you" (John 15:16).

"If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you" (John 15:7).

Obviously, one who "abides in the son," would aim only to ask for things that he would endorse.
"Whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight" (1 John 3:22).

Notice the reason that God gives for remaining deaf to an appeal: "Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened that it cannot save; neither His ear heavy, that it cannot hear; but your iniquities have separated between you and your God . . ." (Isa. 59:1-2).
The person who persists in turning away from God's law, will receive only refusals to prayer. This is the warning of Scripture:

"He that turneth away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer shall be an abomination" (Prov. 28:9).

"The Lord said unto me (Jeremiah), Pray not for this people for their good. When they fast, I will not hear their cry; and when they offer burnt offering and an oblation, I will not accept them: but I will consume them by the word, and by the famine, and by the pestilence" (Jer. 14:11-12).

The prayers of Israel in the days of Jeremiah were useless because the nation did not conform to the requirements of successful prayer. "Rend your hearts and not your garments," was the appeal of another prophet. Prayer only becomes powerful when its impact is felt in action, and is reflected in the character of the one praying.

If we neglect the things of God in times of ease, he will not listen to us in times of difficulty. Concerning disobedient Israel, the prophet Zechariah wrote: "Therefore it is come to pass, that as He (God) cried, and they would not hear; so they cried, and I would not hear, saith the Lord of hosts" (Zech. 7:13).
A little inward searching can reap dividends. The Psalmist declared: "If I regard iniquity in my heart the Lord will not hear me" (Ps. 66:18). The Lord taught: "And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive your trespasses" (Mark 11:25). Faith will lead us to prepare our heart to seek God. But though God will grant us of His grace, or favour, He will not do for us what we can do for ourselves. Prayer is not a magic wand to instantly wave aside all evil, and bestow upon us all good. It will not supply that which is lacking through our own failure to use the materials God has made available to our hand. We are told to pray for wisdom (James 1:5), but we will never attain unto wisdom if we neglect His word. But if we agonise to blend the study of the Word with prayer, we will receive the blessing. The farmer will never reap a harvest if he neglects to sow seed - no matter how hard he may pray - but if he labours in the field, and seeks the blessing of God, he may receive rain and sunshine in their seasons to reap a bountiful harvest. We may pray to God that we may conquer some weakness in our character, but if we do not channel our strength of will into that which God requires of us, we will fail.

Prayer is co-operating with God. It does not leave everything to Him, nor does it ignore His help. Nehemiah provides a great example. He records: "All of them conspired together to come and to fight against Jerusalem, and to hinder it. Nevertheless we made our prayer unto our God, and set a watch against them day and night because of them" (Neh. 4:8-9). Nehemiah met the crisis that faced him with prayer, vigilance and action. To him, prayer was not presumption. He did not make his prayer unto his God, and ignore the problem. He probably recalled the words of Solomon: "Except God keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain" (Ps. 127:1). Solomon's words do not mean that we can ignore the need of a watchman; in fact he has an important duty to perform. The command of Scripture is to "be vigilant." Nehemiah manifested great vigilance. His action provided God with something to work upon. His prayer drew God personally into the problem, and he co-operated with Him as much as he could in overcoming it. We, too, must co-operate with God to make prayer powerful. We might pray for relief of tension in a personal crisis. The relief may not come. Does that mean God is indifferent to our prayer or our need? No. The disciplinary grace of God might require that we endure a little more in order that character might be moulded and strengthened in us, and that we might be better equipped for the Kingdom of God. He has called us to be King-priests in the Age to come, and it is a Scriptural adage, that priests are selected of Him who can "have compassion on the ignorant and erring" recognising that they, themselves, are "compassed with infirmity" (Heb. 5:2).

The humbling experiences of life, the patient endurance under trial that we are called upon to manifest can develop that compassion in us. Christ had to endure much; the apostles were appointed to death; and were made a spectacle unto the world (1 Cor. 4:9); men and women of faith "wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth" (Heb. 11:38), and we, too, might be called upon to manifest endurance. To the contemporaries, of the Lord and the apostles, it seemed as though they were deserted of God, but we know that that was not the case. Nor is it so with us when our requests are not instantly granted, and we walk through long, and terrifying circumstances, even through the gloomy valley of the shadow of death, before reaching the wide, sunlit pastures beyond. Of Christ it is written: "Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered" (Heb. 5:8). His very experiences, in that regard, helped to equip him for his present position of glory as high-priest. He is able to help us in our infirmities because "he was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin" (Heb. 4:15). Though he was often opposed and tormented, though he had to bear the "contradiction of sinners against himself," he was not abandoned of God, as we know.

Therefore, we must not despair if our requests are not instantly granted to us, even though we feel that they are legitimate petitions to make. Perhaps there is some lesson we must learn in the things we are passing through. Three times Paul prayed that he might be relieved of a "thorn in the flesh" that afflicted him, but it was not granted. The request, undoubtedly, was a most unselfish one. He desired relief that he might serve God better, and preach the word with greater effect.

But he was told of the Lord: "My grace is sufficient for thee; for My strength is made perfect in weakness" (1 Cor. 12:9). The "thorn in the flesh" remained, and provided the basis for a wonderful example. The brethren saw in Paul one who was physically weak, but who was moved by the spiritual strength to rise above his afflictions. In observing him, they were encouraged to endure their own trouble. They had visible evidence of the power of the Gospel to save; they could see that there is strength available to surmount every difficulty and problem. Such an example must have had a powerful impact upon them.
God's "strength was thus made perfect in weakness."