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Psalm 141: 2 (NIV)
May my prayer be set before you like
incense; may the lifting up of my hands be like the evening sacrifice.
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| Heart worship and spiritual joy render praise more glorious than vestments, incense, and music could do.* |
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What’s your favorite smell? Some of my favorites are
vanilla, cinnamon, and evergreen (not something that supposedly smells like an evergreen forest but the real thing). And
then there are the smells that bring back memories: freshly mowed grass reminds
me of summer afternoons when I was growing up; the smell of popcorn puts me in
a dark theater, anticipating the start of a good (hopefully!) movie. And let’s
not even get started on the smell of bacon frying!
In this passage, David’s prayer about prayer refers to the
burning of incense, which was an important component of worship in the Old
Testament. God is spirit so he probably doesn’t actually have a sense of smell
(who knows?), but the “fragrant fumes” of the incense represented the prayers
of his people.*
What is God’s favorite aroma? Your prayers. Do you delight
God with your sweet-scented prayers? Or do your prayers present a foul odor
that causes him to wrinkle his nose in disgust? Perhaps God is sniffing around
in hopes of catching a whiff of one of your infrequent prayers. When you pray,
picture your praise and petitions going up as if in the scent-laden smoke of
God’s favorite incense recipe. Imagine God’s smile of pleasure as he inhales.
Who wouldn’t want to bring such joy to our heavenly Father?
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| When our prayers glorify Christ Jesus and seek the will of the Father, they are fragrant incense to the Lord.* |
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