A Reflection To Pray
LET INCENSE ARISE.
In the Bible, our prayers are described as incense, a sweet fragrance rising and encircling the throne.
In Revelation 5, John says “…they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of God’s people.”
Revelation 8 goes on to describe “the smoke of the incense, together with the prayers of God’s people, went up before God from the angel’s hand.”
ONE OF OUR OVERSEAS STAFF MEMBERS SAYS,
“I often catch a whiff of incense as I walk the streets of Southeast Asia. It’s burning all around at temples and pagodas, and in the shrines housed in nearly every home and business. The smell reminds me that I too should be praying, just as the call to prayer in the Muslim world reminds me to pray not just 5 times a day, but without ceasing.”
We serve a God who hears our prayers, who loves to listen to our voices, who does not require specific postures or rituals, but wants us to come just as we are. This is our God, the one true God, the God who loved us so much that he sent his son to live with us, and die for us.