Psalms 141:2
May my prayer be counted as incense before You;
The lifting up of my hands as the evening offering.
In Revelation 5 and 8 we are told that the prayers of the righteous (believers) are incense contained in a bowl in heaven. That thought has always struck me. When we pray several things are happening. We typically think of the one thing we want to happen and that is an answer to our prayers. But, there is more happening than just answers. When we pray God stores the prayers up in a bowl and will eventually pour them out on the earth. That is why we are told in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5-7 that we are to pray, "... Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven ...". Our prayers, now, accomplish later what God wants to accomplish. Righteous prayers will be used in righteous ways. That is why in Psalm 141:2 David wants his prayers to be counted (fixed in the real sense of the Hebrew word) as "incense" before God. That is the same concept that John tells us about prayer in Revelation 5 and 8. David wants even his small gesture of lifting up his hands to seem as the entire "evening offering." David doesn't want passive worship. David wants his worship to reach the very ears, eyes and nose of God. Our prayers should not be filled with personal agendas and as a Christmas wish list. Our prayers are to bless God and be a sweet fragrance to God. Let's lift Him up in our prayers and remember that just as a sweet incense to us in our homes, offices or stores soothes our spirit, our prayers should be a sweet incense to Him to adorn Him with praise and worship.
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