12/10/2025
WHY USING COCONUT, SALT, AND PERFUME IN PRAYER IS SOLIDLY BIBLICAL. -HON Bola Ilori
When we use physical elements like coconut, salt, and perfume in our worship, we're not inventing something new or falling into idolatry. We're actually following a pattern that runs throughout the entire Bible. Our faith has always been physical because God Himself chose to become physical in Jesus Christ, showing us that material things can express spiritual truths.
WHAT THE OLD TESTAMENT TEACHES US
From the very beginning, God instructed His people to use physical items in worship. Salt wasn't just suggested for offerings—it was required. God told His people, "Season all your grain offerings with salt. Do not leave the salt of the covenant of your God out of your grain offerings" (Leviticus 2:13). This was a divine command, not a human invention.
The holy anointing oil was another example, made with myrrh, cinnamon, and other fragrant spices (Exodus 30:22-33). The Psalmist even prayed, "May my prayer be set before you like incense" (Psalm 141:2), directly connecting physical fragrance with our prayers rising to God.
# JESUS AND PHYSICAL SYMBOLS
Jesus didn't come to do away with using physical things in worship. Instead, He gave them deeper meaning. He took bread and wine and made them central to remembering Him (Luke 22:19-20). He mixed mud with His saliva to heal a blind man (John 9:6). When a woman poured expensive perfume on Him, others criticized the waste, but Jesus defended her, saying she had done "a beautiful thing" (Mark 14:3-9).
The fact that "The Word became flesh" (John 1:14) is itself proof that God values the physical world. If God took on a physical body, then surely we can use physical materials to honor Him.
# THE APOSTLES CARRIED THIS FORWARD
The early church leaders continued using physical elements in worship and prayer. James gave clear instructions: "Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord" (James 5:14). This isn't a suggestion—it's apostolic teaching to use physical materials when we pray.
Paul talked about Christians being "the pleasing aroma of Christ" (2 Corinthians 2:15) and described the Philippians' financial support as "a fragrant offering...pleasing to God" (Philippians 4:18). He even told believers to let their words be "seasoned with salt" (Colossians 4:6), showing that salt kept its spiritual significance in the New Testament church.
# WHAT HAPPENS IN HEAVEN
Here's something powerful to consider: Revelation shows us worship happening in heaven, and guess what's there? "Each one had...golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of God's people" (Revelation 5:8). If physical fragrances symbolize our prayers in heaven itself, why would it be wrong to use them here on earth?
# THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SYMBOLS AND IDOLS
Let's be clear about something important: we're not worshiping coconut, salt, or perfume. That would be idolatry. Instead, we're using these materials as symbols that help us express our hearts to God. It's the same as how bread represents Christ's body in communion—we're not worshiping the bread, we're using it to worship Christ. These materials are simply tools that help us communicate with God, not objects we bow down to.
# WHY THIS MATTERS
Our practice isn't some made-up tradition. It's deeply rooted in how God has always invited His people to worship. We're physical beings serving a God who values His physical creation enough to enter it Himself. Using tangible symbols isn't moving away from true spirituality—it's embracing the full biblical pattern of worship that involves our whole selves, body and spirit together.
This is how God's people have always worshiped, from ancient Israel to the early church to believers today. We do all things in the name of Jesus which is above all names. We're simply continuing what Scripture has modeled for us all along as guided by the Holy Spirit in line with John 16:12-13: "I still have many things to tell you, but you can't bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth"
