Last summer I remember I reading The Bowls are Tipped and Revival Rain is Here by Jenifer Martin. At the time, prayer equity was a brand new concept to me. I’ll admit I struggled with the idea for quite awhile. I couldn’t fathom that God would store up prayers like a savings account. That seemed too cold and business-like for a God who loved enough to send His only son. That I would have to fill my bowl before God would answer seemed to place to much burden on me and take the emphasis off of God.
God has slowly been revealing more and more on the idea of prayer equity and needing to fill my bowl with prayer though.
Rev 5:8 And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the lamb, each holding a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.
When God Repeats Himself
Around the same time, that verse came up several times in different ways. First was a casual conversation referencing prayer bowls. Second was a repeating image of hundreds of prayer bowls stored on shelves. I kept getting mental images, actual photos, etc. Last, I studied several passages on how our prayers rise up to heaven as a sweet fragrance.
The more times God says or shows me something, the more important is usually is.
While I have heard this verse before, the idea of prayer bowls was mostly unknown new to me. Prayer bowls or incense have never been part of my prayer practice. I have never paid attention to biblical references of prayer being an incense, or sweet aroma to the Lord. That God would store my prayers until there was enough of them and I need to fill my bowl was intriguing.
I’ll admit I wasn’t too comfortable with the idea of prayer equity at first but the concept kept repeating. When the Holy Spirit kept bringing it up, I knew it was time to sit with it and ask what it was he was trying to show me.
Receiving the Download
Just a few days later, I happened to be at the splash pad with my children. I watched as my boys stood under the tipping buckets anxiously waiting for them to fill and spill over. The boys were filled with hope, joy and anticipation as they waited for the bucket to tip over on top of them. The boys didn’t mind waiting as the bucket filled because they knew the outcome was going to be great. They had no doubt the buckets would tip as soon as they were ready. Children’s joy and enthusiasm can be so contagious! I was enjoying watching my children play and have fun when the Holy Spirit reminded me of what I read. Suddenly the Holy Spirit was pour out equal measures of knowledge and conviction. I watched the buckets fill over my kids and knew, without doubt, that I wasn’t filling my bowl enough.
God Doesn’t Move without Us!
God wants to pour out his blessings upon us but God doesn’t move without us. He requires our partnership! We don’t get to tell God what to do but we do get to ask and he does wait for us to ask before he moves. It is our prayer that allows him to move his hand. This is why it is so important to pray without ceasing and fill your bowl.
I’m not talking about Genie-in-the-sky, wish list prayers where we ask for anything and everything we want in the moment. While these prayers aren’t inherently wrong, these prayers tend to be selfish in nature. As a result, it is hard to know if we are praying in alignment with God’s will. God absolutely cares about our wants, not just our needs. However, we are called to be kingdom focused, not self-focused. God will often grant our wants and not just our needs, but he grants our wants as gifts, not as demands.
A quote by Dave Willis sums it up beautifully. “If all your prayers were answered, would the world look different or just your life?”
God isn’t in the business of making all our dreams and wishes come true, but our prayers do matter. The bible says the “earnest prayers of a righteous man makes tremendous power available (James 5:16 Amplified).”
How Do We Become Righteous?
2 Timothy 2:22 So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart. ESV
Titus 3:5 He saved us, not because of words done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit. ESV
Proverbs 3:33 The Lord’s curse is on the house of the wicked, but he blesses the dwelling of the righteous. ESV
This is a complicated idea so I’m going to try to keep it simple. Righteousness is living in a state of repentance followed by our willingness to follow God’s leading and act in a way that is Christ-like. Accepting the work Jesus did on the cross to set us free from sin and allow us to stand before the Father blameless is the beginning of righteousness. It is a result of the ultimate act of love and mercy and accomplished only through faith. Righteousness, however, also include a level of responsibility to act in a Christ-like manner. As Christians, we are to bear good fruit. Part of righteousness is doing good and renouncing sin.
It is important to differentiate between righteousness and salvation at this point. While righteousness absolutely has a component of doing the right thing, salvation is never based on works. Salvation is founded, solely, in the work of Christ on the cross.
Righteousness Versus Salvation
When we take the time to confess our sins, wait for and then pray in the Spirit, God hears our prayers and is free to move because of them. When we are praying in alignment with the Holy Spirit, our prayer releases heaven on Earth. We pray “thy kingdom come, thy will be done” to partner with God in accomplishing his plans. This puts God’s will above our own. It allows us to be his instruments and tools.
Are You Filling Your Bowl?
Our call is to pray without ceasing. We are to pray until we fill our bowls. We are told to ask and keep asking, seek and keep seeking, knock and keep knocking, until the answer comes (from Matthew 7:7-8). Our job is to make prayer deposits until we have enough equity and interest for God to ‘cash out’ the prayers.
Luke 18:1 And he told them a parable to the effect that they out always to pray and not lose heart.
Jesus told a parable about a widow who kept asking a judge for help in gaining justice against her adversary. The judge ultimately gave in because she did not give up. Another story involves a man asking his friend for a loaf of bread in the middle of the night. His friend didn’t give him the bread to be kind. The friend gave the man bread due to the man’s persistence. Likewise, the Father answers our prayers when we do not give up. Sometimes the answers are swift and other times we have to wait for long periods of time, but if we give up before the answer comes we can loose out on the answer entirely.
Failing to Pray is a Sin
1 Samuel 12:23 Moreover, as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord by ceasing to pray for you, and I will instruct you in the good and right way.
Read that last one again… “Far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord by ceasing to pray for you.” Wow!!! Not only is that a serious call to intercessory prayer, but it also clearly states that praying occasionally isn’t enough. Failing to pray is actually a sin against the Lord.
This drastically changes my perspective on prayer when I think about needing to fill my bowl.
If failing to pray is a sin, we absolutely need to take it serious. If all of our prayers are filling our bowls and waiting for enough equity for God to pour out his answers, then what are you missing out on? What have you given up on too early because you either didn’t see an answer or didn’t initially get the answer you wanted?
Receiving What You Ask For
Matthew 21:22 And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you ask in faith.
I have always known that prayer was important: prayer is how we communicate with God. If you spend time any time in church, it seems, you’ve heard the verses on pray without ceasing, ask and keep asking, you will receive what you ask in faith, etc. I have seen each of these what feels like a million times. I have never seen the verse saying failing to pray was a sin though.
Matthew, Mark, John: they all write Jesus’ promise that whatever you ask in him, the Father will give to you. So pray without ceasing. Fill your bowl. Don’t become complacent, fall into sin and loose out on your answer by giving up too soon.
What does praying without ceasing mean to you? Do you think it’s possible with the busy lives we live? Let me know what you think in the comments. We’ll be talking about that next time!
1Thessalonians 5:16 Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you…
Prayer
Father,
I didn’t realize that failing to pray was a sin. I confess that I have put it off, waiting until the end of the day or skipping it entirely. It is easy to fail at prioritizing my prayer life the way I should. I often offer you what is left of me instead of the best of me. Too often I fall into the trap of selfish prayers and praying for what I want for myself and my friends and not always praying for others the way I am called. I forget to pray for situations and causes that are on your heart. I get so tired and busy that I fail to listen to what you are saying back to me.
Please continue teaching me how to pray and what to pray for. Show me what it means to pray with out ceasing. Help me to cultivate the attitude where that is possible in my life. Continue to show me what your will is. I want to learn how to mean “Your kingdom come and Your will be done.” Thank you for your guidance and wisdom. Thank you for growing my faith in this area.
In Jesus’ name
If you’ve missed any of the articles in this series, check them out here:
- Fill Your Bowl: Prayers in Bowls 1
- Pray Without Ceasing: Prayers in Bowls 2
- Stuck in the Wait: Prayers in Bowls 3
- Using the Wait: Prayers in Bowls 4 (coming soon)
If this article was helpful, check out the rest of the series!
- Pray Without Ceasing: Prayers in Bowls 2
- How Well Do You Wait?: Prayers in Bowls 3
- Using the Wait: Prayers in Bowls 4
Resources
http://www1.cbn.com/devotions/golden-bowls-prayer
http://www.elijahlist.com/words/display_word.html?ID=19786
https://www.fromhispresence.com/your-prayers-are-this-important-to-god/