Prayer is about fellowshipping with God, not getting things from Him.
Yes, our needs are met when we pray, but even greater than that is the opportunity for a relationship deeper than what we do or don’t get from Him.
If God doesn’t answer your prayer, is He still good?
If you’re disappointed and hurt, will you still come to Him?
If your heart is broken, do you still trust Him?
When I base my prayer only on what the Lord gives me, I’m reducing prayer to a transaction. When I allow my prayer to blossom into a conversation, I’m experiencing prayer as a relationship. Prayer is about a relationship with the Lord, not a transaction with the Lord.
Prayer is about a relationship with the Lord, not a transaction with the Lord.
How and why I communicate with Him shows the state of my heart. If my heart is cold, loveless, and hard, my prayer will be mechanical, dry, and boring. But if my heart is burning, love-filled, and soft, then my prayer will be fervent, fruitful, and invigorating. How I pray shows what I really believe.
Becoming rooted and grounded in the love of Christ happens when my prayer deepens with the help of the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 3:17; Romans 8:15, 26-27) . A warm heart is a Spirit-filled heart. Communion with Holy Spirit teaches me how to pray and points me back to Jesus.
Jesus is my Goal in prayer, not the blessing or breakthrough I’m contending for. Jesus “dwelling in my heart through faith” is Jesus living in my heart because I’m open to Him and staying close to Him (Ephesians 3:17). And this is how my prayer becomes incense.
There are many Scriptures in the Bible, but not so many about prayer as incense. Psalm 141:2 is one of the few verses comparing the two, and it says, “Let my prayer be set before You as incense, The lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice” (NKJV).
The Passion Translation is even more vibrant, and it says, “Let my prayer be as the evening sacrifice that burns like fragrant incense, rising to you as I lift up my hands in surrendered worship!”
Prayer becomes incense when my heart is focused on and surrendered to the Lord because my relationship with Him matters more than what I get from Him.
The same is true for you.
Your prayer becomes incense when it’s full of love, worship, praise, gratitude, and thanksgiving. Prayers like this are precious to God, not just because He commands us to thank Him, but because He’s pleased with our love and obedience when we do what He says (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18; Psalm 100:4; John 14:15).
The Bible shows us how such prayers are received in Heaven. Revelation 5:8 says, “Now when He had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each having a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints” (NKJV).
Here’s the truth: You really can’t be consumed by worry over your needs when you’re focused on praising and thanking God.
Philippians 4:4 exhorts us to “Rejoice in the Lord always” because joy in the Lord uproots worry and anxiety from your heart. We see this in Philippians 4:6-7, where Paul says, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus” (NKJV).
The beautiful thing about prayer that’s incense is the relationship it stems from, which is all about the God we worship.
In the end, we pray from relationship because prayer is about a relationship, not a transaction. Putting the Lord before our needs allows us to receive His love, comfort, and peace when we need them most. Who He is to us becomes greater than what He does for us, and that’s how prayer blossoms into a conversation, a joy, and a bowl of incense.
I pray that you feel His love today. I pray that His peace surrounds you, His grace covers you, and His strength upholds you.
May you be filled with His Spirit, fed by His Word, and watered by His love. May His healing locate you, His deliverance free you, and His provision satisfy you.
I pray that today will be a day that you offer up prayer as incense, and I pray that your relationship with the Lord will grow even deeper and more beautiful, in Jesus’s Name. Amen.
Otiti thank you!!
This verse spoke to me. 🙂
‘ Revelation 5:8 says, “Now when He had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each having a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints” ‘
1000 x Hugs
Hiii, Mama! You’re welcome! I’m glad it touched you. 😊