Who is Your King

For the LORD will not forsake His people, for His great name’s sake, because it has pleased the LORD to make you His people. Moreover, as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the LORD in ceasing to pray for you; but I will teach you the good and the right way. Only fear the LORD, and serve Him in truth with all your heart; for consider what great things He has done for you. 1 Samuel 12:24.

Samuel had served the Lord righteously as priest, prophet and judge He loved God, and he obeyed what the Lord directed him to do. The Bible teaches us that Samuel’s sons did not walk in his ways, however, which gave justification in the eyes of the people to ask for a king over Israel. When the people of God cried out for a king, it must have grieved Samuel’s heart. Surely it grieved the heart of God, who desired to rule over his people, but the people insisted on a king that they could see.

God would appoint Saul, a humble young man as Israel’s first king, but like so many who start out strong in the Lord, Saul’s focus would shift to ‘self’. As power and prestige increased, King Saul struggled with doing what was right in his own eyes and in his own might. Instead of focusing on God’s direction and authority, Saul began to react compulsively to the circumstances around him. It wouldn’t be long before jealousy and greed and feeding the sinful aspects of his character would rob Him of the Spirit that God allowed to fall upon Saul.

At the King’s coronation, Samuel wanted to wash his hands of the whole issue. Samuel was old by this time. He’d warned the people of Israel to honor God and do right in the eyes of God. He told them of the consequences they would experience in serving an earthly king. But as Samuel confronted the people of Israel and the King, Samuel says something here that grabs my attention. As he addressed the King of God’s nation, the ruler over His people, Samuel said . . . “far be it from me that I should sin against the LORD in ceasing to pray for you” (Selah, pause and consider) Over and over the scriptures teach us that God is the one who ordaines the earthly kings upon their thrones. Sometimes those kings are righteous rulers and the people are blessed. Sometimes they used as agents of God’s judgement and wrath. But in any event, we are commanded to pray for them. Note that Samuel says here that it is a sin in God’s eyes not too pray for God’s people and their leader(s).

The USA cannot be separated from Israel spiritually; neither can she be separated from the Roman Empire politically. While we grieve for the current state of nation, we must recognize the rebellion and mockery against Jesus Christ and the Judeo Christian values our country was founded on within the powerful halls of our rulers. Like a spinning top, we whirl toward an abyss of our own making. Like an elephant in the living room, we try to pretend it isn’t there, but everyone knows that is there and shuffles around it. I am concerned that if the United States does not repent as a nation and seek the face of the sovereign God that made us such a uniquely blessed nation, the trials that we encounter today will pale in scope to those ahead of us.

As someone who truly loves the nation of Israel and considers it my spiritual home, I am heavily burdened by what is happening in and around her today, and especially by the pressures that the United States continues to place upon her. A careful analysis of the timing of some of the most costly tragedies in recent American history remarkably coincide with our nation’s attempts to force Israel into giving up her land. Last week, she was globally and arrogantly rebuked by the United States because she announced 1600 new apartments for residents living in East Jerusalem and the opening of a synagogue. The roadmap for peace, or land for peace venture calls for East Jerusalem to be established as a Palestinian capital. How many Christians know that East Jerusalem is the City of David, and that it is here where the Temple Mount, the Mt. of Olives and so many sacred, holy places to not only the Jews but Christians are located? Do you know that if you are a Jew or a Christian that you cannot take a Torah or a Bible to the Temple Mount area and that you are forbidden to pray there? Do you know that the West Bank is Judea and Samaria? Did you know that Jews cannot enter the holy cities of Bethlehem, Hebron, and Jericho because they are Palestinian cities?

As Jesus entered the holy city upon that donkey so long ago, the palms were spread out and the people praised Him. As he prepared His disciples for what was ahead and told them what to watch for, he lamented, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing! See! Your house is left to you desolate; for I say to you, you shall see Me no more till you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!’” Are we different as a nation than the Israel of Christ’s time?

We are living in amazing times. God is giving us opportunity to see the church arise in truth and passion. Unfortunately for many, man does not come to God in humility unless He is broken. The persecuted Church is on fire throughout the world. But then persecution always brings the glory of God doesn’t it? Today in the midst of the Muslim countries, an awakening is gaining momentum mightily with visions of Jesus visiting young Arabs and bringing them truth and hope in Christ who died for them instead of Allah who demands that they give up their lives by taking the lives of others. In China, it is said that a million people a day are being added to the underground church.

What will it take for the Western Church to wake up? Must we be broken? People, we must pray for our nation. We must pray that that God will move mightily in the halls of those who rule over God’s people. We need to pray that righteous leaders arise. We need to repent before God. We need to pray that God’s will is done through his appointment to the nation’s highest offices. We need to pray for Benjamin Netanyahu. He is a righteous man. We need to pray for the peace of Jerusalem and for her protection. We need to pray that the United States cease and desist its demands that Israel abandon her land.

If we do not, we sin against God and disobey His commandments. In spite of what is right in our own eyes, that is what the Bible teaches. God’s vision in Ephesians 2 is for 1 new man in Christ ~ Jew and Gentile. Paul says, “For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation, having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace, and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity.”

Those same people who spread the palms before the Lord on the Palm Sunday would deny Him in front of Pilot and cry out for Barrabas to be freed. Yet, Christ would lay down His life for them anyway. He was well aware of the entire picture. He was fully aware of the horrible price for the blood that He alone could provide for atonement. He also knew that one day, He would return again to assume His rightful place as King of all the earth!! And His throne will be in the Holy City! His subjects will be those who determine to believe Him, determine to obey Him, determine to surrender what was right in their owns eyes for what God desires.

Jesus was an observant Jew. The Church of Acts was a Jewish church. American Christianity has not replaced Israel. Please pray God’s mercy over the United States in our rebellion, even as Israel rebelled, and for the peace of Jerusalem.

Pattern for Prayer Part 2

By Ben Godwin, Silver Cup Ministries: www.bengodwin.org (used with permission)

The Power of Prayer
John Wallace wrote, “Prayer moves the hand that moves the world.” Prayer places all the resources of heaven at your disposal. The value and power of prayer is immeasurable. “The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.” (James 5:16) The scriptures are replete with examples of how prayer turned the tide in the favor of God’s people:

• The cry of Israel moved God to deliver them from slavery in Egypt—Exodus. 2:23.
• The prayer of Elijah shut up the rains for three and a half years. Then, when he prayed again, God restored the rain—James 5:17-18.
• The desperate prayer of Hannah produced a son—I Samuel 1:12-20.
• Prayers of repentance spawned a city-wide revival in Nineveh and postponed the judgment of God—Jonah 3:8-10.
• The New Testament church was birthed out of a prayer meeting—Acts 1:14.
• Prayers of Jesus and the apostles healed the sick and raised the dead.
• The prayer of Paul and Silas brought an earthquake to a Philippian jail—Acts 16:25-26.

Numerous other examples could be cited. The power of prayer has and can literally change the course of history. “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.” (2 Chronicles 7:14)

Pointers for Prayer:

• Pray periodically: “And when thou prayest…” (Matthew 6:5) Notice Jesus said when not if you pray. Make prayer a habit that you engage in periodically throughout your daily routine.

• Pray without pretense: “And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men.” (Matthew 6:5) Motives matter to God. The purpose of prayer is not to impress people or appear religious but to draw close to and make a spiritual connection with the God of the universe.

• Pray in private: “But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy father which is in secret: and thy father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.” (Matthew 6:6) Corporate prayer is desirable at certain times and there is much power in having others agree with you in prayer (Matthew 18:19). But the real secret to prayer is secret prayer! The word translated closet in the above verse is from a Greek word meaning “bed chamber”, a place where husband and wife share intimacy. A married couple will say things in private they would never say otherwise. Likewise, when you get alone with God, you will share things out of your heart that you wouldn’t with other people in earshot.

• Pray differently than pagans: “But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.” (Matthew 6:7) Some religions incorporate the use of chants that are repeated over and over for extended periods of time. Jesus called this “vain repetitions.” This does not mean that it is wrong to pray repeatedly about a certain need. For instance, Elijah prayed seven times for rain. Paul prayed three times for God to remove his thorn in the flesh. Even Jesus prayed the same prayer three times in the Garden of Gethsemane. Jesus simply wanted us to avoid memorized, mechanical prayers that don’t come from the heart.

• Pray with persistence: After Jesus concluded the pattern prayer in Luke 11, He told the Parable of the Friend at Midnight. In the story, a man has a guest show up unexpectedly and he comes to his neighbor’s house to borrow food to feed him. The neighbor initially makes excuses and refuses to help him, but the friend persists. Eventually, the neighbor gives him what he needs. The point is simple—if persistence pays when requesting a favor from a reluctant friend at midnight, how much more does persistence pay when petitioning a willing God? Jesus followed the parable up with this famous verse, “Ask, and it shall be given unto you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.” (Luke 11:9)

• Pray with precision: “And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.” (1 John 5:14-15) Prayer, like archery, involves aiming at and hitting a target! The target in prayer is the will of God. James explained a common cause for unanswered prayer, “Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.” (James 4:3) God will not answer prayer that is inconsistent with His will. The way to know the will of God is to stay immersed in the Word of God. Jesus stated, “If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.” (John 15:7) Notice the conditional term “if.” For if we truly abide in Him and His Word abides in us, we won’t want anything that is contrary to His will. Let God’s Word guide your prayers like arrows to the bullseye of His will. This will increase your effectiveness and eliminate wasted time praying for the wrong things.

F. B. Myer astutely observed, “The great tragedy of life is not unanswered prayer, but unoffered prayer.” James added, “Ye have not, because ye ask not.” (James 4:2) The words of an old hymn are fitting, “Oh what peace we often forfeit, oh what needless pain we bear, all because we do not carry everything to God in prayer.” May we all develop a greater discipline for daily prayer. May we all follow the pattern for prayer that Jesus provided. May we all utilize this key to the resources of heaven and realize how powerful an ally is this priceless gift called prayer.

Pattern of Prayer: Part 1

Pastor Gene and Pastor Dan are gracious to allow me to share devotional thoughts with my church family through Heart to Heart. My soul purpose in my writing to is to encourage and support our church family in the mysteries, the power, the intimacy that grows between us and God, and the blessing that comes through developing a practice of prayer and leave a legacy of my love for Christ to my grandchildren. As I consider all the Lord has taught me and those truths that are precious and passionate to my heart, I pause in gratitude understanding that every word quickened in my heart has taken root because of seeds planted somewhere along the way. The majority of the seeds continue to be planted through the Word of God, yet every day I continue to grow and learn because seeds of sweet revelation and understanding planted through the gifting and revelation and insights freely shared by those who love God and are the called according to His purpose!

As our church enters into the first full week of praying collectively as a body of Christ for our city . . . and as we join with thousands throughout the nation praying for their cities and for our nation . . . it comes as no surprise to me that God would point me to a wonderful study in prayer and make the highways smooth to share it with you! In the next few weeks, I will be sharing an article called “A Pattern of Prayer” with you, written by Ben Godwin, Silver Cup Ministries. Ben has graciously allowed me permission to share his insights on the Pattern of Prayer. You can learn more about Ben and his ministry at www.bengodwin.org . It is my joy to share. . .

A Pattern for Prayer: Part 1
By Ben Godwin (used with permission)

Prayer is a valuable asset to the believer. As such, prayer should be our first resource not our last resort. It is the key to the heart of God that unlocks all of the resources of heaven.

President Abraham Lincoln during the dark days of the Civil War era stated, “I have been driven many times to my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere else to go.” Prayer enables us to tap into a supernatural power source when human effort is insufficient. King David expressed it this way, “Hear my cry, O God; attend unto my prayer. From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I.” (Psalm 61:1-2)

On one occasion, Jesus’ disciples approached Him with a simple request, “Lord, teach us to pray…” (Luke 11:1) In response, Jesus gave them a pattern prayer (a sample, a model, an outline), not so much to be memorized and recited repetitiously or mechanically, but as a guide to the proper method of approaching God. We will examine that prayer a little later.

What is prayer?
Simply put, prayer is talking to (the act of communion with) God. Prayer doesn’t have to be lengthy, fancy or shrouded in religious verbiage, it just needs to be sincere and from the heart. God spoke to Moses and vice versa “face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend.” (Exodus 33:11) A relationship is only as strong as its communication and our relationship with God is facilitated through prayer. Prayer, however, should be a two-way conversation—a dialogue not a monologue. Tennis provides a helpful analogy. You cannot play tennis with one player very well. Someone must return the ball once you hit it over the net. So it is with prayer. There should be give and take. Once we have poured out our heart to God, we should wait and be quiet in His presence and listen for His answer.

The Practice of Prayer:

Prayer should be as normal to the believer as eating and sleeping. The Reformer Martin Luther said, “To be a Christian without prayer is no more possible than to be alive without breathing.” Prayer should not be just a crutch in a crisis, but a consistent lifestyle.

How often should we pray? The Psalmist David wrote, “Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray…” (Psalm 55:16) The Prophet Daniel had a similar regimen, “Daniel kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God.” (Daniel 6:10) Paul raised the bar even higher when he instructed us to “Pray without ceasing.” (I Thessalonians 5:17) In other words, always remain in an attitude or mindset of prayer. So prayer should not only be a daily discipline but an open-ended and ongoing conversation between us and God.

The Purpose of Prayer:

The purpose of prayer is not to inform God for “your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.” (Matthew 6:8) Rather, it is to invite God to be involved in every aspect of our lives. The Lord’s Prayer in Matthew’s Gospel (6:9-13) is only 66 words long. In this pattern prayer given to His disciples, Jesus outlined several important purposes for prayer:

1. To perpetuate a relationship: “Our Father which art in heaven…”The term Father indicates a relationship. So prayer is a vehicle through which we can nurture and maintain close fellowship with God. We do not pray to a distant, impersonal force out in the universe, but to our intimate, loving, heavenly Father.

2. To praise God’s name: “Hallowed be Thy name…”The word hallowed means to make holy, to sanctify, to venerate or consecrate. Notice the prayer begins with praise. The proper way to approach God is with an attitude of gratitude. “Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise…” (Psalm 100:4)

3. To promote God’s kingdom & will: “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven…”God’s will is for all humanity to be saved. His kingdom is His rule, dominion or authority. Prayer helps facilitate the fulfillment of God’s will and the advancement of His kingdom in the earth.

4. To petition God for personal needs: “Give us this day our daily bread…”Pay attention to the all-inclusive words our, us and we, used eight times in this pattern prayer. This is not a selfish, exclusive prayer; it is inclusive of the needs of others. Certainly we should present our own personal needs in prayer. But the key to having our needs met is often interceding for the needs of others— “And the LORD turned the captivity of Job, when he prayed for his friends.” (Job 42:10)

5. To pardon us of sin: “Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors…”A true prayer of confession garners forgiveness. However, our capacity to receive forgiveness hinges on our willingness to extend it. Jesus expressed this principle in the beautiful Beatitude, “Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.” (Matthew 5:7)

6. To prevent us from falling & protect us from evil: “Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil…”Either prayer will keep us from sinning or sin will keep us from praying! “Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.…” (Matthew 26:41) Prayer keeps us strong in order to resist temptation and sensitive to the Holy Spirit to help us shun the very appearance of evil.

7. To praise God again: “For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever, amen.”Notice how this prayer starts and ends with praise. I call it a “praise sandwich” because the petitions are “sandwiched” between two periods of praise. So the proper way to pray is to begin with praise and finish with praise for what God has done and will do.

In the next post, Ben will lead us into a look at the power of prayer and offer practical pointers for those of you who would like to develop a deeper prayer life in A Pattern for Prayer: Part 2. Always remember that it is not eloquence in what you say that matters to God, but rather it the sacrifice of your time and your love expressed through your desire to know God better that touches His heart. Your father yearns to hear from you today. He yearns to call you friend!!

Seeking God for My City

My church is engaging in a prayer intiative to Seek God for the City 2010. We are encouraged to pray for revival and renewal in the hearts of God’s people. Revival is not a concept for the unbeliever, God’s grace poured out on the lost is “harvest”. Revival is for the Church. It is time for the Church to arise and awaken. America and Israel are the only nations in history that were established on faith and hope in the God of the Bible. America has been a primary vehicle in taking the message of the Gospel to the world. Yet, today America is facing a time of great challenge and the whole world is looking to see what will happen with us.

While most Christian’s don’t want to hear it, the Church in the West, the Church at home, has become lukewarm. The Emergent Church is writing a new Gospel. Wise seminarians are researching the scriptures for the errors they seek to find within them or greater wisdom than the scripture itself has to offer. Many new pastors today do not believe in the inerrancy of the Bible nor do they believe in the literal translation of primary essential doctrines of faith. Many eloquently teach that the “stories” of the Bible are largely symbolic. People flock to warm fuzzy churches in masses where they can count on hearing an uplifting message and great music. Funeral directors are sending every one to “glory”. People by and large do not want to hear about sin and they do not want to hear about hell. They are looking for a God who “fits” with their ideas rather than embracing God for who God is.

I am just finishing reading Deuteronomy, which is the final book of Moses and the law in the Old Testament. Next are the books of history. Every time I read God’s word, God gives fresh insight. Over and over in scripture, we see a cycle of Israel wherein 1) the people of God cry out for deliverance in the midst of rebellion and disobedience which ultimately leads them to captivity and oppression, 2) God raises a deliver and the people are restored to relationship with God , 3) the people soon forget God’s faithfulness and goodness and rely on their own wisdom and diligently follow their own sinful desires, 4) The blessings of God are withdrawn because of unbelief and rebellion, and the people of God again cry out for help in their captivity and rebellion.

There is very interesting scripture in the parable of the wicked vinedressers in Matthew 21. In it, Jesus says, “Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those vinedressers?” They said to Him, “He will destroy those wicked men miserably, and lease his vineyard to other vinedressers who will render to him the fruits in their seasons.” Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures:

‘ The stone which the builders rejected as become the chief cornerstone. This was the LORD’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes’? “Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a nation bearing the fruits of it. And whoever falls on this stone will be broken; but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder.”

That new kingdom that Jesus spoke of was the Church. The Church was to bear fruit. I would submit to you that America was also in God’s vision as a new nation. America’s fruits and blessings came through her great sacrifice and through her faithfulness to God and to the Judeo Christian values that established this nation. Those national values; however resulted from the bottom up. A nations values directly reflect the values of its people. In spite of her great history and great blessing, America is in trouble. The Church is in trouble. Our families are in trouble. I would submit to you that America is in full force rebellion toward God today. The name of Jesus has become an offense in the same hallowed halls that used to praise Him!

To quote from the Quest study Bible, God wants us to understand something about him, and He works in ways so that we might know. But He offers even greater insight to us when we believe by faith. The Israelites (America) had seen many miracles, including their deliverance from Egypt. Yet their hearts remained unrepentant so that they could not understand or appreciate hat God had done for them. Though God offered them understanding, they didn’t receive it because of their stubbornness.

How about you today? Is God dealing with your heart? Is there a stubbornness that separates you from fully knowing and responding to the Lord? I know He is dealing with mine. As I cry out for my city, I cry out to God for me . . . Change me Lord! Give me the Heart of Jesus, Give me the vision of Jesus for my family, for my city, for my nation, Give me the determination and perseverance to gladly embrace your chastisement so that I might draw nearer to You and grow in obedience . . . because I love you, Lord, because of your faithfulness to deliver me, to restore me, to resurrect my soul. Pour out in me, Father, through Jesus, because of Jesus, in Jesus. Show me Your greater purpose. Pour out in your people, and pour out in this city. In You and You alone is our hope!

Did You Ever Wonder?

The Lord does not delay and is not tardy or slow about what He promises, according to some people's conception of slowness, but He is long-suffering (extraordinarily patient) toward you, not desiring that any should perish, but that all should turn to repentance. 2 Peter 3:9 (AMP)

In one of The Truth Project videos, a young girl asks the question, “Did you ever wonder?,” as she pondered the intricacies of the way God designed the human body. The magnificence of God and the vast glory of His creative work is too great to comprehend for most of us. As Christians, God bequeathed to us an instruction manual to equip us to understand His plan for mankind and to prepare us to live in a way that is aligned with His purpose. Yet, we are unable to grasp the mind of God or even the depth of the mysteries contained within His Word.

If you gathered a group of Christians together and asked them if they believed in the literal understanding and application of the scriptures, the answers might surprise you. One example might be in relation to the return of the Lord. Most of us will say that we believe that Christ will come again. But did you ever wonder when? We are at a point in America, where we increasingly mock God and disdain the name of Jesus. The great Cathedrals of Europe are bare. A new world order appears to be forming in the West. Yet in spite of this, the Church of Jesus Christ is exploding in areas of the world where Christians are persecuted and hated. In the midst of great and horrific natural disaster, miracles abound. How do we explain it? The Bible teaches much about the signs of the Lord’s return and many are clearly visible, but with the world in such distress, did you ever wonder why He tarries? Why he doesn’t come now?

The Bible tells us. It says that the Lord desires that no man should perish. He yearns to have compassion on us. In Chapter 33, God gives Ezekiel a message for the people, Tell them: ‘As I live— the declaration of the Lord GOD — I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked person should turn from his way and live. Repent; repent of your evil ways! Why will you die, house of Israel?’ Throughout scripture, we see that those who loved God were moved to intercede with God for the people and the cities. God called us and saved us not because He simply wanted to bless us and give us good gifts, but because He wanted a people that would love and worship Him, a people who would be burdened for the lost and a people who would be willing to go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you.

In 1 Timothy 2, Paul says, “Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time, for which I was appointed a preacher and an apostle — I am speaking the truth in Christ and not lying — a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth. I desire therefore that the men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting.”

I am one that wonders when the Lord will come, and I am increasingly amazed at how the scriptures are aligning with what is happening in the world today. Time may be winding down, or the Lord may tarry for many more years – I don’t know; but I am grateful and I do know that each day the Lord tarries provides new opportunity to examine myself and to determine if the great commission is really a priority in my life. Am I doing all that I can to share the good news of the Gospel with friends and loved ones who don’t know Christ? . . . or with my neighbors? Am I sacrificing time to make supplications, prayers and intercessions as Paul exhorted before the throne of grace? . . . are you? I’ve been reading the Old Testament and am reminded of all those times God bestowed mercy instead of destruction on those who rebelled because someone who loved God interceded for them.

Prayer makes a difference. We don’t know when the Father will say to the Son, “Time to go,” and the door will shut for those who do not know Christ. Take time to pray for someone that you know needs Jesus today, and continue to pray believing that God will hear and respond! Pray for our cities and the brokenness within them. Pray the Lord visits His people. Pray for the poor, the hungry, the sick, the lonely, those with a burden too heavy to carry. Pray for the parents who grieve and the woman abandoned and forsaken. Pray for the captive. Pray. Prayer makes a difference.

The Fragrance of Prayer

I have just finished reading in Exodus and considered how clear and concise God was in His instruction for each article of the tabernacle. He directed the heart of the writer to repeat those instructions, thus it is apparent that in the content of the details, God wanted us to understand something important.

The Golden Incense Altar was made of acacia wood overlaid with gold. It was situated just in front of the Veil (the curtain which separated the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies). The priest would burn incense at this altar in the morning and at twilight (Exodus 30:7-8), as a perpetual fragrance before the Lord. The incense that the priest would burn had a sweet and pleasing fragrance to the LORD.

The burning incense signifies prayer. The psalmist said (Psalm 141:2) Let my prayer be set before You as incense, the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice. In Christ’s revelation to John ( 5:8), John writes, Now when He had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each having a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.

Sincere and simple prayer is fragrant to God. Through Jesus, our hearts become the golden altars that send the sweet fragrance of prayer to the heavenly throne, where Jesus Himself receives them and makes intercession for us. Paul said in Romans 8:34, Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us.

JR Miller has a wonderful sermon on the fragrance of prayer that he wrote in 1888. You can access it in entirety at http://www.gracegems.org/Miller/sweet_fragrance_of_prayer. Nothing that I could possibly write could improve on this. In it, Pastor Miller says . . . In John's Apocalyptic visions, the redeemed are represented as "holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints." The thought seems to be that earth's supplications rise up into heaven as sweet incense — that while humble believers in this world are engaged in offering up prayers and supplications, holy fragrances are wafted up before God.

It shows that the prayers of believers are not lost. Some people tell us there is no ear to hear, when we speak our words of request and desire — that our petitions merely float off into the air, and that is the end of them. But here we get a glimpse inside heaven, and find our prayers caught and preserved in golden bowls.

In one of the psalms there is a similar hint regarding the tears of God's people. "You put my tears into your bottle," cries David. In ancient times tear-bottles were sometimes used. When a man was in some sore distress, his friends would visit him, and, as he wept, would gather his tears and put them in a bottle, preserving them as sacred memorials of the event. Something like this appears to have been in David's thought when, in sore distress, he made the prayer, "You put my tears into your bottle." The words suggest the precious truth — that God does indeed take notice of all our sorrows, and that he treasures up the remembrance of our griefs. Our very tears he gathers, and as it were — puts them in bottles, that they may not be lost or forgotten. This is one of those incidental allusions, which show us how deeply God loves us and how tender is his care.

John’s picture of the golden bowls in heaven containing earth's prayers, shows us like precious regard in the divine heart, for the desires and supplications which believing ones put up to God. As they rise in holy breathings or in earnest cries, he receives them — every sigh, every yearning, every pleading, every intercession of love, every heart-hunger — and puts them all into golden bowls, that none of them may be lost! Often our prayers may seem to remain long unanswered, for some blessings are so rich that they cannot be prepared for us in a day — but we may be sure that they are not lost nor forgotten. They are sacredly treasured and are always before God, and in due time they will receive gracious and wise answer.

Never grow weary in praying. Cultivate a relationship in prayer. Discipline yourself to communicate with God. He loves you so much that your prayer is received as a sweet fragrance in the throne room by Christ, who makes intercession for you!

Revive My Heart

And one shall say, “Heap it up! Heap it up! Prepare the way. Take the stumbling block out of the way of My people.” For thus says the High and Lofty One who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: “I dwell in the high and holy place, with him who has a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.” Isaiah 57:14-15

The desire of every Christian heart should be to look like Jesus, to reflect the Lord of all in every aspect of the way we live our lives. Yet, the sweet and wonderful process of sanctification (Christ in us making us a new creation from within) recognizes God’s mercy and long suffering and acknowledgement that He knows we are but dust and loves us anyway. Yet the transformation that God would do in us is also dependent upon our willingness to submit ourselves to the Lord and to be obedient to the Holy Spirit as He prepares, reveals and directs the transformation cycle within us.

Because I am one of those people who prays for revival, I am especially sensitive to my pastor's exhortation to go beyond simply praying for revival and to begin to pray that the Lord changes hearts, beginning with my own. Sometimes those of us who have walked long with the Lord forget our terribly susceptible flesh nature and rest on self imagined laurels or knowledge that actually hinders the work the Lord would do in us. We forget that every good gift we have comes from the Father of Light and that without Him, we are capable of no good thing. Sometimes the young in the Lord wonder if they will ever get it right or if God really hears each prayer.

Praise God that while we are called to be fishers of men, it is totally the Holy Spirit’s job to be the cleaner of those caught in the nets of God’s word becoming living and active in the hearts of man. Praise God that salvation is a free gift through grace alone by faith alone in Christ alone. It was God’s ultimate plan that Christ would pay the full price and bear the full burden of our sin on Calvary.

Lord, help us to have ears that strain to hear you, hearts that hunger for more of you, and minds (determination centers) willing to sacrifice every idol of this imperfect and corrupt world that would hinder us from serving you totally. Help us, Lord, to cultivate humble and contrite spirits so that you might teach us your ways, Lord, and direct our paths. Mold us into new creations that reflect your salt and light to a hungry and dying world. Amen.