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Day 67: Two Hands Full of Incense (SoS 1:12b)

"While the king is at his table, My spikenard sends forth its fragrance."

Song of Songs 1:12

In Lessons 14 to 18, we looked at the many fragrances associated with Jesus our Beloved that delights ours and the Father's hearts. Here, we see that we the Bride in turn have a fragrance that delights His.

Spikenard is a very fragrant oil that was very costly in ancient times. It was spikenard oil Mary poured on Jesus' feet in John 12. Judas said it was worth a year's wages. So, we can deduce from Mary's act that the  fragrance of spikenard is the fragrance of worship.

We should note however that the fragrance of the Bride's perfume filled the room as she feasted and fellowshipped with the king. 

Jesus said to the Samaritan woman in John 4:24:

"...the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth..."

As we feast on the word which is truth at the King's table and fellowship with Him and the Holy Spirit (represented as wine), our love for Him increases. We receive a deeper revelation of His character, acts, and person and this releases the fragrance of praise and worship. Worship is greatly dependent on our revelation of spiritual truths, while revelation is dependent on the Holy Spirit breathing on the word till it comes alive to us.

Our worship however is not the only fragrance that delights our Beloved's heart. In Leviticus 16:12-13, God told Moses that Aaron must come into His presence with his hands (both hands) full of sweet incense to burn. Revelations 5:8 tells us the incense burned before God's throne in heaven is the prayer of the saints. We can say then that the two hands full of incense Aaron went into God's presence with represent worship and prayer.

(Though worship is prayer, I use prayer in this lesson to refer to prayer requests, whether ours or the ones we make for others.)

It's not just our worship that is fragrant to God, our prayer offered with a revelation of the word and in fellowship with the Holy Spirit is a sweet-smelling odor to God. God does not take pleasure in our worship alone, He takes pleasure in our prayer requests too. Jesus said in Matthew 7:12 that the Father gives good gifts to those who ask Him. He loves to meet our needs.

David understood this perfectly. So we see that the Psalms are worship and prayer intermingled into one. He said in Psalm 141:2:

"Let my prayer be set before You as incense, The lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice."

We do not have to separate prayer and worship, we can effortlessly flow from one to another and mingle them into one. 

1 Timothy 2:8 says:

"I desire therefore that the men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting."

That's prayer mingled with worship! I believe lifting hands not just while worshipping but praying is an act of sacrifice to God, surrender, and faith in His Lordship and sovereignty; over us, and the situation. I also believe Paul specifically said holy hands and not just hands because we should be aware as we do it that we approach God on the basis of Christ's righteousness accounted to us and not ours. We stand before Him without any blemish, errors or sins.

Knowing this, we should come boldly and as often as we can into God's presence. As we commune with Him, we should let our fragrance of worship and prayer rooted in revelation from the word and guided by the Holy Spirit flow freely.

PRAY WITH ME:
Lord, it is a privilege that you delight in my prayer even as you do my worship. Let your Holy Spirit guide me into deeper revelations of truth from Your word that will let my fragrance flow more and more freely to you. Amen.

REFLECT AND ACT:
  • Are you intentional about worship or has it become just an opening to prayer?
  • How confident are you about approaching God for your needs?
  • What revelations from the word are solid foundations for your worship and prayer requests?
  • Do you allow the Holy Spirit to guide your prayer or do you carry on in your understanding?

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