July 2, 2022

Revelation 5: 8 (NIV)

And when he had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.

The prayers of God’s people are as sweet to Him as incense.*

Incense was an important part of worship in the tabernacle. So important that when God gave Moses the recipe, he warned him that concocting a batch for your own pleasure would result in your being “cut off” from your people (Exodus 30: 34-38). The Old Testament is full of references to incense. David’s prayer in Psalm 141: 2 is a poetic picture of its symbolism: “May my prayer be set before you like incense.” Like God’s favorite fragrance, our prayers rise up to Heaven for his pleasure.

Picture a bowl in Heaven. It’s got your name on it. Every time you pray, your prayers go in the bowl. What do those prayers smell like? I have to admit that my whiney selfish prayers probably don’t smell so sweet. What are the ingredients for a sweet-smelling prayer? I believe the formula would include qualities such as humility; faith; affection; fervency.* Since discovering this verse, I have been more intentional in offering prayers of praise and intercession. It smells SO good!

There is an exquisite beauty in this thought that true prayer is fragrance to God. The pleadings and supplications of His people on the earth rise from lowly homes, from sick rooms, from darkened chambers of grief where loved ones kneel beside their dead, from humble sanctuaries, from stately cathedrals, and are wafted up before God as the breath of flowers is wafted to us in summer days, sweet fields and fragrant gardens. And God “smells a sweet savour.” Prayer is perfume to Him.*