by David J. Stewart | November 2016
Revelation 5:8, “And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints.”
What a precious Scripture! What an encouragement to pray! I don't claim to
understand this truth, but the Holy Bible plainly teaches that God somehow
collects the prayers of all the saints in vials. These vials are said to be
“full of odours,” which are the “PRAYERS OF THE SAINTS” (the redeemed). The
Bible says that the “odours” themselves are the prayers of believers.
We find another precious Scripture, this time from the Old Testament, which teaches that God collects our tears in a bottle. Psalms 56:8, “Thou tellest my wanderings: put thou my tears into thy bottle: are they not in thy book?”
In another beautiful passage of Scripture, God says that He engraves every believer into the palms of His hands. Isaiah 49:16, “Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me.” Could it be that God has our names written in His palm, because we're always on His mind? We know from Psalms 139:1-6 that God watches everything we do, even when we get up from our bed or lie down to rest.
Psalms 139:1-6, “O LORD, thou hast searched me, and known me. Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off. Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways. For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O LORD, thou knowest it altogether. Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid thine hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain unto it.”
God monitors us continually, knowing our every thought. I love that! I am encouraged to know that my God is omnipotent (all-powerful) and omniscient (all-knowing).
