And another angel came and stood at the altar with a golden censer, and he was given much incense to offer with the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar before the throne, and the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, rose before God from the hand of the angel.
You probably have a mental image of what prayer looks like and sounds like—but have you ever wondered what prayer smells like? In the book of Revelation, prayer has a distinct aroma, because prayer appears as incense.
Incense may not be a familiar part of our church services, but it was a key feature in Old Testament worship. God commanded Moses to build an altar of incense in the tabernacle (Exodus 30:1–10), and on the Day of Atonement, the burning cloud of incense acted as a sort of prayer, covering the sins of the people (Leviticus 16:12–13; cf. Psalm 141:2).
And you likely remember its first appearance in the New Testament too. The first people to recognize Jesus as king were a wealthy band of mystics from the east. And what did they bring the newborn king? Gold, myrrh … and incense (Matthew 2:11). A prayer, not offered upward, but to a helpless child. But what happens to these offerings? What does God do with that aroma of prayer? What happens to your seemingly unanswered prayers—healing for your sister, justice in your community, victory over sin in your own heart?
John tells us: God collects these prayers, awaiting the day when he will finally pour them out like fragrant incense. As pastor Tyler Staton puts it, “[E]very prayer you’ve ever whispered, from the simplest throwaway request to the most heartfelt cry, God has collected it like a grandmother who scrapbooks a toddler’s finger paints and scribbles … and he’s still weaving their fulfillment, bending history in the direction of a great yes to you and me.”
God doesn’t just collect our prayers; he answers our prayers. When he returns, all the wrongs will be made right and all the darkness will be made light. And every now and then, we get glimpses of this final victory. Like Christmas, when we remember how God answered our prayers by entering into our brokenness with us. Every prayer you’ve had—for justice or healing or reconciliation or forgiveness—finds an answer in a cradle in Bethlehem, where our broken earth first received her perfect King.
Respond
What prayers seem unanswered in your life? How might your heart change if you believed that God not only treasured those prayers but answered them through Jesus?