Psalm 20:3  
Memorial offerings  
      This is another of those verses that seems innocuous but is actually pregnant with meaning. It literally reads, “He will remember all your meal offerings and accept your burnt offering. Selah.” So, what are the meal offerings and the burnt offerings that were offered to the Lord?
·      The meal, or grain, offering was of grain or finest flour and was given to God as a voluntary act of worship, thanksgiving and fellowship. It was deemed to be a most holy offering, pleasing to the Lord. A portion of the grain offering burned on the altar was called a “memorial.” You can read all about it in Leviticus 2.
·      The burnt offering would be of a bull, ram or male bird, again offered voluntarily as recognition of God’s goodness and given to Him as an act of devotion. Anyone making a burnt offering to the Lord sought atonement for unintentional sins and also wished to express commitment and unconditional surrender to God. Leviticus 1 gives the background to these offerings. 
There were many regulatory ceremonies and rituals within the Jewish faith but these two acts of devotion signified a pure heart and good intention. There was no requirement to make them as they were completely voluntary, therefore the Lord God remembered such acts.


In Acts 10:4 we read about the devotion of Cornelius, the Roman Centurion who lived in the pagan city of Caesarea on the northern coast of Israel. An angel spoke to him and said, “Your prayers and gifts to the poor have come up as a memorial offering before God.” The words “to come up” here infer “like the smoke of sacrifice.” Cornelius had been making his equivalent of voluntary grain and burnt offerings to the Lord by his prayers and by his merciful acts to poor people.  God remembered him, just He remembered the voluntary acts of the Psalm writer. The Lord will remember our voluntary acts of kindness and compassion too, and also our prayers on behalf of others. Usually, such things are done with no-one knowing but He knows. They are our memorial offering. 

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