Prayer is not a side issue. A nice panacea for us when we’re in trouble. A little mantra we chant to make us feel better. Prayer connects us to the God of heaven and can thus do anything God can do. It is not “A” work; it is “THE” work of the believer. We are called to pray about everything; to pray without ceasing. It is our foundational activity.
If God is God, then there are things He values. Some things are important to Him, while others have no meaning or can even be offensive.
God mentions prayer over 650 times in the Scriptures. So, how important are our prayers?
A Sobering Silence
In the great revelation of things to come given to John, there is a stunning period of total silence in heaven.
When the Lamb broke the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. (Revelation 8:1)
What could be so important that all of heaven stops in dead silence? Reading ahead, we see that the mighty final judgments of God were about to be hurled upon the earth for its wickedness. These judgments will be a time of incredible noise and tumult. But preceding these judgments, there is total silence brought about by one thing.
Another angel came and stood at the altar, holding a golden censer; and much incense was given to him, so that he might add it to the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar which was before the throne. And the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, went up before God out of the angel’s hand. (Revelation 8:3-4)
All of heaven stops for one thing: the prayers of all the saints. Our prayers silence heaven. There are many interpretations of what this heavenly pause means, but this much should be easily understood:
Prayer is important to God.
He created us in His image to rule with Him.