Incense

Psalm 5
1 Give ear to my words, O Lord,
Consider my meditation.
2 Give heed to the voice of my cry,
My King and my God,
For to You I will pray.
3 My voice You shall hear in the morning, O Lord;
In the morning I will direct it to You,
And I will look up.

Revelation 5:8
Worthy Is the Lamb
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.

Revelation 8:3
Then another angel, having a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all the saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne.

Revelation 8:4
And the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, ascended before God from the angel’s hand.

I remember reading in Revelation about the incense before the throne of God being the prayers of the saints and thinking that if our prayers are just smoke before Him that He could easily just ignore it and that it is an ephemeral thing with not much meaning and almost pointless.

But this morning the Lord told me that was not the case at all. He loves our prayers, and the point of likening them to incense was to say that they are a sweet smelling aroma to Him. They are not ephemeral at all, though, and it's almost like He was apologizing to me for giving me that impression with the analogy. He does indeed "hearken" to the voice of our cries. He does indeed "consider" our meditation. His ear is keenly attuned to the sound of our groanings and our petitions and our inquiries. If He collects all of our tears, how much more will He listen to us when we come to Him with our hearts' desires and our requests to prevent tears?

He is listening. He is closer than any friend. "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." --Matt 11:28 "If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink" --Jn 7:37

Matthew 7:7-11
"Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!"