PRAYER MATTERS

PASTOR RYAN LADEN – DEVOTIONALS

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In our ongoing study of the nature of prayer, we come today to an image given by the Holy Spirit to the writer of the book of Revelation (John the Elder). In this descriptive vision, we are shown in vivid detail the extent to which the Lord values and loves our prayer. 

2 And I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and seven trumpets were given to them. 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. 4 The smoke of the incense, together with the prayers of God’s people, went up before God from the angel’s hand.

(Revelation 8:2-4 NIV11)

The Scene

Before we draw any conclusions about this teaching, let’s first examine this scene drawn from the throne room of heaven. 

In the flow of the story being told in the book of Revelation, this scene is a withdrawal from the events associated with the discipline of the nations that will eventually lead to the summation of this world and the creation of the new. 

In a way, this is a private view of the Lord, surrounded by his people, worshiped and adored by all of creation. The angel (messenger) of the Lord approaches the altar which was before the throne of God with a bowl full of incense. 

The incense was mixed with the prayers of all of God’s children. This mixture of incense and prayer went up before the Lord and we assume that this pleased the Lord. 

Two

There are many things that can be said about this vision, but I want to focus on two important ideas that stand out for me here. 

The first of these ideas is that God values the prayers of his people. 

The Lord received the prayers of his children as a blessing, as an expression of worship. Our prayers are brought into the presence of the Lord and are given over to him for his enjoyment. God loves our prayer. 

The second big idea in this vision is that of seeing the Lord add to our prayers. To our open lines of communication, the Lord adds his eternal substance. 

The Apostle Paul made this point in the following passage:

26 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. 27 And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.

(Romans 8:26-27 NIV11)

Helps us

In a way similar to the throne room image of mixing our prayers together with the eternal incense used in worship before the Lord, the Holy Spirit is described as joining with the child of God in his or her times of prayer. 

The Spirit of God, works on our behalf, translating our prayer from our selfish and ignorant words into something that is holy and pleasing to the Lord. 

Honest

I will be honest, I often struggle to know what to ask the Lord to do when praying with and for others who might be experiencing great needs. 

I often do not know exactly what to pray when I feel led by the Holy Spirit to lift someone else up in prayer. I feel led to pray for them, but I am unsure about what exactly I am to say to the Lord in these situations.

Awesome

This is where the Holy Spirit is so awesome. The Lord himself, through the work of his Spirit, adds to our requests, our prayers, and our groans of concern and anguish for others. We are not required to know exactly what to say or how to say it when we come to the Lord in prayer. 

The most important thing we do in this call to pray is to actually pray. 

We need not hesitate while we equivocate, we need only to come to the Lord with what matters and remember that it absolutely matters to the Lord. 

In Christ, 

Ryan Laden

PASTOR RYAN LADEN

Works at MTN. CHURCH

Former Senior pastor at Warnbro Community Church

Studies at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary

Studied at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary

Studied at Baylor University

Studied at Texas Tech University

Went to Castle Hills First Baptist

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