The Sweet Aroma of Worship

"I know you, like me, desire the sweet aroma of worship to envelop you, and radiate from your very being, to scent all that you touch and do.

One of the specific offerings mandated by the law of God was the burning of incense. As you survey the list below, see for yourself how "sweet" the sacrificial offering of incense was."

• Incense was a costly offering.
• Incense was a sign of the acknowledgment of deity.
• Incense produced an aromatic odor.
• Incense was known as the "sweet smoke."
• Incense could be burned only by priests.
• Incense was offered up only in "the holy place."
• Incense is used in the Bible as a symbol for prayer.
• Incense was offered up and burned every morning and evening along with the other daily morning and evening sacrifices.

"In one particular psalm, David prayed to God with outstretched heart and hands, "Let my prayer be set before You as incense" (Psalm 141:2).

"The prayer of David's was not a hasty, or spontaneous, impulsive outburst of worship and emotion. There is certainly a place for such impromptu prayer in our lives, but here David mentioned his prayer in a different light-it was "set before" God. He was pleading with God that his prayers would be as disciplined and regular as the offering of incense and burnt offerings were required to be according to God's law (Exodus 29:38-30:9)."

~From Chapter 8

A friend of mine was speaking of all she had to accomplish in a day, and how her little charges took up so much of her time and attention. She realized the only way she was to ever have quiet time with her Lord was to get up a set time before they arrived. Otherwise, she would come to the end of her day without having had that essential lingering in the Holy Place. My dear, unmarried friends, what an admonition this is for us to build these "set times"  into our morning routines so that we can go into our days with the sweet aroma of prayerful worship lingering on our person. I am tired, or too busy, you may say. Oh, but think of how busy you will be when you have little ones vying for your every moment! We must cultivate our prayer lives now, so that if, and when our lives change, we will have already mastered the discipline of a"set time."

~Sarah