"and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, having each one a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints." Revelation 5:8
Have you ever been around incense? I have but it's been a long time. I do remember that if someone is burning incense the smell fills the entire room. You notice it right away. And the smoke itself is kind of intoxicating.
Okay, now read the verse above again. This is what our prayers are in heaven. Our prayers actually gain physical substance in heaven, in the unseen realm.
I have a crazy thought, but it might actually be true.
You know how God spoke a word (and still does) and that word becomes creation? He creates when He speaks (think Genesis 1..."Let there be light and there was light").
What if when we pray we create in the unseen realm? There is so much more going on with our prayers than we realize. I think when we get on the other side one of our regrets (if we have any) will be we wish we would have prayed more.
So, get back to this: what we say in prayer here to God gets made into a substance that is held in golden bowls. Those elders must be pretty huge if they can hold all the prayers! But maybe each prayer is a grain of incense that is then burned into smoke.
And did you see where these prayers are? Right before God's throne.
Today I was praying and writing in my journal (I write a lot of prayers out) and the one thing I am not happy with is that I am lately forgetting to pray throughout the day. I have a whole list of people I really need to pray for, who I plan on praying for daily, but often I don't get through the whole list because I just forget. I can't tell you what my mind is thinking about because I think it is just in la-la land. I talk to God throughout the day, but I need to work on this prayer thing.
How's your prayer life? In 1 Thessalonians 5:17 we are told to "pray without ceasing."
Prayer should be like our breath.
That's what I'm going to try anyway.
Thanks for reading. You encourage me. I hope I encourage you.
Have you ever been around incense? I have but it's been a long time. I do remember that if someone is burning incense the smell fills the entire room. You notice it right away. And the smoke itself is kind of intoxicating.
Okay, now read the verse above again. This is what our prayers are in heaven. Our prayers actually gain physical substance in heaven, in the unseen realm.
I have a crazy thought, but it might actually be true.
You know how God spoke a word (and still does) and that word becomes creation? He creates when He speaks (think Genesis 1..."Let there be light and there was light").
What if when we pray we create in the unseen realm? There is so much more going on with our prayers than we realize. I think when we get on the other side one of our regrets (if we have any) will be we wish we would have prayed more.
So, get back to this: what we say in prayer here to God gets made into a substance that is held in golden bowls. Those elders must be pretty huge if they can hold all the prayers! But maybe each prayer is a grain of incense that is then burned into smoke.
And did you see where these prayers are? Right before God's throne.
Today I was praying and writing in my journal (I write a lot of prayers out) and the one thing I am not happy with is that I am lately forgetting to pray throughout the day. I have a whole list of people I really need to pray for, who I plan on praying for daily, but often I don't get through the whole list because I just forget. I can't tell you what my mind is thinking about because I think it is just in la-la land. I talk to God throughout the day, but I need to work on this prayer thing.
How's your prayer life? In 1 Thessalonians 5:17 we are told to "pray without ceasing."
Prayer should be like our breath.
That's what I'm going to try anyway.
Thanks for reading. You encourage me. I hope I encourage you.
RSS Feed
