WEEK 6:  DEVOTIONAL ON PRAYER

“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.”  Revelations 5:8

A worship service is taking place in response to the Lamb who has been victorious. The scene focuses on the prayers of the saints being presented to God. In Jewish thought, their understanding of the transcendence of God resulted in their focus on angels presenting the prayers of the saints.

God is a transcendent, which means He is a Being prior to and exalted above the universe and has being apart from it.  The wonder and beauty here is that our prayers reach the transcendent God. The prayers of the saints are brought into the very presence of God. Your prayers and mine reach the lamb Himself, who is seated on the throne. This is what makes prayer so effective. The writer to Hebrews says it this way, “Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God; let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are-yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”  Hebrews 4:14-16.  Prayer happens because of Jesus. It is a privilege that must never be taken for granted. The privilege of prayer must never be taken lightly.

You and I have access to God through prayer. Because Jesus is on the throne, we can pray with confidence that every prayer will be dealt with personally by the Father. No prayer is lost and no real prayer forgotten. Every prayer that is prayed is brought personally to the Father. He reads every letter from His children.  This access to the Father is a privilege of His grace. Sainthood is a gift of grace, not a position earned by our won merit. It is a God-given title for the children of God related to terms like believers, chosen ones, Christians, heirs, and people of light.

John often brings out the reversal of values in heaven from those accepted by his earthly contemporaries. On earth, the saints are despised and accounted as of no importance. In heaven, their prayers are precious. Psalm 141:2 says, “May my prayer be set before you as incense.” The use of incense was a normal feature in Hebrew ritual. The golden bowls were a flat, shallow cup or bowl for drinking. The prayers of the saints are now brought before God in golden bowls. This word picture paints how precious our prayers are to God. Prayer brings God joy and is pleasant and beautiful to Him.