Molding a lump of clay

Molding a lump of clay
I am a work in progress, molded by my Maker, refined by His fire, shaped with His love. Walk the journey with me.

Tuesday, March 31, 2009

WFW - Prayer bowls


Another angel, who had a golden censer, came and stood at the altar.
He was given much incense to offer, with the prayers of all the saints,
on the golden altar before the throne.
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: 3-5


Dave Schmelzer, in his book Not the Religious Type, brings up the concept of prayer bowls as found in the Book of Revelation. He describes the picture of a bowl filled with incense and the prayers of the saints (you and me) which, when full, is hurled on to the earth, and dramatic things happen.
Hurled...dramatic

Then Dave poses some questions and ideas...

"What if each thing we pray for has its own bowl in heaven, as it were?
And what if each prayer we pray on that subject finds its way into that bowl?
And when the bowl is full - shazam! - our prayer is answered.
And what if the bowls all have different sizes?
So let's say I have a head cold and you pray for me and I actually do feel better afterward.
On this theory, that's one size bowl, and your prayers filled it.
Let's say, conversely, that we pray for peace in the Middle East.
Can we agree that that's a bowl of a different size?
But the key thing here is that peace in the Middle East does have a bowl -
however vast, it's still finite.
So hypothetically, if we got millions and millions of people to pray about that every day,
perhaps even that bowl is fillable."

I've seen a lot of answered prayer in my life, some that I would consider pretty 'big', but I also have unanswered prayers in my prayer journal, waiting for the day when something big happens on earth and the miraculous comes to pass.

Could it be that the prayer bowls for certain unsaved friends aren't filled yet?

Or is there more to it than the size of a bowl and the number of prayers?

What do you think?

For more Word-filled Wednesday pics and scriptures, head over to Amydeanne's 160 Acre Woods.


9 comments:

Denise said...

Wow, such a powerful post.

GodsOwn/Bernice said...

Awesome..Awesome....Awesome....
This post i saved straightaway.....
What a picture of HOW prayer goes up and when answered...Big bowls and smallbowls- so the more prayer on a subject...the out pourring is at hand...
Thanks for this
Bernice

Susan said...

Interesting thoughts...

I know He loves our prayers and is faithful to hear them.

Great picture too♥

Joan said...

Great post.

Happy WFW! <3

Anonymous said...

I have always loved this visual of prayer bowls. I'm not for sure if I have an opinion about the unfilled bowl or size... I am just thankful that my prayers are heard! Amen? Amen!

Mikki said...

Vikki. Hello!! Thanks so much for stopping by my blog. I LOVE meeting new bloggers!
You have a great blog here. I've been scrolling up and down reading and looking.
I can't wait to share this with my youngest. She is 15 and has a strong desire to do missions work in Africa. She loves to read blogs such as yours.
You have a beautiful family and what looks to be an amazing ministry!
Can't wait to add your blog to my 'following' list.
God bless!

Groovewoman said...

Something to think about, but I'm not sure that I agree with the concept of our prayers being answered once bowls in heaven are filled.
I believe that the Lord answers our prayers according to his will & plan for our lives, like the Word says.

Happy WFW!
Groovewoman

Amydeanne said...

interesting post. I actually don't believe in unanswered prayers..

I believe in God answering Yes, No, or wait... :)

God Bless!

Jennie Joy said...

I like this post. Yeah. :)

The bowls are for something, right?

Anyway... just thinking this thought is a wonderful motivator to continue pouring out my heart to Jesus regarding concerns that I've carried for years...

Thanks for that, Vikki!

(and it was good to see you last week!)