“Now when He had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each having a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.” Revelation 5:8
If you happen to read my writings with any regularity, you’ve likely discovered that listening to songs on repeat is a trait of mine. To that end, I’ve recently been listening to a song by CeCe Winans called “Worthy Of It All.” It’s a powerful song proclaiming praise and glory to Jesus Christ, and at one point in the song, she repeats the phrase, “Day and night, night and day, let incense arise.”
As I’ve been singing along with CeCe, I’ve been thinking a lot about what that phrase means—“Day and night, night and day, let incense arise.” I was reminded of the verse in Revelation that speaks of the “… golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.” Did you know that our prayers are incense before the Lamb of God in the heavenly realm? I know this might sound like some kind of outlandish science fiction, but I assure you it is not! It’s right there in the Word of God in Revelation 5:8.
We, as followers of Jesus—as saints of the Church, are invited to pray day and night, night and day, continuously, without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17), lifting our world, our brothers and sisters, our children, our leaders, our needs, our concerns, and our deepest desires to the throne room of Jesus. That’s where our prayers go! They don’t just bounce off the ceiling. They fill golden bowls as a fragrant offering of incense to Jesus Himself—The Lamb of God—Who is moving and working on our behalf for His purpose of redemption and new creation in the world.
Never underestimate the power of prayer. It’s what we are invited to participate in… day and night, night and day… as agents of God’s Kingdom coming on earth as it is in Heaven. May our lives be instruments that sing His praise and voice our prayers before the very Lamb of God. Because just as CeCe so faithfully sings, He IS worthy of it all!
~em