prayer offerings

There are a lot of good reasons to pray, but I stumbled upon a cool one this morning in Revelation 8:3: “Another angel, who had a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense to offer, with the prayers of all God’s people, on the golden altar in front of the throne.”

I never really thought about what happens on the other of my prayers, but this picture of an angel putting them on God’s altar mixed with incense is a new one on me. Sure, this is a vision, but it’s in the Bible to communicate truth.

And it’s a helpful vision for me because it puts prayer in the category of offering. I think of offerings as tangible ways to show my gratitude and my obedience. They also have the Old Testament connotation of a recognition of our broken relationship with God; because of sin, offerings used to be required before men could approach God.

And, just as there were offerings of many types given for many purposes, this image helps me think of the different ways my prayers can honor different aspects of God’s goodness. My petitions become offerings in recognition of providence, my lamentations acknowledgement of my need for his comfort, my praises thank offerings. 

This vision helps me see prayer not as something I do as a reaction to my circumstances, but offerings I bring in response to God’s character. And thinking about how and when offerings were brought in the Bible – Gideon sacrificing his father’s ox to start his mission, for example, or Hannah beseeching God for a child – it helps me see all the times in my life when I should be praying.

That’s the power of visions: they help us look at things in a different way and therefore to see new truths. This detail from John’s vision certainly did that for me.