Revelation 8: God hears His people's prayers
Begin in prayer
Before we read about the prayers of the saints and the trumpets of judgment, let us hush ourselves before the Lord. Ask Him to listen to our family, and to show us Christ even in this hard chapter.
Yet have respect for the prayer of your servant, and to his supplication, Yahweh my God, to listen to the cry and to the prayer which your servant prays before you;
2 Chronicles 6:19
Father in heaven, please open our eyes as we read Your Word. Show us that You hear Your people, and that You judge sin. Help us to see Jesus. Make us more like Jesus. And please bless our family as we worship You together. In Jesus' name, Amen.
See where we're going
The Lamb's seventh seal opens into about half an hour of silence in heaven. Before the seven trumpets sound, incense rises with the saints' prayers from the golden altar before God. Fire from that altar is then thrown to earth, followed by thunder, lightning and an earthquake. The first four trumpets strike land, sea, fresh waters and the lights of heaven, repeatedly destroying or darkening one third. Many die from the waters made bitter by Wormwood, and an eagle announces three more woes from the trumpets still to sound.
As you read Revelation 8, look for the answers:
- What went up before God with the smoke of the incense? (verse 4)
- What did the angel do with the censer after he filled it with fire? (verse 5)
- What does the eagle cry after the fourth trumpet? (verse 13)
Reflect together
Key truth
God hears His people's prayers, and He sends judgment on the earth as the trumpets sound.
The silence comes after the martyrs' cry for justice and before God's judgments answer it. Israel's worship joined burning incense with the people's prayers, so the golden altar gives this scene a familiar shape. Here the prayers reach God, and the same censer carries altar fire down to earth. The vision joins His hearing with His action, giving suffering believers reason to keep praying. Trumpets sounded alarms and summoned Israel, making their sound a warning that God is acting. The judgments recall Egypt's plagues through hail, waters becoming blood and darkness. Yet the repeated third shows their limited reach, even as land, livelihood, drinking water and light are struck. Wormwood names a bitter plant, and the waters bearing its name become deadly. The eagle's threefold woe announces the remaining trumpets, so the first blows cannot be treated as the end of danger.
How does Revelation 8 show us that God hears His people's prayers and sends judgment on the earth as the trumpets sound?
God receives His people's prayers before the trumpets sound.
An angel receives incense to add to all the saints' prayers at the golden altar (verse 3). In Israel's worship, the people prayed while incense was offered (Luke 1 verse 10). Here the incense and prayers rise before God together (verse 4).
God's answer comes as fire from the altar is thrown to earth.
The angel fills his censer with fire from the altar where the prayers rose (verse 5). He throws it to earth, followed by thunder, sounds, lightning and an earthquake. The altar where prayers rose becomes the place from which judgment falls.
The trumpets strike land and sea and the water and light people need.
The first trumpet burns a third of earth and trees, and all green grass (verse 7). A third of the sea becomes blood, and a third of sea life and ships perish (verses 8 and 9). A third of the waters become bitter through Wormwood, and many die from them (verses 10 and 11). The fourth trumpet darkens a third of sun, moon and stars, and of day and night (verse 12).
The eagle announces three more woes before the remaining trumpets sound.
The eagle cries woe three times for earth's inhabitants because three trumpets remain (verse 13). What has already happened gives no ground for ignoring that warning. The repeated cry announces grief and distress beyond the trouble already described.
Memorise
The smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, went up before God out of the angel’s hand.
Revelation 8:4
Looking to Jesus in my life
Ask yourself in your heart, when I pray, am I asking Jesus to forgive my sin?
John sees “the prayers of the saints” rise before God, then fire from the same altar is thrown to earth. The trumpets strike the land, sea, waters and sky. God hears His people, and the gifts on which earthly life depends cannot shelter rebellion from His judgment.
The Lamb who opened the seal is the Savior who bore God's anger against sin for His people. At the cross, Jesus carried their guilt and suffered the judgment they deserved. His sacrifice is complete, and it is enough to bring them to God. He rose to life and lives as the Savior through whom His people pray.
Hear the warning while it sounds. Turn from your sin and trust Jesus Christ. All who call on Him in faith find forgiveness and access to God through Him. Bring your need to this living Lord, whose people can pray with confidence that He hears.
Parent's note
Tell your children that God hears His people when they pray, and that He will judge sin. Please do not tell them they are saved just because they grew up in a Christian home. Call each child to turn from sin and trust Jesus, and pray that God would give them a new heart. Parents, verses 7 to 12 are hard, so please explain them gently in your own words.
Pray together
Now please close your time together in prayer. Thank God that He hears His people, and bring the heart question to Him. Every child can pray, so let each one say a short prayer if they want to.
The smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, went up before God out of the angel’s hand.
Revelation 8:4
Lord God, thank You that You hear the prayers of Your people. Thank You that You gave a warning. Please lead each of us to turn from sin and trust Jesus. Teach us to pray to You this week. Amen.