When he opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.
And I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and to them were given seven trumpets.
Another angel, who had a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense to offer, with the prayers of all the saints, on the golden altar before the throne. The smoke of the incense, together with the prayers of the saints, went up before God from the angel's hand. Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and hurled it on the earth; and there came peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning and an earthquake.
And I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and to them were given seven trumpets.
Another angel, who had a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense to offer, with the prayers of all the saints, on the golden altar before the throne. The smoke of the incense, together with the prayers of the saints, went up before God from the angel's hand. Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and hurled it on the earth; and there came peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning and an earthquake.
-Revelation 8:1-5
Does prayer have any real impact on our world? Or is it merely a private conversation with God?
When a New Jersey couple learned that a man had been released from prison and had moved into their area, they started praying for him. Then they paid him a visit and opened their home to a weekly breakfast for ex-offenders like him. Now, 22 years later, the area’s most despised men have one place to go where they are welcomed and treated respectfully.
What would happen if we followed literally Jesus’ command to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us? What if we became known for approaching heaven on behalf of outcasts and disagreeable people?
In a scene recorded in the book of Revelation, the apostle John foresees a direct linkage between the visible and invisible worlds. At a climactic moment in history, heaven is quiet. Seven angels stand with seven trumpets, waiting. Silence reigns, as if all heaven is listening on tiptoe. Then an angel collects the prayers of God’s people on earth—all the accumulated prayers of praise, lament, abandonment, despair, petition—mixes them with incense, and presents them before the throne of God (8:1-4). The silence finally breaks when the fragrant prayers are hurled down to earth: setting off a storm of “thunderings, lightnings, and an earthquake” (v.5).
The message is clear. The prayers are essential agents in the final victory over evil, suffering, and death. — Philip Yancey
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