And when the time for the burning of incense came, all the assembled worshipers were praying outside. –Luke 1: 10, NIV 2011
Incense comes from the Latin incendare (that means, “to burn”), and according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, “material used to produce a fragrant odor when burned”, and “the perfume exhaled from some spices and gums when burned”. Those little sticks of wood contain a voracious mix of sweets and spices that enchant our nostrils in pleasure when lit on fire. This meaning, they smell good.
While Zechariah was doing his priestly job, the people were praying outside. Those petitions, those requests, those clamors, those praises were reaching God’s throne as a fragrant flavor of dependence. I imagine God checking them, reviewing them, watching those that have to be answered according to His will, according to His time. And on that hour, I imagine God Himself sending Gabriel to announce such a blessing: that Zechariah and Elizabeth would have a son.
Revelation 5:8 says, “ And when he had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of God’s people.” Look at that: the prayers of God’s people! YOUR prayer, my friend, is perfuming God’s throne with grace and glory right now. And sooner or later, those prayers will be answered, and those praises will be returned in glory.
Let this second, let this hour, let this day, let this whole life be filled by the burning incense of God’s Spirit…