Over 20 years ago I had a dream that is still crystal clear in my mind today. In the dream, I was carrying a baby, and walking through a church parking lot. Standing under the awning at the Church’s entrance was an older man who was singing this song:
I will pour on you
the oil of gladness in the morning,
I will pour on you
the oil of my joy.
I will burn off all the dross
Stir up what remains
And I will pour on you
the oil of my joy.
As the man sang, it was the most beautiful voice that I had ever heard, and somehow I knew it was an angel singing God’s own song over me. However, I barely paused to listen and hurried on my way to complete my task. In the dream I returned to the parking lot, still carrying the baby, and as I walked past, the man was still singing the Father’s song over me. And then I awoke.
~~~~~~~~
All these years later, I recognize the voice of my Father calling me to come with Him, to allow Him to pour out His oil over me. He has stilled my busy caring and serving, and I have been brought to a place of rest at His feet. Yet, even in the resting, the pain and fatigue have threatened to steal every drop of joy that I have known. In the instinctive reaction to physical pain, there are days that my arms are curled into my side, hunching my shoulders and neck into a place of self-protection.
The spasmed fascia in my neck shows how that hunching and curling has contributed to yet more pain. Last week as the physical therapist gave my neck and spine the gentle prodding and stretching that is part of the Myofascial Technique, suddenly I realized my arms were pulling up to my chest as a flaring of Rheumatoid Arthritis pain in my wrists was triggered. But in that jerking, the Lord of Love brought a release.
“Offer the pain up to Me now,” He invited. And He reminded me of the word that He has been speaking to me all summer: Incense.
And when he had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of God’s people. Revelation 5:8 NIV
Another angel, who had a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense to offer, with the prayers of all God’s people, on the golden altar in front of the throne. 4 The smoke of the incense, together with the prayers of God’s people, went up before God from the angel’s hand. Revelation 8:3-4 NIV
As I thought about the incense and the prayers of the saints, and as I thought about the anointing oil, neither the incense nor the oil was created without pain. The spices for both were ingredients that were scraped, chiseled or gathered from various trees and herbs. They were then crushed, and pounded, and boiled through a distillation process to remove the dross before they were finally pure enough to be used for the proper purposes. (You can read more in Exodus 20 for the Lord’s specific instructions.)
I have become acquainted with crushing and burning and boiling away the dross of my life.
During the time when that dream was first given, I was deeply burdened and interceding for dear ones in a former church. Some of that intercession was never acknowledged, in fact, it was rejected and spurned. I returned my prayers back to the Father, and found forgiveness for those who had rejected me. But I never understood that the pain could be offered as a gift also.
I tucked the pain down deep, moved on, and asked God to show me His next steps in my life. But the explanation of the setting for the dream was never fully understood until just this week when these verses came to mind:
For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. 23 And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. 24 For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? 25 But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.
26 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. 27 And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because[g] the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. Romans 8:22-27 ESV
Truly, those prayers that I carried felt like a kind of labor pain, Holy Spirit birthed praying. And through all those years of serving and praying, I carried those babies–those prayers–close to my heart. It was a natural, instinctive reaction to the pain that I felt. But the Lord now whispered a gentle invitation to me from within my place of resting here:
Offer that labor pain, that baby, up to Me now, letting My Holy Spirit carry the incense of your prayers to Me fully. Allow My Holy Spirit to carry what you were never meant to hold onto. The pain is too heavy, it will always leave you hunched and curled. But I will pour my oil of joy on you as you release the incense of your prayers and pain.
“Incense”
The prayers of God’s people
rose
The smoke of incense wafted
behind
The Holy of Holies curtained
between
The priest in anointing oil
covered
Entered the curtained room
unveiling
Cloud of incense fragrance
trailing.
And the Father sang His song over His people.
As the fragrance of our Savior
wafted
the offering of His pain
became
the prayer that rescued our souls.
His blood shed for me.
His pain borne for mine.
My pain and prayers lifted as
offering
Fragrance wafting with Savior’s
joining
Gift of rescue now
delighting.
And the Father sings His song over His people.
My heart now covered in oil
anointing
Enters into His Holiest Heart
releasing
Cloud of incense fragrance
trailing
The oil of HIS joy is pouring.
And while the Father has been singing His song over me, He has been pulling the pain up from those hunched over places. His oil of joy has been seeping into every hunched and curled place.
Are you acquainted with crushing and pounding and hunching and curling?
Could you hear the Father asking of you the same thing He has been asking of me?
Sing with Me here. The pain and prayers have always been woven together, and I long to hear your voice singing with mine.
From within my own place of weakness here, I offer His song back to Him now, and I ask Him to bring to you the blessing of His oil of joy flowing over you:
Dear Father,
We come before You now confessing our weaknesses and seeing the dross that has accumulated. We long to lay down the pain that has been too heavy for us to carry. Will You open our hunched and curled arms to lift this incense up to Your Holy Spirit to carry now? Thank You for allowing us to join You in the prayers we have carried. Oh, but thank You that You see the weight that was never meant to stay on our shoulders. Receive the offering of this pain now. We give to You the prayers and the pain alike. Pour the oil of Your joy upon us now, as we rest within Your singing love.
In the precious name of Jesus, we pray,
Amen.
I am linking with:
BettieGsRAseasons 
Your voice comforts me. I continue to pray for you dear friend.
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Dear Melissa,
I am so thankful that Jesus brought you comfort here today. And I am so very grateful for your continued prayers. They are such a precious gift to me. Blessings love and prayers for you also dear friend.
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Amen Bettie! This was a great blessing to me! I have been struggling with Celiac lately and dealing with pain. Praying blessing and healing over you! God bless you!
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Thank you so much Ryan! I am so grateful that the Lord is here encouraging us through our sharing together in Him. May He touch your prain tonight, and give you such rest in Him. Blessings to you too!
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Amen!
I love your heart for God. You are so I love with Him…
I love you do dearly my sister and friend.
Thank you for offering yourself as a vessel in the Master’s hand.
God Bless you richly
P.S. in love that song 😇
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Dear Ifeoma,
Thank you so much for all of your encouragement and prayers dear sister. You are such a blessing to me. I pray that He brings you great rest and joy as you follow after His heart, and as you share so freely from the riches of His Word! Love you dear friend!
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Love it!! The song is amazing! Is that the song you heard the angel singing in your dream?
I join with you offering up my pain as an offering to the Lord. How kind of Him to want to unburden us!
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Dear Ruth,
Amazingly, yes that is the song that I remember hearing in the dream. It took several years before I was brave enough to sing it out loud. I could always hear it in my head, though, through all of these years. And you are so right–what deep kindness of our Lord to unburden us! May we offer Him these pains and prayers and receive His love and joy. Blessings and love to you dear friend!
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Such beautiful, deep thoughts and words – I’m going to have to read this a few more times to take it all in!
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Thank you dear Lisa! I will pray that the Lord brings His oil of joy to flow over you as you ponder and read with Him. He is so faithful to us in all of our weaknesses! Blessings dear friend!
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Bless you Bettie, thank you for sharing this with us! I am going to ponder…very thought provoking indeed!
Jennifer
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Thank you dear Jennifer! Your prayers and kind words mean so much to me. I pray for you also, that the Lord will bless you in your pondering. May He bring such sweet oil from His joy for you today!
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Thank you Bettie for your prayers, they’re greatly appreciated 😀
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I am so blessed that we can pray for each other!
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😀
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Dearest Bettie: thank you so very much for sharing your beautiful dream with us……….it sounds life enriching. And bless you for the beautiful prayer………I always LOVE your prayers as they speak deep into my soul.
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Dear Wendi,
I am so grateful that the Lord blesses the gift of His prayers here! You are such a blessing to me also, as you share your kind encouragement. Our Lord does find such ways to bring His beauty to us! Blessings and love to you dear friend!
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it is truly my pleasure to pray for you Bettie, may today be as good as it can! Amen!
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Thank you dear sister! What a blessing to share our prayers together! I appreciate you so much!
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always a pleasure to send up prayers for you as I did this evening! how is your husband feeling?
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Thank you so much sweet sister! My husband is slowly regaining some strength in his shoulder, but patience and rest are still priorities as He leans into Jesus too. His knee replacement from last year is still a learning curve also. Praise God for His help for us on this journey!
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thank you for the update Bettie, I;ll be praying for your him too and now I now what to pray for – sending blessings.
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Thank you so much Wendi. I will pass along the encouragement to him tonight. I know he will be blessed too. Love and prayers for you tonight sweet friend.
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always a pleasure to pray for you and your husband!
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So thankful to be one of your neighbors at LMMLink-up this week, Bettie. Your dream and how the Lord has spoken to you through it brings such insightful reflections. While burning away the dross doesn’t seem appealing, that’s often the process leading to the Lord’s oil of joy and gladness poured over us. I worshipped during your Incense poem. This is such a beautiful and powerful post.
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Dear Karen,
I am so very grateful that the Lord brought you encouragement here! Thank you for your visit here today. And you are so right, I would rather not have to face the burning away of the dross, but He brings such gifts of Himself through that process. May the Lord bring you His blessings this week.
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Beautiful thoughts, beautiful singing. Praying for you my friend.
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Thank you sweet friend! You are in my prayers so much too. I keep thinking about your shoulder injury and praying that the Lord is bringing you healing for that in the midst of other concerns too. Blessings and love for you!
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This reminds me of the line in the hymn “how firm a foundation”- His only design, thy dross to consume and thy gold to refine!
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Amen! Thank you for sharing these precious thoughts, Bethany. It is amazing how He does that for us, isn’t it? I know I have still more to be refined. Oh may I offer Him my heart. Blessings to you tonight!
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Dearest Bettie, your single-mindedness to be His servant is always a blessing. Thanks for sharing your dream and your revelations. You are a constant reminder that God does not intend that our lives be easy, but totally surrendered for His Glory.
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Dear Debbie,
I am so grateful for the weaving together that God brought to our hearts as He asked us each to surrender to Him. Your life is a blessing to mine also, and such a sweet story of how His joy goes deeper than anything this world could offer. Joy in the face of suffering because HE holds us for eternity! Love you Dear friend!
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Heavy.Duty. I believe and receive every one of these testimonies.
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Thank you Dear Susan. I know you understand the depth of those heart-filled prayers. May Jesus bless you with His oil of joy today too. He is so merciful to us!
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Such a beautiful and powerful dream, Bettie. I love how God is fulfilling His promise to you from so long ago. His words to you really touch a tender chord in my heart – “Allow My Holy Spirit to carry what you were never meant to hold onto. The pain is too heavy, it will always leave you hunched and curled. But I will pour my oil of joy on you as you release the incense of your prayers and pain.” I’m so sorry for your pain and I continue to pray for you. I am at the same time awed how much peace He speaks into your pain. I’m so glad. Thank you for sharing and encouraging me with all this. Also your gentle, peaceful singing voice. Love and blessings to you!
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Dear Trudy,
Thank you for the encouragement you always bring to me. To know that the Lord brought peace to you here is such a blessing to me. He continues to ask me to bring the pain and the prayers to Him, it is such a daily lesson to learn. Isn’t it amazing that He would offer us such peace in the middle of the heavy loads that we carry? What a merciful Savior we have. Blessings and love to you dear friend!
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This was written for me today.
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Oh Mandy you bring tears to my eyes today, to know that the Lord met you here. I know you understand the weight of both those prayers and the pain. I am so very grateful that we can pray for each other on this journey. Blessings and love to you.
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❤️💙 ❤️
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What a strong testimony you give, Bettie! I know it blesses the Father’s heart to hear of your faith in him. “Receive the offering of this pain now. We give to You the prayers and the pain alike.”
I had a vivid dream when I was a single mom with a 1 year old, several years ago. It brought me great comfort then, and continues to bring me comfort to this day. God was my safety net and always will be!
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Dear Lisa,
Isn’t it amazing how those dreams that He brings to us will linger in our minds so vividly? He truly is so trustworthy, a precious safety net! Thank you for sharing your experience too. You are a blessing and encouragement to me.
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Wow. Yes, offering up our pain, thus making it Redemptive suffering. So very hard to doo, but the only way to deal with deep suffering. Cwe have talked about this before Bettie, and it is wonderful to me to find someone else who has the same experience as me. And I too have been drawn to incense, and the Mystery of God in the Joly Place. Youwrite so beautifully Bettie. Thankyou
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I am just so thankful to know that God has brought you such sweet intimacy with Him too! In the Holy Place, the incense ever rises. Our suffering has been made so redemptive through Him. Amen. Love and hugs across the miles.
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