Revelation 8 Devotional

Prayers That Rise Before God

“And the smoke of the incense, together with the prayers of the saints, rose up before God from the hand of the angel.”Revelation 8:4 (BSB)

When the Lamb opens the seventh seal, heaven falls silent for about half an hour (8:1). Then, before any trumpet sounds, an angel stands at the golden altar with incense, and the smoke rises before God together with the prayers of God's people (8:3-4). Only then does the angel fill the censer with the altar's fire and hurl it to the earth (8:5).

The trumpets that follow bring judgment on a third of the earth, the sea, the rivers, and the sky (8:7-12). They are severe, and they are also limited. A third is struck, not the whole, and an eagle cries woe because more is still to come (8:13). They leave room for repentance, though the next chapter shows it refused (9:20-21). Yet the chapter's order carries comfort for those who pray. The prayers of God's people are not lost in the noise of the world. They rise before him, and they are bound up with what he does next. When your prayers seem to vanish, they are still held before the throne.

To think about: What prayer have you stopped praying because heaven seemed silent?