2 Altars , 2 forms of Prayer
There is a difference between offering prayer for ourselves and intercession; the difference can be seen at the altar in the outer court and at the altar of golden incense in the Holy Place (it's in the Holy Of Holies in Heaven) and it represents the difference of Christ's earthly work and His work as the only High Priest.
At the altar in the outer court our sins are dealt with. These are washed away at the laver as we daily wash our hands and feet, our work and our walk, of the daily dust of being in the world. Jesus says we are to do this for each other as well, when He gave the example of washing the disciples feet and would refer to the dust of each other's contact with the world. These cries reach heaven also saying "How long must we suffer to be here" as Jesus also said when coming from the Mt of transfiguration.
However this isn't intercession to be given at the golden altar. The golden altar is for giving to God's work, prayers that are associated with God's work, that are in alignment with what the The Father, Son and Holy Spirit are doing to further the Kingdom. This is the joining of prayer with the only High Priest, and the incense being presented in the heavenly tabernacle.
But first, we as His people, need to have our outer shells broken to release the spirit that has been enslaved to the flesh. The flesh is sacrificed at the outer altar and daily at the laver of cleansing.
Hebrews 12:26-28
His voice shook the earth then, but now he has made a promise: Still once more I will shake not only the earth but heaven also.
The words “still once more” reveal the removal of what is shaken—the things that are part of this creation—so that what isn’t shaken will remain.
Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that can’t be shaken, let’s continue to express our gratitude. With this gratitude, let’s serve in a way that is pleasing to God with respect and awe,
Christ, who descended from Zerubbabel in a direct line, and is the sole Builder of the gospel temple.
Haggai 2:6 "This is what the Lord All-Powerful says: 'In a short time I will once again shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land.
"Tell Zerubbabel, the governor of Judah, 'I am going to shake the heavens and the earth.
Zec 14:4
And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east; and the mount of Olives shall be cleft in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south.
Exodus 20:25
If you make an altar of stones for me, do not build it with dressed stones, for you will defile it if you use a tool on it.
God's altar was to be built of unhewn stones, that no trace of human skill or labour might be seen upon it.
When the temple was built all of the stones were worked on in the quarries but when the temple was put together everyone of the stones fit in place w/o the sound of a hammer. That's the work of mankind. But the unhewn stone is found in Daniel that crushes all of the manmade empires and blows the chaff into the wind, becoming a mountain that fills the earth.
Daniel 2:34
While you were watching, a rock was cut out, but not by human hands. It struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay and smashed them.
Like Gideon's jars of clay that held the light we are also jars of clay that are broken to set the spirit free.