With Christ, I rejoice that, first and fundamentally, Christ himself is the blessed man of Psalm 1; Christ is the righteous man of Psalm 15; Christ has the pure heart called for in Psalm 24. It is Christ who fulfills the high calling of the Psalms, Christ who can sing them with perfect assurance, Christ who ascends to the Father, and Christ alone who brings me there. The Psalms set before us unnumbered blessings. Each one of them is yours and mine in Christ.

For the greater part of church history, Christians have viewed the Psalms through the lens of fulfillment in Jesus Christ. In particular, they have read the Psalms as the songs of Jesus — songs sung by Jesus in his life on earth, and songs in which the risen and ascended Jesus still leads his church in singing on earth.
Imagine you are sitting in a grand concert hall. On the stage is a vast choir, and in the center, one man conducts and leads the choir in song. You listen for a while as they sing psalms. Then the conductor looks at you and invites you to leave your seat, come on stage, and join the choir. And you do. You are converted from a mere listener to a singer. But you do not take the microphone.
Jesus Christ is the lead singer and conductor of the choir, which is his church through the ages. Jesus has the microphone. When you come to Jesus, you join his choir. You sing and say all your prayers and praises under his lead. You learn to sing the Psalms led by him.
Rather than just being an attractive fancy, this picture conveys something wonderfully true. The Psalter (the five books of psalms) centers on the figure of the Davidic king and is incomplete without the presence of “great David’s greater son,” the Lord Jesus, the Messiah. Moreover, Jesus the Messiah speaks not only the psalms of David, but — in one way or another — all the Psalms. The New Testament quotes and echoes the Psalms in such a way as to encourage this conclusion.
I have examined the reasons for reading the Psalms like this in the introductory volume of my recent Psalms commentary. Simply put, however, a proper theology of prayer and praise grasps that we can speak to God only in and through Jesus Christ, our Great High Priest who brings us to God.
Songs to Savor
Consider, then, some of the great benefits of reading the Psalms as the songs of Jesus. I paint these blessings with a broad brush, and not without acknowledging that there are puzzles to wrestle with. Some psalms, for example, pray for God to punish the wicked (the so-called imprecatory psalms), and sometimes psalmists confess their sins (notably Psalm 51). There are other complexities as well, for the Psalms are like a jewel with many beautiful facets. I have tried to address the puzzles in detail in my commentary, but here I offer some broad-brush blessings to savor as you sing the Psalms in and through Christ.
1. You can sing in tune with the gospel.
A Christ-centered reading of the Psalms grasps that these songs are saturated with the gospel of Christ. Without Christ, I read Psalm 1 and think, “I must try harder to be like this admirable man if I am to hope for his blessing.” Without Christ, Psalm 15 tells me that only if I perfectly do what is right can I hope to dwell in the presence of God. So, I must pray and try harder.
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Understanding biblical monotheism helps us to be clear about what we believe and are to teach. We do not believe in one God who is known by many names and who offers many paths of salvation. We do not affirm that it is enough to believe one God exists. We confess that we must trust in the God of the Bible, who is not worshiped even by the most well-meaning Muslims, Mormons, Jehovah’s Witnesses, animists, or modern Jews.

Eighteen years ago, my jaw figuratively dropped to the floor as I sat in the first Old Testament course of my academic career. I attended a secular university, so I did not expect much true biblical teaching. However, I had hope the Scriptures would be treated fairly because my professor was an Orthodox Jew. You can imagine my surprise, then, when my professor said faithful ancient Israelites did not deny the existence of other gods. They worshiped Yahweh above the rest of the gods, he said, but they believed those gods were real.
Liberal “highercritical” circles accept as dogma my professor’s view, which is henotheism. True monotheism—the belief that only one God exists—came late in Israel’s history, these critics say. Advocacy of henotheism is based largely on reading references to “other gods” in the Pentateuch as proof that Moses attributed true existence to the deities of other peoples but believed Israel was to worship Yahweh alone (for example, Ex. 20:3).
Unbelieving scholarship must focus on minutia and ignore larger contexts to “find” henotheism in Scripture. That Moses affirmed the existence of only one God is plain from the Pentateuch’s first chapter. Unlike other ancient Near Eastern creation accounts, we do not read that battles between deities brought forth the earth. Genesis 1 presents one God who “created the heavens and the earth” (Gen. 1:1). Yahweh, the sole actor in the narrative, formed the universe by His Word.
Given the prevalence of polytheism in the ancient Near East, the biblical authors repeatedly insist that there is but one God. Just prior to the Shema and its affirmation of monotheism, we read that “there is no other” Lord (Deut. 4:39). Only Yahweh responds in the confrontation between Elijah and the prophets of Baal, for Yahweh exists and Baal does not (1 Kings 18:20–40). Isaiah says, “Besides [Yahweh] there is no god,” and points out the folly of serving deities represented by wooden idols (Isa. 44).
The Apostles proclaimed monotheism most strongly when they encountered Greek paganism. Paul continues the Old Testament’s denial of the existence of other gods in Romans 1, explaining that polytheism arises as people suppress their knowledge of the one true God and fashion deities they can manipulate (Rom. 1:18–23). The same Apostle reminds Timothy, who ministered in a pagan context, that “there is one God” (1 Tim. 2:5). Throughout Revelation, John points out the futility of Roman religion, describing the eventual fall of any pretender to the Lord Almighty’s throne.
That the one God reveals Himself to His creation undergirds biblical monotheism.
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How do we receive the benefits of Christ’s perfect and all-sufficient mediation which enables us to grow in salvation? The means of grace. Therefore, it is right and proper (and lovingly pastoral) to communicate to our people their need for the means of grace. It is for their growth in faith, assurance, holiness, love, identity in Christ, doctrine, service, fellowship, missions, evangelism, biblical worldview, and much more. To downplay the means of grace is to neglect someone’s growth and joy in Christ—and that is a serious error.

“Perhaps more than any previous generation of Christians, our generation needs to be saturated in the wisdom, grace, goodness, and health-giving clarity of God’s truth. We need our minds decluttered and then refreshed by the ‘wisdom that comes down from above’ (James 3:15). We live in a world of deceptive illusions—powerful, seductive illusions—that are out to ensnare us and kill us. Calvin was absolutely right: we need every given opportunity to hear God’s living, clarifying, deception-scattering word. So my question to you is this: Do you prize every given opportunity to hear God’s Word? You could read this as a rebuke, and in a measure you might be right in doing so. But, rather, see this question as a loving exhortation to hunt out every opportunity to sit under the ministry of God’s Word. Not because quantity matters more than quality; but because God Himself speaks to us by His Spirit through His Word every time it is faithfully proclaimed. I have a good friend in the USA who was accused by some church members of being ‘legalistic’ because he encouraged them not to be satisfied with coming to worship once a week. His encouragement was not legalistic, it was the kind, thoughtful, caring encouragement of a pastor set apart to care for Christ’s sheep. May we all be like the Psalmist who wrote, ‘I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go to the house of the LORD!”’ (Ps. 122:1).”
– Ian Hamilton in The Gospel-Shaped Life
This is one of my favorite responses to hear from a couple during premarital counseling: “The worst part about dating or being engaged is the fact that you have to go home separately each night.” That is always a good sign–for numerous reasons. But the primary reason that this encourages me is the fact that the couple is sad when they must be apart from one another.
You do not have to convince those who truly love each other to spend time together. In a loving relationship, the hard part is times apart. It is true, loving relationships go through seasons. Interestingly, those who truly love each other can often feel certain levels of conviction that they could be doing more to love that person better. Sometimes this can be true but other times it is frankly just a longing to have more capacity to love someone more.
It is not legalistic to tell a couple who loves each other to make sure they make time to be with each other. It is part of what will only strengthen their relationship and help them to delight in their relationship.
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What Jesus taught is that prayer is WAREFARE. It is the way the kingdom of righteousness prevails over the kingdom of evil. It is the men of today’s church who need to heed this call to arms. It is the men who need to reclaim prayer as the way to fight for our loved ones against the triumvirate, Satan, sin, and death who (though ultimately defeated), if unopposed in this world will bring enormous devastation into their lives.

Today, we continue the series, Winning Spiritual Battles Because We Use Our Spiritual Weapons. Every guy who gets this blog would stand at the door of his house with a shotgun to protect his family physically. But most Christian men feel inept and inadequate at fighting to protect them, spiritually. As we saw last week, Jesus told his disciples the ultimate weapon for defeating Satan is prayer. But if we are going to use this weapon effectively in spiritual battle, we need to understand it. This episode continues our study of what Jesus taught are the six basic parts of effective prayer, in Matt 6:9-13.
As we seek to follow Jesus’ mission for our individual lives, advancing the righteous reign of King Jesus over our heart loyalties and attitudes, as well as implementing his agenda in our role as husband, father, employee/employer, neighbor, church member, steward of resources, and ambassador of the kingdom, we must displace the kingdom of darkness. Just as a military invasion begins with cruise missiles and bombing runs, our efforts to advance the kingdom on the ground must begin with prayer, the only weapon capable of dislodging the enemy from its strongholds. Prayer is such a potent offensive weapon for advancing the kingdom of Christ over earth, that in Psalm 2 we hear God the Father identify prayer as the way Christ’s kingdom spreads. The Father promises the Anointed One, “ASK of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession.” As Christ-followers join Christ in ASKING that his kingdom would advance, the Father promises to act.
Jesus teaches the same six principles of prayer in Matthew 6:9-13 and in Luke 11:2-4. The only difference is that in Matthew, Jesus gives an explanation of three of the principles. He explains, may your kingdom come, (Matt 6:10a & Luke 11:2) when he continues may your will be done on earth as it is in heaven (Matt 6:10b). He explains lead us not into temptation (Matt 6:13a, Luke 11:4) when he continues, but deliver us from evil (Matt 6:13b). Jesus amplifies forgive us our debts as we have forgiven our debtors (Matt 6:12 & Luke 11:4) two verses later in Matthew 6:14-15 when he says, For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
Last week we saw how radically different prayer for Christ-followers is from the religious repetition of holy sayings regimented for certain prayer times in other world religions. These times in Judaism were 9 AM, 12 PM, and 3 PM. The two rote Jewish prayers to be recited were the Shema, Deut 6:4-9, and the Shemoneh ‘esreh, which means eighteen, because if consisted of 18 rote prayers to be recited. Jesus’ teaching about prayer was entirely different; it was not formal, structured, external, regimented words spoken to God as ritual, but an intimate, heart-driven conversation originating from a living, dynamic relationship with The Father. Let’s review the first three prayer principles, which we examined last week, before digging into the final three. So, by way of summary:
1. The principle of ADOPTION: Matt 6:9 Our Father in heaven, which gives us the ENVIRONEMNT for prayer. His help, and spiritual power don’t have to be pried out of his tight-fisted hands. Through Christ we are God’s adopted children and, as it happens, our particular father LOVES TO GIVE GOOD GIFTS TO HIS CHILDREN, especially spiritual power through the Holy Spirit. Jesus says, What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent; or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him (Lk 11:11-13)! It is noteworthy that Jesus had used nearly identical words in his Sermon on the Mount (Matt 7:9-11), but in the Luke account, Jesus substitutes Holy Spirit for good gifts. Both are true. God loves to give good gifts to his children. But the best gift is the power of the Holy Spirit at work in our lives.
I believe that Jesus viewed prayer much more as reporting to our forward battle station and launching a prayer assault against the kingdom of darkness for the advance of Christ’s kingdom of righteousness than he does, than emailing headquarters with a list of our needed provisions. It IS emailing that list, which we will get to in a moment. But prayer, as God designed it, is relentlessly fighting the enemy who wants to destroy you and your family and besmirch the reputation of God. It is being the man, the protector, that God designed Adam to be. “Your sonship,” says Jesus, “means being indwelt by the Holy Spirit, who is the producer of spiritual fruit in our lives.” The first prayer principle to remember, is ADOPTION, the environment of prayer. We come to God as his beloved child, calling him Father, a father who loves to give good gifts and especially the power of the Holy Spirt to those who ask.
2.  The second prayer principle is ADORATION: vs 9 continues, Hallowed be your name. Here is the MOTIVATION for prayer. May your name be honored. May you be glorified. May your name be held in high esteem by the whole world. Jesus modeled this aspect of praying at the beginning of his prayer in John 17, When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son THAT THE SON MAY GLORIFY YOU.” A few verses later, Jesus reveals that this desire for The Father to be glorified was the focus of his life,  I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do.  (Jn 17:4). At the heart of the request, “May your name be hallowed” is “a burning desire that the whole world may bow before God in adoration, in reverence, in praise, in worship, in honor, and in thanksgiving” (The Sermon on the Mount). The more our prayers are rooted in ADORATION—our desire to see the name and reputation of God honored, the more power they possess.
3. The third prayer principle and one which very often is neglected in our prayers is ADVANCING the kingdom: vs 10 May your kingdom come. Here we see the PURPOSE of prayer. “The focus of your praying,” says Jesus, “should be the advance of my kingdom of righteousness over earth.” Praying “May your kingdom come (i.e. may your will be done on earth as it is in heaven)” is the primary purpose of PRAYER because seeking Christ’s kingdom of righteousness is the primary purpose of Christians’ LIVES. We are to seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness in human hearts and in the culture all over the earth, every square inch of which, King Jesus claims as his own.
In the book of Acts, Peter and John were arrested, warned not to proclaim the gospel, and released. In response, the church gathered to battle for the advance of the kingdom through prayer. In this prayer, they quoted Psalm 2. The opening verses of Psalm 2 speak of the cosmic rebellion against Yahweh, Why did the Gentiles rage, and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers were gathered together, AGAINST THE LORD AND AGAINST HIS ANOINTED. Psalm 2 continues, telling us that Yahweh laughs at their supposed power. Why? Because his answer to the rebellion of the kingdom of darkness is to send Christ, the Anointed One, to recover Adam’s lost kingdom. Palm 2:6 records God saying, As for me, I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill. (vs 6) Psalm 2 then describes the words of Yahweh to His Son recorded from the point of view of Jesus.
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Fellowship dies when Christians take one another for granted and stop making a special effort to be with each other. While technology has bridged the communication gap in an incredible way, it can never replace being with fellow believers in the same space and time. In the context of such meetings, you get to know fellow believers and they also get to know you. You see their needs and can do what you can to meet those needs, as was the case in the early church.

We must be deliberate about several activities if we are to maintain unity among ourselves as God’s people. Here are a few of them.
1. We must grow in our understanding of the gospel and of Christian truth in general.
Unity in the faith cannot deepen when it is only based on nice feelings, good music, and vague words. You can get those things anywhere in the world. They are superficial and never sustain rich, lasting unity. Christian unity is based on truth. The more truth we have in common, the closer our affinity is to one another. That was why it was important to start this book with two chapters on what God has done to secure our unity. It is the doctrinal bedrock on which Christian unity is built. Without that foundation, any form of unity among believers is fickle. It will not survive. If we are going to experience deep, long-lasting unity, we need to encourage Christians to think deeply about doctrinal truths.
That is one reason God has given the church elders who labor in the word and doctrine. It is to enable believers to grow in their knowledge of Christian truth. As they do so, they will minister to one another and to the world with a unity that will withstand the attacks of the evil one. This is what the apostle Paul had in mind when he wrote,
And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. (Eph. 4:11–13)
This unity of the faith is a doctrinal unity. It is attained as believers are regularly taught by their shepherds. The fruit of this is an equipping for ministry so that the body of Christ grows qualitatively and quantitatively. The phrase “Doctrine divides but love unites” is true only where people are prideful and divisive. In other words, people divide by misusing doctrine. Sometimes doctrine divides those who are in serious error from those who are seeking saving truth; it divides between those who espouse heresy and those who have the true gospel. That kind of division, sad though it is, must be recognized because one group makes up the mission field and the other group comprises the missionaries. Why should the two hold hands in the dark? Where there is the fruit of the Spirit, genuine humility enables individuals to be patient with those who sincerely want to learn. Instead of division, there is great fellowship around God’s truth in an ever-growing way. Those who are filled with the Spirit are not indifferent to heresies in the church. Rather, they continue to pray for the end of divisions caused by heretical teachers.
2. We must grow in love and concern for other believers.
When the apostle Paul noted the fragmentation in the church in Corinth over every conceivable obstacle (the personalities of their leaders, food sacrificed to idols, the Lord’s Supper, spiritual gifts, and so on), he gave them a principle that would overcome these obstacles, and especially the competitive spirit over spiritual gifts.
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Sin is the reason the horrors of sickness exist. This truth does not mean that if someone is sick, it is because of some specific sin in their life, but when Adam fell, all manner of distress was unleashed upon this world—even death. But for those of us whose sins are forgiven, even if disease takes our life, we will one day be healed when these mortal bodies are raised immortal. In heaven, where there is no sin, there will also be no sickness.

If a Christian is facing an illness that will not go away and needs encouragement, the Lord healing the paralytic who was lowered through the roof in Mark 2:1-12 can touch our deepest wounds but not in the way many might think. When the man who could not move of his own volition was lowered to Jesus in the crowded room, Jesus did not immediately heal him. Instead, he forgave his sins. The forgiveness of sins is where we find our ultimate reassurance. Only later, when the Pharisees complained that Jesus did not have the power to forgive sins, did he heal the man. The healing was secondary and served the express purpose of letting everyone know he had the power to blot out our transgressions.
We need the forgiveness of sin much more than we need physical healing. When we think of the horrible diseases that wreak havoc on our bodies and the lives of those we love, such as cancer, Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, and many others, we know the devastation they can unleash. The Christian does not make light of the horrors of disease to make sin seem worse. Instead, we look at infirmity with all its bodily indignity and pain and then remember that sin is even more devastating because it destroys our souls. Considering the horrors of illness while understanding that sin is worse only sheds light on how much we desperately need forgiveness.
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We are commanded in scripture to not love the world. We must be in the world, but we cannot be part of it. If we love the world then we will also take on a love for the things above that God hates. We must love what God loves and hate what He hates. He hates compromise with the world and its ways. We must do the same.

9 For You are Yahweh Most High over all the earth;You are exalted far above all gods.10 Hate evil, you who love Yahweh,Who keeps the souls of His holy ones;He delivers them from the hand of the wicked.11 Light is sown for the righteousAnd gladness for the upright in heart.12 Be glad in Yahweh, you righteous ones,And give thanks for the remembrance of His holy name. Psalms 97:9-12 (LSB) 
I saw a bumper sticker on a SUV the other day. I had seen this particular bumper sticker before so I was not surprised by it. However, for some reason it caused me to focus on the message it was attempting to convey. The bumper sticker read, “Hate is not a family value.” Now, I know and I am sure most of you know that that statement is meant to cause those who stand firm for family values and parental rights pertaining to the exposing of their children to the Homosexual agenda in school or any other public institution to become intimidated. The message conveys the idea that those taking this stance are expressing hatred towards people who only want to be accepted for how God made them. Of course, the Bible clearly teaches us that that concept is a lie and that Homosexuality is a set of perverse, sinful, sexual behaviors that are condemned by God as an abomination. It also says that any who practice them will not inherit the Kingdom of God.
The Apostle John wrote in 1 John 4:11 that God is love and in vv7-8 he states emphatically that genuine Christians will also be partakers and givers of that same love. However, love cannot exist in a vacuum. If one loves, then he or she will also hate. The hate will be directed at anything or anyone who threatens the object of that love. God does hate and all who belong to Him are called to hate what He hates. The following is a list from the book of Proverbs of some things that God hates.
16 There are six things which Yahweh hates,Even seven which are an abomination to Him:17 Haughty eyes, a lying tongue,And hands that shed innocent blood,18 A heart that devises wicked thoughts,Feet that hasten to run to evil,19 A false witness who breathes out lies,And one who spreads strife among brothers.20 My son, observe the commandment of your fatherAnd do not abandon the law of your mother; Proverbs 6:16-20 (LSB) 
God hates a proud look. This is a manifestation of pride. In Hebrew this phrase, “haughty eyes,” literally means “lofty eyes.” The prideful has his or her nose in the air and their eyes uplifted. When pride fills the heart, it does manifest itself in the mannerisms of the person. God hates those who disdain everyone and everything. The sin of pride is probably listed here in this passage first because it is the root of all disobedience and rebellion against God. When I was in the US Navy in the early 1970’s, I was stationed at the Bureau of Naval Personnel in our nation’s capital. There was a fellow who worked in another department on a floor above ours who was probably the most arrogant person I have ever met. He was also blatantly homosexual. The few times I had to deal with him, he made sure I understood how inferior I was to him by not doing his job, but instead deliberately giving me the run around.
When I first arrived at that station in November 1973, I was considered a ‘boot’ so I had to do all of the unpleasant things that those who were there before me did not want to do. That included dealing with that person in question. However, unlike those who passed this task on to me, I was probably just as arrogant as him and had a very short fuse. I was not a believer at that time and so much of my behavior back then is painful for me to recount. What I did was go talk to my Chief. As I spoke to him, I did not know that the Commander who was over us could hear our conversation. I told my Chief about the runaround that fellow gave us every time we tried to get information for our work from his department.  Those over him were always upset with us because they had to continually redo orders that should have been given to us each day, but the process was being short circuited by this fellow when we tried to get help with understanding what the detailer was actually requesting. My Chief cleared his throat and I stopped complaining because we both detected our commanding officer entering the office. He asked which department was the problem and whom it was that was doing this. My Chief looked at me and I answered the question.
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Ecclesiastes removes the rose-colored glasses we often wear as Christians and tells it like it is. Three phrases capture its analysis: “vanity of vanities,” “under the sun,” and “striving after wind.” We can put them together this way: under the sun we experience vanity, and our efforts amount to striving after wind. 

Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is man’s all. (Eccl. 12:13, NKJV)
Be honest. When you look around and see the mess the world is in, does it seem that there is an all-powerful, all-wise, all-good God at the helm?
The wicked often prosper, while the righteous falter. Nations are at war. Disease is rampant. Natural disasters wreak havoc and bring great misery. Society tries its best to bring order but can make things worse by their misguided efforts.
Where is God?
That is the question addressed by the book of Ecclesiastes. It begins by saying that our eyes are not deceiving us. The world really is a mess. There is disorder, depravity, dysfunction, and injustice. The book is full of examples we can relate to.
Ecclesiastes begins, “vanity of vanities, all is vanity.” Those words validate our experience. They speak to a futility to life.
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The chief principle and origin of prayer is the Spirit of adoption received into the heart. Many of you cannot be induced to pray in your family (or, even more seriously, on your own personally), because you say you aren’t accustomed to it, or haven’t been taught, or something like that. But, beloved! Prayer doesn’t come through education or learning — it comes from the Spirit of adoption. If you say you can’t pray, then it means you do not have the Spirit — and if you do not have the Spirit, you are not the sons of God. Please be aware of the logical conclusions of what you say.
But I hasten on to the characteristics of this divine work: fervency, reverence, and confidence, in crying, ‘Abba, Father.’
Spirit-Given Prayer is Fervent
Unfortunately, fervency is usually spent on other things of less importance than prayer. Truly, what people are spirited and passionate about is all in the way of contention and strife, or high temper and misnamed zeal. Yet because the things that we are so earnestly contending about have some connection with religion, we not only excuse our vehemence but approve it!
Other people’s spirits are burned up on the pursuit of the things of the world. The sharp edge of their desires turns that way, with the inevitable consequence that it is blunted and dulled in spiritual things, so that it cannot pierce into heaven and prevail effectually.
Fervent like burning incense.
As there were no sacrifices in the temple without fire, kept going perpetually, so there is no prayer now without some inward fire in the desires, kept blazing up and growing into a flame as those desires are presented to God.
As the incense that was to be offered on the altar of perfume (Exodus 30) had to be beaten and prepared, so, truly, prayer would do well to be made out of a beaten and bruised heart and contrite spirit (Psalm 51:17) — a spirit truly conscious of its own unworthiness and needs. That pounding of the heart will yield a good, fragrant smell, as some spices only do when beaten.
The incense was made of various spices, suggesting to us that true prayer is not one grace alone, but a compound of graces. It is the joint exercise of all a Christian’s graces, seasoned with all. Every one of them, whether humility, or faith, or repentance, or love, etc., contributes some distinctive fragrance. The acting of the heart in supplication is a kind of compendium and result of all these, just as perfume is made up of many ingredients.
But above all, as the incense was, our prayers must be kindled by fire on the altar. There must be some heat and fervour, some warmth, conceived by the Holy Spirit in our hearts, which will make our spices send forth a pleasant smell, as spices do when they are heated.
Fervent and unspoken and discerned by God.
Let us commit ourselves to be more serious in our approaches to God, the Father of spirits. Certainly, frequency in prayer will greatly help us towards fervency, and help us to keep it when we have it.
Crying in the heart may be silent to others, but it strikes the ears of God. His ear is sharp, and the voice of the soul’s desire is shrill, and even if it cries in the depths, they will meet together. It is true that vehemence of affection will sometimes cause the voice to be lifted up, but yet that fervency will cry just as loud to heaven when it is kept internal. I am not insisting on such extraordinary degrees of vehemence that they affect the body — I would rather wish that we would accustom ourselves to a solid, calm seriousness and earnestness of spirit, which would be more constant than such raptures can be.
Spirit-Given Prayer is Reverent
Another thing that prayer is composed of is reverence. And what is more suitable than reverence, whether you think of Him or of yourselves? “If I be a father, where is my honour? If I be your master, where is my fear?” (Mal. 1:6).

 We possess the greatest thing in life, and the only thing that truly matters is a saving relationship with God through Christ. Despite the suffering, brokenness, pain, and problems that we experience, we still have God and His amazing love for us. This amazing love preserves us until the very end; until we experience it full in all eternity – where sufferings are not worth comparing to the glory that is to be revealed to us. (Rom. 8:18) 

Have you ever felt defeated in life? Do you feel like the only thing that you experience is just losing so much in life? Do troubles and problems drown you to the point of giving up? Does your sickness weaken you to the point that you do not want to live anymore?
If we try to set our minds on the problems we have in life then we would really feel discouraged and defeated. But Paul says in Romans 8:37 that “we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.” How on earth are we more than conquerors despite the pain and brokenness that we experience in this sin-stained and sin-scarred world? We are more than conquerors through Christ. Christ is the one who loved us and He showed His unfathomable and heart-gripping love when He died on behalf of us on the cross.
In Romans 8:37, Paul wrote there: “No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.” What are these things that Paul is talking about? In verses 35 and 36, He asked: “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.” These are the things Paul wrote about. We are more than conquerors despite these things. Despite tribulation. Despite distress. Despite persecution. Despite famine. Despite nakedness. Despite danger. Despite sword. Why? Because these things are not strong enough to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
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