Skip to main content

Using Candles In Prayer

 


Constantine is reported to be first to have candles used in churches for prayer. Many claim this was a carry over from his paganism and a corruption. Evidently people do not know their Bibles, for The Lord God required in The Tabernacle and Temple a great lampstand, 

“You shall make a lampstand of pure gold. The lampstand shall be made of hammered work: its base, its stem, its cups, its calyxes, and its flowers shall be of one piece with it. And there shall be six branches going out of its sides, three branches of the lampstand out of one side of it and three branches of the lampstand out of the other side of it; three cups made like almond blossoms, each with calyx and flower, on one branch, and three cups made like almond blossoms, each with calyx and flower, on the other branch—so for the six branches going out of the lampstand. And on the lampstand itself there shall be four cups made like almond blossoms, with their calyxes and flowers, and a calyx of one piece with it under each pair of the six branches going out from the lampstand..” (Exodus 25:31-40). While this may not have been a wax candle, you have to understand wax candles were not common, oil lamps were because access to the oil made from olive oil, “While most homeowners know olive oil as a tasty ingredient in cooking, most don't know you can use it as lamp fuel. Olive oil is one of the cleanest burning types of lamp fuel out there, as it is renewable, odorless, non-toxic, and smokeless. Traditional olive oil lamps are small dishes with thick, wide wicks.” (Google Answers). Leviticus affirms this!, “The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Command the people of Israel to bring you pure oil from beaten olives for the lamp, that a light may be kept burning regularly. Outside the veil of the testimony, in the tent of meeting, Aaron shall arrange it from evening to morning before the Lord regularly. It shall be a statute forever throughout your generations. He shall arrange the lamps on the lampstand of pure gold before the Lord regularly.” (Leviticus 24:1-4). 


Lest anyone think the Lampstand is an Old Testament tradition, Jesus our Lord stands in the midst of the Lampstand in Heaven, “Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me, and on turning I saw seven golden lampstands, and in the midst of the lampstands one like a Son of Man (Jesus, see Luke 5:24, Mark 10:45, Mark 14:62, John  3:14-15, ), clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash around his chest.” (Revelation 1:12-13). Contrary to modern Menorahs which have all seven lampstands in one, the original lampstand in The Temple had giant lamps and were placed separately about to light up the Temple and Tabernacle. Since the Temple and Tabernacle were places of prayer, and lampstands were there, it stands to reason there is nothing wrong with praying near candles or using them in prayer.  The Same Lord who became flesh as Jesus Christ ordered the creation of the Lampstand, and so candles are  no different except its wax based rather than oil based, they serve the same function and were placed in sacred places of prayer. 


I see nothing wrong with using candles in prayer. The only issue I foresee is if you become dependent on candles to pray or feel the candle prays on your behalf in pagan fashion. If The Lord has lampstands, I see no harm in candles of wax, which are just a different means of making a lamp. The issue with all aids in prayer is not to become dependent on them lest they be taken away or you can no longer afford them. If you enjoy them that is great! But learn to pray without candles so that you can commune, connect, and converse with The Lord Trinity anywhere. Amen. 



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Israel’s Conquest of Canaan: The Nephilim and Giants

  Christianity Today asserts that the conquest of Canaan can be a “stumbling block” for believers. This probably is because of a foolish idea of comparing it to a modern conquest happening in our world. The truth is that God had Israel conquer Canaan because it was ruled by evil giants, “We saw the Nephilim there (the descendants of Anak come from the Nephilim). We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them.” (Numbers 13:33). These are Anakim or Nephilim, the children of angels and human women, “When man began to multiply on the face of the land and daughters were born to them, the sons of God (angels) saw that the daughters of man were attractive. And they took as their wives any they chose. Then the LORD said, “My Spirit shall not abide in man forever, for he is flesh: his days shall be 120 years.” The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of man and they bore children to them. These w
Post a Comment
Read more

Dispensationalism

John Nelson Darby (1800-1882) was a man who did two things, he took 70th week of the Book of Daniel and stretched out to the End Times, and he was the father of  Dispensationalism , a belief system that God dispenses different peoples with separate blessings and covenants. According to Darb'ys doctrine of Dispensationalism, God dispenses different covenants. There are total of seven dispensations that divide the history of man: I. Dispensation of Innocence (prior to the Fall, "Do not east of the Fruit of Good and Eve, Eden), II. Dispensation of Conscience ( You must assuage guilt and sin with blood sacrifices.) III. Dispensation of Human Government (Multiply and Subdue the world, example the Tower of Babel Gen 11:1-9, and Genesis 1:28). IV. Dispensation of the Promise (Dwell in Canaan, Jerusalem) V. Dispensation of the Law ("Obey the Law of Moses and the Prophets"). VI. Dispensation of Grace (The Church, Jesus Christ has come and died for our sins an
Post a Comment
Read more

Jesus’ Name in Aramaic

There has been a trend to render Jesus’ name Hebrew, יֵשׁוּעַ , Yeshua. The problem is neither Christ nor his apostles, nor the Jews in 30-33 A.D. spoke Hebrew, they spoke Aramaic. A ramaic is the oldest language on earth and was the language Jesus spoke. In fact, the oldest Old Testament is the Septuagint a Greco translation around 132 B.C.E. (165 Years Before Christ)that was translated from Aramaic. The Masoretic Text, The Hebrew Old Testament most Bibles use, dates from 7th to 10th Century A.D. (Medieval Times).  This translation does not cross reference with the words of Christ in the New Testament which are Aramaic and Koine Greek.  If the Aramaic was what Jesus spoke, then by what name would have been called? Jesus’ name in Aramaic is Isho or Eesho, spelled ܝܫܘܥ . That is the name of our Lord in Aramaic! He would have heard his name in this dialect, “Hail Isho or Eesho!” as well as the Greek, Ἰ ησο ῦ ς , Iesous.  Aramaic is disappearing, only a few people are endeavo
Post a Comment
Read more