Introduction

“And another angel came and stood at the altar having a golden censer; and there was given unto him much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne. And the smoke of the incense, which came with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before God out of the angel’s hand.”* (Revelation 8:3-4) This incense is evidently the unction of the Holy Spirit that makes prayer fragrant and acceptable to God. In the Jewish tabernacle, Aaron, in his priestly service, burned incense upon a golden altar every morning and every evening. This burning of incense is typical of the prayers of saints. Prayer arising in the Spirit from Christian hearts is a fragrant and pleasant odor to God. The fragrance from some sweet-smelling flower is very agreeable and solacing to us. Divine truth assures us that the prayer of the upright delights the heavenly Father.

That beloved disciple who had the privilege of resting on the bosom of Jesus saw in a vision, a door opening into heaven, and looking through this door, he beheld worshipers before the Lamb of God. These had harps, and golden vials full of odors, which John says, were the prayers of saints (Revelation 5:8). Prayer from Spirit-filled hearts arises to God and delights Him with its balmy odor. This is not mere sentimentalism but Scriptural verity. In ancient times it was a custom with some Oriental people to preserve the tears of mourners in vials as a memorial. True prayer ascends to the throne of God and is placed in golden vials, and by its fragrance is a memorial of us before God. This also is a truth taught in Scripture and not a mere fancy.

The centurion of the Italian band in Caesarea was a devout man, a man that feared God and prayed always. His prayers reached the throne, and God sent an angel to say to the praying man, “Thy prayers and thine alms are come up for a memorial before God.”* (Acts 10:1-4) That our sacrifices of praise and thanksgiving come up before God as a sweet odor and are kept in golden vials as a memorial of us is not a mere fanciful conception, but a blessed reality, clearly seen by the eye of faith.

Israel’s psalm-singer said once when in earnest, tearful prayer, “Put thou my tears into thy bottle; are they not in thy book?”* (Psalm 56:8) Tears add much to the fragrance of prayer. There is a prayer of tears. What speaks more loudly to our hearts than tears? The tears that are set flowing by the emotions of the heart are bottled in heaven and written in God’s book. O dear praying saint, pray on. Never will one tear be lost. It is too precious. Diamonds and pearls are mere trifles compared with thy tears. Never a word of thy prayer, however feeble it may seem to be, will fail to reach the ear of God. Amid the many prayers that are ascending to the throne from this lower world and amid the noise of angels’ shouts and songs, He will catch the sweet strain of thy feeble heart-cry and record it in heaven. The perfume of a prayer is never lost.

I have a precious telephone
The line is long and clear;
It reaches to the heavenly throne,
Unto my home so dear.

And when I call by day or night
And ask the Lord to hear,
There comes a sweet “Hello! Hello!
For thee the line is clear.”