A Revelation Invitation

And another angel came and stood at the altar with a golden censer, and he was given much incense to offer with the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar before the throne, and the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, rose before God from the hand of the angel. Then the angel took the censer and filled it with fire from the altar and threw it on the earth, and there were peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning, and an earthquake. (Revelation 8:3-5 ESV)

While God’s people endured that half hour of silence, while God seemed unresponsive to his people, God’s people nevertheless persisted in prayer. They persevered in their pleas for divine intervention. They continued asking “How long?” With our limited perspective we may not see how his plans must unfold. In our limited wisdom we may not understand his delays. However, we should be confident that he hears every word we utter in prayer. We can trust that he is sympathetic to our needs and will respond to the request we lay before him. We can believe that he will act—in his time—for our good and for that of all creation. We really are his dearly loved people.

Interceding between God and creation this angel was given a golden censer and much incense. The smoke of that incense carried the sweet aroma of the prayers of the saints before God. Our prayers are pleasing to him. After filling this censer with fire from the altar, the the angel promptly and deliberately hurled it on the earth demonstrating that our prayers prompted God to act. Its impact was earth-shaking. The thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning and earthquake remind us of God’s meeting Moses on Mount Sinai. It was a pivotal moment in Israel’s history. From that moment forward everything changed for them as a people. And so it is here. God’s actions as we will see are about to change everything in their world. The devastation that follows with the sounding of each trumpet is all in response to the prayers of God’s people! God heard their prayers and he responded mightily and terribly!

Notice that these prayers are not the personal prayers of individual Christians. While God certainly hears our individual requests and responds to them in his wisdom and mercy, this scene is about God’s actions on behalf of his oppressed people when collectively they appeal to him for justice against their persecutors. We are promised vindication. But God’s actions are not merely vindictive. Working through our prayers God seems to be working toward the greater goal of conquering evil. Evil is corrupting his good creation. God has been working toward this end since Adam and Eve rebelled. His purpose behind the approaching doom is to restore his good creation, to usher in his new creation.

Even during times when we may not perceive his intervention, God has not abandoned us. We’ll be tempted to be discouraged when he doesn’t seem to care what’s happening. Nothing could be further from the truth. When we pray, he will answer. Therefore, we must persist in prayer. He will respond to our pleas decisively for our salvation and possibly with destructive power. We may not often see or understand God’s plans, but this scene assures us that he is fully engaged in what’s happening in our world. Be assured that we are dear to him, that what is happening to us matters to him. His patience leads to our rescue.

Great God in heaven who is, who was and who is to come, give me patience. I admit that my perspective is limited while you see all things. Help me trust your plan even when it is not obvious to me. In your great wisdom and power you will rescue your people. What a great salvation awaits us. Thank you for that hope and assurance. Amen.