Psalms 141:2-3 (NKJV)
2 Let my prayer be set before You as incense, the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice. 3 Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth, keep watch over the door of my lips.
Throughout the Old Testament incense was burned within the temple. The alter of incense was an alter which burned a very aromatic incense which was pleasant to all the senses of the person who inhaled the satisfying aroma. Pleasant incense calms your body, puts you at rest and makes you want to prolong such a wonderful experience.
Both, in the Psalms and in the book of Revelation, incense is directly related to the prayers of the saints. When the saints of God pray, it is very pleasant in God’s sight, His mind is well pleased because people are seeking Him, and His heart is thrilled because His people are displaying faith. All in all it is an extremely pleasant aroma to God, pleasing Him to the uttermost.
Our prayers, which please God, can also be extremely satisfying to us. Christ is our advocate before the Father (I John 2:1-2). Christ is our representative to God, offering our prayers to the Father on our behalf. Since He paid the price of His life for our sins, He will only offer our prayers to the Father in love and with selfless intensity.
When our prayers are pleasing to God, this sacrifice is always worth the effort. Prayer, many times, causes us to lift our hands in praise. Many times prayer is not easy. We have an enemy that knows the power of prayer and wants to stop it. But, when we, through God’s Spirit, overcome our own feelings and participate in regular committed prayer, we will find it a pleasant aroma to God and to us.
What is our part in having pleasant, aromatic, lovely prayers unto the holy God of heaven? As David says in verse 2, we need to ask God to put a guard on our mouth and a watch on the door of our lips. Fresh water and salt water cannot co-exist without the pure being corrupted. Even so, a pure mouth cannot allow wickedness to proceed and then expect to praise God from the some well spring. Solomon says it well, “Whoever guards his mouth and tongue, keeps his soul from troubles”, (Proverbs 21:23, NKJV). James says that a man who able to keep his tongue from stumbling is able also to bridle his whole body (Jas 3:2).
When we choose to control our tongue, we can then, by the power of the Spirit of God, offer beautiful aromatic praise and thanksgiving unto a God Who is worthy of all praise and adoration.
Thoughts, comments, objections.
Daniel A. Smith
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