Waiting to Hear from Us

“O Lord, I call to you; come quickly to me. Hear my voice when I call to you. May my prayer be set before you like incense; may the lifting up of my hands be like the evening sacrifice.” (Psalm 141:1–2, NIV)

Isn’t it wonderful to think that our prayer can come up before God like incense, that it can be a sacrifice that God awaits?

I was talking to a friend, who is a Jewish rabbi, who had the Jewish practice of praying at certain regular fixed hours. And he said this: “Isn’t it remarkable that God actually is waiting to hear my voice? With all the business of the universe on His hands, God waits every day at that fixed time to hear the voice of just one person like me.”

That really spoke to me. God waits to hear your voice, my voice. May our prayer be like incense that goes up at an appointed time, incense that’s fragrant and acceptable in His senses—incense that comes from a burning altar, which is a heart on fire with the love of God.

May God not be disappointed, may He not miss that incense, may we be regular, may we be faithful in that time of prayer.

Remember, God, Almighty God, with all the business of the universe on His hands, still waits to hear the prayers of each of His servants, of each of His children. And it comes up before Him like the fragrant incense from a sacrifice on the altar, the altar of a burning heart.