Do you know what's important to Him?

"golden bowls full of incense,

which are the prayers of the saints"

Revelation 5:8

Revelation 5:8 is one of my favorite verses in all of Scripture.  Now, I could say that about several verses.  At least one per book, I would guess.  But this verse holds a special place in my heart, because it was an important verse, at one time, for someone very important to me.
And he's probably gonna hate this story...

But I'm gonna tell it anyway...

It's about my Amazing Boy.

He was six years old, and going through kind of a rough time.  We had a foreign exchange student living with us, and I think he wasn't used to having a long-term guest in the house.  And because she was the same age as my Awesome Girl, they spent almost all day together.  And I think that because felt he'd lost his sister ~ his constant companion ~ he was afraid of losing me, too.  He became very clingy, and went through a time of separation anxiety.

He had not had a problem being separated from me since he was very young, but during this time, he didn't want to leave me for Sunday School, or to join his class for Bible Study, or even to visit his grandparents unless I was in the room with him.

So during this time, he and I prayed a lot.  I reminded him frequently to ask God for help, and to pray for strength.  I talked to him about a wall made of stones, and putting on one stone doesn't seem like much, but every stone makes the wall bigger.  So every time he was brave, and went away from me, he was building a wall of stone; he was getting stronger and stronger, and it would get easier and easier.   

He was so brave, in his fear.  As hard as it was for him, he kept trying.  Sometimes he'd cry, and make it hard for me to leave.  Other times he'd hold back the tears.  It was a hard time for both of us.

Now, about this same time, I was reading Revelation to my kids.  I think it's such a great book for kids.  There are battles and a dragon, and amazing creatures with a multitude of wings and eyes.  They may not get all the symbolism, but it's never too young to start, right?  And I had shared with my kids how much I love this verse.  That our prayers are so precious to God, He places them in golden bowls. 

So one morning, we were driving to Bible Study, after dropping Awesome Girl and our guest, Chelsea, off at school.  He knew what was coming and that as soon as we arrived at the church, he'd have to go into his classroom.  And he was starting to get anxious.  So I reminded him of all the sweet wonderful women at Bible Study who loved him.  Not just his teachers, but all the women who were my friends.  They all knew his struggles, and they'd been praying for him.  And I hoped that would give him strength, to know that people he loved were praying for him.

But when I told him, there was silence from the back seat.  And then a minute later, his trembling voice said, "Are those prayers in the golden bowls too, Momma?"

I know, right??  So sweet.

To this day, when I see that verse, I remember that.  The fact that people were praying for my sweet, scared little boy was so precious to me.  Those prayers were valuable to me.

But even more so to God.

Nothing we say to Him is wasted.  He treasured my Amazing Boy's prayers for strength and courage, and He treasured the unselfish prayers of others, for my boy. 

Prayers are gifts, and He treasures them as such.

~ "And the smoke of the incense,
with the prayers of the saints,

ascended before God from the angel's hand" ~

Revelation 8:4