Upward

“And the smoke of the incense, which came with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before God out of the angel’s hand.” (Re 8:4 AV)

We need reminders or we often forget truths.  Prayer is one of them.  Prayer is communication with God who is spirit.  We cannot touch Him, see Him, or audibly hear Him.  When we pray, we are praying to a God who cannot be pointed to.  If we are not careful, we will allow our prayers to remain here on Earth because we forget where they are going and to whom they are addressed.  This was the point of the incense.  It was a reminder of the direction of our prayer.  It was a constant reminder of the God to whom we are praying.  Incense has no spiritual value.  When the angel is using incense, it did not increase the potency of those prayers.  The incense of the angel did not add a divine stamp on the prayers of the saints.  The incense is for the finite mind of the penitent as he seeks to converse with God.

 If you are like me, our personal prayer time can become a battle of concentration.  It can become mere words, spoken to the ear or to our own minds, without realizing just what prayer is.  We need to be reminded that God is a person.  Just because we cannot see Him does not mean He is any less real.  Sometimes we day dream.  Or sometimes we get to preaching to ourselves.  Our minds can take over and prayer becomes mere musing.

 This morning, one of my sons called.  He usually calls every Monday just to visit with his father.  I cannot see him.  I cannot touch him.  I can hear his voice and know that it is him.  The sound of his voice, verified with recognizable familiar phrases or a chuckle or two, reminds me of just who it is to whom I am speaking.  We are not advocating that incense must be used when praying to the Father.  However, catching ourselves as our words and thoughts drift off into beating the air is a significant step in the right direction.  Just a reminder.  There is a person on the other end of that conversation.  That person is your Creator.  He is God.  He is your Savior.  Remember in which direction your prayers are going and it might help to always keep God in mind during your times of personal devotion.