Temple in Thailand (night of 28/11/2014)

I am with my friend James at a temple in Thailand. There is a ritual at the temple: light a stick of incense then place the lighted incense in a 'box' for the god you wish to contact / appease/ give thanks to. The boxes are all placed vertically taking up the whole side of a wall - rather like a display case. I wish to light a stick for a 'god of prosperity', but there is nothing in his box - no icon, no picture, just a few scraps of rubbish.