Ambergris

“Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.” Revelation 5:8b

What comes to mind when you think of incense? The imagery I get is one of a fragrant aroma. Did you notice in this scripture what creates that incense? This verse in Revelation gives us a rare peek into what is transpiring in heaven as we pray. The incense that is held in these golden bowls is the cumulative prayers of the saints. As our prayers go up to God they are gathered together in bowls and together they make incense to the Lord.

As I thought about that, I realized that it doesn’t specify that it is only the beautifully worded prayers of the saints, nor does it say the prayers of the leading saints. It is the summation of all the saints’ prayers that create a beautiful aroma, from the smallest child to the elderly mind taken over with Alzheimer’s, to that soul struggling with addiction, to the most pious of us all. It is only as they are combined together that it produces a fragrant aroma.

My husband is a chemist for a flavor and fragrance company. Today he told me about a very interesting ingredient that is much sought after by perfumers. It is called ambergris. Ambergris is a solid, waxy, flammable substance of a dull gray or blackish color produced in the digestive system of and regurgitated by sperm whales. Freshly produced ambergris has a marine, fecal odor. When I heard this I thought why would any perfumer want whale vomit for an ingredient for perfume? My husband explained to me that this substance is what gives the perfume stability and allows it to keep its original fragrance longer and also as it ages it acquires a sweet earthy scent that enhances the perfume. Ambergris is an indispensable commodity in the perfume industry. He told me that in one of the industry journals he was reading, a man and his wife were on vacation and the husband saw some ambergris on the beach. He picked it up and packaged it properly and sold it for $300,000.

As I thought about this, I couldn’t help but wonder if some of us hesitate to meet with others in prayer because we see our prayers as ambergris. We only see whale vomit rather then the beauty of this valuable commodity. We think that our prayers aren’t worthy because they aren’t eloquent enough or as finely tuned as more seasoned prayer warriors. But that isn’t how God sees it. He sees those prayers much like ambergris, they are needed to enhance the prayers and give them staying power as they rise up to God. Those kinds of prayers are very important.

There are four things Jesus prayed in his high priestly prayer found in John 17, and one of them is that we would be united. Nothing pleases the heart of God more then when we stand united on something in Jesus’ name. Matthew 18:19-20 reads “Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them.” The enemy knows the kind of power we would wield in prayer if we regularly gathered together and prayed.

When one of my children comes and asks me for something it is usually an “I’ll think about it” kind of thing. But if both come and ask at that same time it is almost a sure “yes”. I don’t believe that God is any different. The same way it moves my heart when my children unite in a request, I believe God is moved as well. Let’s not allow the enemy to keep us from united prayer because we see our prayers as ambergris and not worthy of hearing. The very least, which is a great thing in itself, is we can sit in agreement. Unity brings power.

Why not make it your goal to start to gather with the saints in prayer? I believe that as that fragrant aroma, ambergris included, goes up to God with a unified oneness in Spirit that we will see stunning things transpire not only in our personal lives but corporately in our church as well as in our nation.

I am challenged to not allow the enemy to keep me from vocalizing my prayers. I am determined to mingle my prayers with those of the other saints to create that fragrant aroma to God that is stored up in bowls in heaven. How about you? If this blog post has challenged you too, why not reply with an Amen!! Let’s create a holy roar across the internet that will send the enemy of our souls scrambling in defeat.