What Happens to Our Prayers?

The Wailing Wall, Jerusalem

And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the

 twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp,

and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.

Revelation 5:8

God never forgets our prayers.  

He cherishes them.

He keeps them in golden bowls.

Heavenly Incense: that's what becomes of our prayers.

Years ago on a trip to Israel I left a prayer in the Western Wall in Jerusalem.

It was for a daughter who wasn't walking with God.

I don't remember what I wrote on that little slip of paper.

God remembers.

He has long since answered that prayer.

The beautiful godly woman she is today bears no resemblance to the troubled hurting young girl she was then.  Transformation, God's work in the heart and life of people.  

That's what God does with our prayers.

He answers them in spectacular ways.

Now to Him who is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us,

Ephesians 3:20

I came home from Africa with a stack of handwritten prayer requests from the women who attended our conferences.

So the ottoman in my office has become like the Wailing Wall, a repository of handwritten prayer requests.  

It's in the praying for these women that I feel God's love for them growing in my heart.

God doesn't need a written reminder of the burdens we lift to Him.

He holds them in His heart and stores them up in golden bowls.

They are the fragrance of our faith in Him.

And, He acts upon them.

This morning I read about the Centurion who wanted Jesus to heal his servant.  He sent the elders of the Jews to carry his request.  They told Jesus he was "worthy for whom he should do this".  As if any of us deserves something from God.  

Jesus accompanied the Jews walking toward the Centurion's home, but the soldier sent word saying he wasn't worthy for Jesus to come to his house.  He hadn't thought himself worthy to come to Jesus in person to make his request.  As far as he was concerned he wasn't worthy.  He did understand authority, a chain of command.  He was certain that Jesus could just give the order and it would be done. 

He had faith and didn't need to see Jesus to believe he had the power to simply say the word and the servant would be healed.

Today I'm lifting up the requests these women made because I know Jesus can heal, save, restore, and spiritually bless.  

He doesn't do it because we are worthy.

He is waiting to work in your life and the lives of those you know and care about.

We know next to nothing about the servant, but he was healed.

Just ask.

He's waiting to hear from you.