Prayer Revolution: A 14-Day DevotionalSýnishorn

Jesus Purifies Our Prayers

Our prayers are made acceptable in the mediatory work of Jesus, a truth exemplified in both the Old Testament and the New Testament. 

In Leviticus, we read that once a year, on the great Day of Atonement, the high priest offered a sacrifice on the burning altar. After taking bloodied and burning coals from the altar, he placed them in a censer and filled the censer with two handfuls of incense. As the high priest entered the Most Holy Place, which symbolized the very presence of God, he waved the censer so that a fragrant smoke billowed and filled the room. As the cloud of incense covered the mercy seat, God was pleased with the fragrance and accepted the sacrifices and offerings for His people.

Corresponding to this Old Testament practice, in Revelation, John describes the parallel experience as it relates to Christians praying today. When any believer enters the throne room, the "incense" of their prayer ascends to God. The believer’s pleas and praises are mixed with the blood of the Savior, resulting in fragrant, purified, and pleasing petitions to God.

In order that we might enjoy answers to our prayers, Jesus gives each believer His Spirit of prayer: The Holy Spirit. Often we do not know how to pray; the Holy Spirit dwells deep within every believer and “groans” alongside us. Often we do not know what to ask for; the Holy Spirit teaches us to pray the right thoughts and words (see Rom. 8:26–27). Whenever we find ourselves stumped in prayer, Jesus encourages us that the Father always gives the Holy Spirit to those who ask (see Luke 11:9–13).

God answers Christ-filled prayers with powerful transformations that not only change the one who prays but also that shake the world and shape its destiny. As John continued, “The angel took the censer and filled it with fire from the altar and threw it on the earth, and there were peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning, and an earthquake” (Rev. 8:5).

When we pray, every believer possesses the ability to enter into the most holy presence of God through the blood sacrifice of Jesus. This high-priestly work of Christ brings a profound and enduring boldness to our prayers (see Heb. 10:19–22).

This is what it means to pray in Jesus’ name; as we pray, we invoke the purifying merit of His mediatory work.