Title: Prayers Answered by God
Revelation (29) God's Answered Prayer
(Rev 5:6-10)
1. Prayer of Thanksgiving
When the apostle John had a vision of the kingdom of heaven, he saw in God's right hand a scroll sealed with seven seals (Revelation 5:1). And between the throne and the four living creatures and the elders stood the Lamb who represented Jesus (verse 6). The Lamb Jesus took the scroll from the right hand of God who sat on the throne (verse 7). At that time, the four living creatures around the throne and the 24 elders fell down before Jesus, and in their hands were a harp symbolizing praise and a golden bowl full of incense symbolizing the prayers of the saints (verse 8).
The saying that the four living creatures of heaven and the 24 elders each had a harp and a golden bowl in each hand has a symbolic meaning that praise and prayer should be held at the same time. Some people say that they pray according to God's will and say, "God! Please!” is considered a very low-level prayer. But, following greed, without thanks or praise, “God! It is wrong to just pray, “Please!”, but prayers of request and petition itself are not bad.
The basic prayer is, “God! Please!” should be present. You don't have to be too stubborn when you're living your life of faith. All you need is to put it in a golden bowl and present it to God. However, we should not let prayers overflow with supplications and demands, but with little praise and thanksgiving. Even if circumstances and conditions do not unfold the way you want them to, you must pray with a heart overflowing with ‘praising God’ and ‘thank you for the grace you have given’, so that prayer becomes a powerful prayer that God answers.
2. Intercession
The golden bowls of the four living creatures and the 24 elders contained incense representing the prayers of the saints. It symbolizes that the four living creatures and the elders do not offer their prayers, but intercede for the saints. In the golden bowl filled with the incense of prayer like this, the Lord will be pleased with it when it contains not only my prayer requests but also other people's prayer requests.
In Exodus 17, when Israel and Amalek fought at Rephidim, when Moses raised his arm, Israel prevailed, and when his arm hurt, Amalek prevailed. At this time, Aaron and Hall lifted Moses' arms from the left and right, and Israel had a great victory. That scene also illustrates the importance of intercession. Intercessory prayer is the best prayer among prayers because it is a prayer for others.
Dr. Francis Schaefer famously said: “Salvation is personal, but Christian faith is not individualism.” If we can overcome individualism and selfishness well, we can also overcome the greatest obstacle to true faith, the ups and downs. Please pray for those who need my prayers as you overcome such individualism and pray. When we earnestly pray for others, God will beautifully solve even our own problems that we have not been able to ask for.
3. Assurance Prayer
Sometimes, when we pray, there are people who pray without the assurance of an answer. But the Bible clearly states that prayers will be answered. “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you” (Matthew 7:7). Do not pray for prayer without the assurance of answers, but pray with the assurance of answers.
Herb Miller's book "Connecting with God" says the following: A nightclub has opened in a neighborhood right next to the church. The church members then prayed earnestly that the nightclub would be destroyed by God's judgment. After a while, a lightning bolt really fell from the sky and the nightclub was set on fire. Then the nightclub owner, who heard the rumors of prayer, accused the members of the church next door that the fire had started.
Finally, a trial was held. The judge asked the nightclub owner. “Do you really believe that the fire started because the church members prayed?” “Yes!” replied the owner. Then I asked the church leaders. “Do you believe that you prayed and set the nightclub on fire?” To that question, church leaders answered, “No!”
After praying, there are surprisingly many people who think that their prayers will be of little use. However, the fact that the golden bowl containing the prayers of the saints was offered before the Lord means that the prayers of the saints must come up before God. Sometimes, even though I prayed earnestly and rightly, there are times when it seems that my prayers are not answered according to my own thoughts. That is when God is laying the foundation for blessings. God often works by giving other things to the prayers of the saints. The other is much better than you ever wanted and thought.