Golden Bowls

I love imagery.  I guess you could call me an imagery junkie.  I love to read things that are not filled with black and white.  I love the way images invite me to use my imagination, the way they enable my spirit to soar into places not known, and the way they challenge my mind and heart to go beyond what is obvious.  Images give me permision to think in a way that the black and white factual world can never do.  To be in a world where imagery prevails is like standing in the river allowing the moving water to wash over me.    

And so, when an old friend pointed me to a couple of places in the book of Revelation where it speaks of the gathering up of our prayers in the heavenly place, I found myself captivated by the stirring of an unleashed spirit within me.   The first place was Revelation 5:8 where the Word says, "...the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell before the Lamb, each holding a harp and a golden bowl full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints."  And then a little later in Revelation 8:3-4 it speaks of an angel with a golden censor standing at the altar, "...and the smoke of the incense with the prayers of the saints, rose before the Lord..."     

What happens to our prayers?  What happens to the prayers we pray which seem to be unheard?  What happens to those prayers we have prayed for a life time?  They are held in a precious bowl and rise into the air like fragrant incense before the Lord to whom the prayers have been offered.   The precious quality of our prayers requires a golden bowl held by heavenly beings.  Of course, every image has its boundaries, but in this one we are reminded that our prayers are not wasted, they are not unheard, they are not filed in some folder, but instead, they are kept in a golden bowl until they are brought before the Lord.  They are held as something of great value and they do rise before the Lord to whom we make our prayers.