Christian Counseling / The Fragrance of Our Prayer
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 13373 |
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January 27, 2013 |
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Q What kind of prayer does God joyfully accept and how is each one's prayer different in the sight of God?
A Revelation 8:3-4 reads, "Another angel came and stood at the altar, holding a golden censer; and much incense was given to him, so that he might add it to the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar which was before the throne. And the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, went up before God out of the angel's hand." Namely, the prayers of saints, that is, true believers in Christ go up before God by an angel in a golden censer.
The 'Thickness' and 'Concentration' of Prayer's Aroma Differ Depending on the Measure of Faith
The size of censers in which one's aroma of prayer is put varies. Angels receive and put the aroma of each one's prayer into golden censers when we pray to God in the name of Jesus Christ. The censer is wide but it is not deep. The sizes differ from person to person.
This is because the 'thickness' and 'concentration' of each individual's aroma of prayer are different to the extent that their hearts have come to resemble that of God and they have achieved higher levels of faith.
One person's prayer may be offered up as the aroma of prayer that is as thick as a waterfall while another's aroma of prayer offered up is as thin as a mist. So, the speed to fill an allotted amount of prayer for answers will be different although they pray together for the same period of time and the speed to receive answers naturally will be different.
The prayer of perfect faith and love from the heart is thick and high in concentration, so it fills the appointed amount of prayer quickly and answers will be fast. Meanwhile, evil men give prayer of which aroma is thin and low in concentration and it's natural for the answers to come much later. Thus, we should unceasingly offer up fragrance of goodness in prayer that is acceptable to God all the time.
The fragrance of each individual's prayer is different depending on how much their heart has been changed. Let's compare the love for God and the goodness in the following prayers.
ex 1.
"God, forgive me. I am looking back thoroughly on myself. I thought I had done all things to extend Your kingdom and I thought it was enough. A lot of time has passed and now, I feel so ashamed because I lacked longing to become sanctified. I regret it. I am sorry. I am so embarrassed."
ex 2.
"Where is the end of my evilness? How evil my thought is! Have mercy on me, God. I had disobeyed and as a result my heart and my mind were captured. Although I try to cast it off thinking 'It is not my will', the thoughts and emotions come to me continually and I even say them. Help me! Forgive me for my foolishness and sins of disobedience."
ex 3.
"There is nothing that I have done, but yet God-given grace is overflowing in my heart. This shows what kind of space of love my shepherd is spreading for me. I am so happy to give my heart to the Father and to become the source of joy for souls. I will not forget the tears of the shepherd and I will run forward without turning-back so that I can become strength for the shepherd."
ex 4.
"Father, I can feel it now. I've just realized what the shepherd's tears really mean. He has smiled warmly at me, waiting and hoping for my change for a long time. What am I, that the Father allowed me to meet the shepherd, become changed and to engrave his tears in my heart? Thank You, Father. I will run towards the beautiful place constantly without rest."
ex 5.
"I am thinking of the grace the Father has given to me. It is too much to measure. I have given nothing to You, but You loved me and gave so much grace to me. I thought I had so many shortcomings. But the shepherd said I can make it. His words of love are still ringing in my ears. My unceasing stream of tears is the expression of my thanks to the shepherd, my hope for New Jerusalem, and my longing for the Lord."
To Offer Up the Fragrance of Prayer That Is Acceptable to God
Firstly, the prayer should come from your great reverent fear of God and it should come from your heart and soul with all your will.
It is prayer given with unchanging faith like gold and with deeds that are to practice the Word of God. That is, it is prayer of saints. A saint is one who has been recognized for having an exceptional degree of holiness, sanctity, and virtue. A saint refers to one who is God's holy child who lives in the Word of God and follows His will. If some are just churchgoers who don't practice the Word of God, it's not easy for their prayer to become the aroma of their hearts.
Secondly, the prayer acceptable to God should be offered up with love.
This kind of prayer is offered up with spiritual love for God and souls. If you have spiritual love and faith you will naturally pray for spiritual things more fervently than for other things. In other words, you will pray for the righteousness and kingdom of God before you pray for your own family, living expense, or health.
But some of those, who say they have faith and have been Christians for a long time, don't have many things to pray about for God's kingdom and they don't have an earnest heart for the prayer. Their prayer can't be comparably accepted as a beautiful aroma before God. The same applies to those who pray with idle thoughts and others who pray eagerly only when people see them. Even if you cry out in prayer and praise with a loud voice, if you have done it just habitually without heart, it can't be accepted as thick aroma of prayer. If you pray in meaningless repetition, it can't be offered up as aroma. Only the prayer from the true heart can be the aroma acceptable before God.
To offer up thick aroma of faith and love, we need to achieve a true heart and perfect faith quickly. We hope that by doing so your prayer will yield the beautiful aroma of prayer that has been piled up before God's throne and it will return to you perfectly as answers and blessings.
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