“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 8:4-5).
Sometimes it seems that our prayers aren’t answered. We pray and apparently nothing happens. The bad guys seem to be winning and the good guys struggle. These verses clear up the picture. When we pray our prayers reach heaven. They aren’t forgotten or ignored.
“The smoke of the incense, together with the prayers of the saints” form something like fireballs in the hands of the angel. He throws them to earth and there are “peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning and an earthquake.” There is a day when the earth will feel the effect of the prayers we have prayed.
The description of a violent storm is the biblical way of saying God shows up. In Exodus, when God came down on Mount Sinai to meet with Moses, the description resembles this event in Revelation. “On the morning of the third day there was thunder and lightning, with a thick cloud over the mountain, and a very loud trumpet blast. Everyone in the camp trembled” (Exodus 19:16).
What John was describing as an answer to our prayers wasn’t just an ordinary storm. It was a picture of God showing up in His majesty. When we pray we can be assured that heaven takes note. The response will be the presence of God coming in power to make things right. Don’t ever think our prayers are wasted. Heaven is collecting them and God will intervene. His timing may not be ours but He is faithful.
