And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord… Ephesians 5.18, 19

Life Together
Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906-1945)
“In all our praying there remains only the prayer of Jesus Christ; this alone has the promise of fulfillment and frees us from the vain repetitions of the heathen. The more deeply we grow into the psalms and the more often we pray them as our own, the more simple and rich will our prayer become.”

Singing the psalms can help in making them more personal. Singing can be a form of prayer, as we see in many of the psalms. It’s also an indication of the filling of the Holy Spirit, as Paul indicates in our text. The more we sing and pray the psalms, the more we will find the words of the psalms – Christ’s words, given for our prayers – on our lips at times when praying the psalms is not our particular focus. The psalms will become our prayers as we use them faithfully, day by day, seeking the Lord in prayer with the scripts He Himself has graciously provided. What greater privilege could we know? Take a moment and sing just this brief excerpt from Psalm 47.7, 8 (Tune: Truro – Shout, for the Blessed Jesus Reigns):

God is the King of all the earth, sing praise to Him with glorious psalms!
He rules the nations by His worth, and on His throne receives their alms.

What have you learned about praying the psalms from this week’s readings and exercises? Do you think you’ll continue with this?

Sing the Psalms
We have prepared all the psalms for singing to familiar hymn tunes in our Ailbe Psalter. Order your copy by clicking here, and begin singing the psalms daily and using them in your church’s worship, as often as you will.

Mission Partners Outreach
Pastor, here’s a great resource to encourage the men in your church in their walk with and work for the Lord. This six-month, stay-at-home mission training regimen will get your men praying and reaching out to the people in their Personal Mission Field, and will provide a free resource for ongoing discipleship training in your church. Watch the brief video introducing this effort (click here), then download the brochure, find a man or two, and get started equipping the men of your church for mission.

Does the Lord want to use you to help support The Fellowship of Ailbe? Please look to Him in prayer over this question. You can contribute to The Fellowship of Ailbe by using the Contribute button at our website, or by sending your gift to The Fellowship of Ailbe, 19 Tyler Drive, Essex Junction, VT 05452. Thank you.

Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.