“May my prayer be set before you like incense: may the lifting up of my hands be like the evening sacrifice.” (Ps.141:2)
The Scriptures tell us that prayer is a practice that brings pleasure to God and is likened to a sweet-smelling incense offered up to Him daily (Ps.141:2). In fact, in Revelation it talks about an angel adding incense to the bowls full of the prayers of God’s people that are being offered up to the Lord in heaven.
It was while a Gentile God-fearer named Cornelius was praying that an angel was sent to tell him that God took special note of two things that he was in the habit of doing. He said, “Your prayers and gifts to the poor have come up as memorial offering before God.” (Ac.10:4b). As a result he was to send for a man that would, in the end, tell him about “the good news of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all”. That man was Peter, and while he was praying God gave him a vision that revealed to him that he should share the good news of salvation with Gentiles, which he did with Cornelius and his household.
I want to grow my prayer life not only because it brings blessing to us here on earth, but also because it brings blessing to God In heaven. May our churches become houses of prayer that “continually offer to God [such] sacrifices!” (Heb.13:15,16).
Answer to Prayer Story
In our monthly PPU I hope to share stories of answers to prayer. So, here is one that fits in with this month’s devotional on prayer that Sue Niblock (the Smith Falls FMC Prayer Point Person) sent to me:
“I am a member of the Benevolence Committee at my church and have seen increased need. Need that makes us pray for what is next as we see desperation. I am also a volunteer with a school breakfast program. We and every school here also have a list of families that get help with lunch and at the end of the week take home the perishables. During lock downs and vacations a few families received gift cards for groceries. In my community 30% of the population lives below the poverty level and those stats are a couple years old.
My friends and I also pray about how we can reach into a hurting community.
In Feb when I was buying my own first round of seeds to start inside I realized that if you need help to buy milk, bread and soap right now then you can’t buy seeds so that in a few months you might have some fresh vegetables.”
She went on to tell of how God placed an idea in her heart of how to help them to provide for themselves. She told of many answers to prayer that brought about the development of a program where they were able to help 35 people in need start their own little vegetable gardens! She said: “Everyone that put this together feels that this was God’s will. We feel that God answered prayer and enabled it.” To read the whole story, please go to this link and be inspired:
