Prayer as Worship

In this message we continue our series on Worship, and looking at the theme of prayer as worship.

In the book of Revelation – When John sees Jesus on the throne in chapter 5 – we see a convergence take place between worship and prayer. When John sees the worthiness of Jesus, all the living creatures around the throne erupt in praise and adoration of Jesus. The twenty-four elders fall before Jesus – each holding “golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints (5:8).

Incense is a symbol of Israel’s worship of God in the Tabernacle – where the priests were instructed to make an altar to burn incense upon (Exod. 30:1). The chief ingredient of this incense was frankincense, which along with other spices, produced a perfume that was to accompany Israel when they came to meet with the Lord (Exod. 30:34-36). Later in Israel’s history we see King David make the connection between prayer, incense, and worship. He writes in the Psalms, “Lord, I cry unto thee… let my prayer be set forth before thee as incense” (Psalm 141:1-2).

We explore this theme in greater detail, considering how this might challenge our perception of prayer.