Prayer

Skeleton discussion lesson on prayer:

1. What does it mean to pray to you personally?
2. What was your last prayer?
3. What are some sort of prayer answers do we get for prayer?
4. Why do prayers become ineffective?
5. Who are your prayer warriors in bible or your fellow brothers and sisters?

Prayer: Various for individual, unique and special like all relationships, spiritual hunger is met, changes our lives and situations. ACTS: adoration, confession, thanksgiving, supplication.

Answers in prayers can be Yes, no and wait. He hears and answers all prayers just maybe not the answers we want to hear because he can not act in a way that is inconsistent to his character. Discuss what are some Yes, no's and wait answers.

Prayers become ineffective when things in our life separate us from God, choosing to reject God's truth or help, knowingly rebelling against God. Having the wrong motives of what we ask.

Some prayer warriors in the bible, moses, david, daniel+friends, micah, prophets, samuel, Paul and ultimately Jesus.

Example prayers Daniel 9:4-19, 2 Samuel 7:18-29, Matthew 6:9-13

Specific examples:
1. Jehosophat:
Prayer type - 2 Chronicles 20:1-14 War raging in the land
Answered Prayer - 2 Chronicles 20:20-30
What type of prayers do you see in these verses?

2. Shadrah, Mesach, Abednego
Prayer type - Daniel 3:17-18
Answered prayer - Daniel 3:26-27
Prayed no matter circumstance, food matter, forced to worship idol and gold -> fire furnace, outlawed prayer but still prayed -> lions den. He stood strong for conviction in God and continued to trust in God

3. Paul
Prayer type - ephesians 3:14-21

Prayer is not a set of rules or repetitions, it is unique communication and relationship to everyone, it is being real to God and opening up our hearts for him to speak as well as for us to share our thoughts and feelings.

Extra verses: Eph 2:18, Mtt 18:19-20

An end of a Era....

It really feels that way as 2007 passed by, felt that there has been many adventures, many things that has happen over this year that made it quite eventful and significant. Lead caregroup in young adults, joined the evangelism region in darebin, formed many great relationships with people in university+church+strangers->friend, help play a role in pioneering a new church, publish a paper in ISSNIP with my understanding supportive project-partner, and many more...

But I guess today there was one thing that I was letting go off...I picked up the guitar at the beginning of 2007 and started playing since then. I bought a guitar that i really liked called les paul epiphone black beauty 3 that year from a music production manager and today I had to sell it to a band called the curious few. The guitar looks like...
The guitar was made in Korea which is quite high quality to the gibson model which goes for 2-4 times as much. They now make them in China as the factory has moved. It was and is really a beauty that I will not forget...farewell friend.

Tomorrow my BOSS GT3 will be sold too as I just got email from a person interested in it and will purchase it for the price i put. God really provides and brings the buyers when you need them, as my previous experience took me a month to sell my fender guitar and another for my V.O.X amp.

Now I am guitarless except with the borrowed guitar from Ying.....in future, not anytime soon, I hope to get a guitar that i like....at moment fender telecaster looks good but also an acoustic electric might be good to. But one can only think about it now :)

I trust in the Lord, he is my provider, supplier and multiplier. He will forever bless his people in the days to come. A story that i recall quite often to remind myself this is...

A father and son went to McDonalids one evening and the father ordered the Happy Meal for his son. The Happy meal consisted of a burger, some fries and small coke. As the father drove away, he leaned over and took a few fries from his son. His son grabbed his hand and looked angrily at the father blurting out, "these are my fries, you cant have any!" and he started to cry....The father however didnt want the fries but wanted to teach the son a lesson. He wanted to let the son know that he is the one who provided the fries for him in the first place, the one who supplied it to him, and the one that can multiply it if its not enough for him (by buying more).


If only the son knew this, he would give to the father back as he is the source of providence. For only when he recognize the father as this then he knows everything belongs to the father. He giveth and taketh and he will provide for all the needs of his children.

This Christmas.

Seems this Christmas feels different in many ways. It feels more warm then the previous years and I guess its because of the hearts of the people I have come across this year. Its the sharing of one anothers lives, its the heartbeat and the togetherness that brings people closer. And the season to be festive and celebrate the joy that Jesus was born draws the warmth and love out of people.

Although this Christmas I may lack tangible things but I do not lack the relationship with God, my family and my dear friends. Thank God for his compassion and love. The past few days I have just been unwinding and reflecting many things about this year. It really has been an adventure of faith for many including myself with pioneering church in Darebin....

As Christmas day looms closer, I can only give thanks to God and praise him for all his done. I'll probably spend sometime in city walking around and just absorbing the atmosphere, looking at the decorations and the songs that sing the joy of Jesus coming on the streets.

Your voice calls out to me, your hand brings me forth, your presence felt so ever strong, REJOICE in the Lord in all our circumstance. How timely it is that I share on rejoicing church whereby it has also reminded me the pure joy of having Jesus in my life.

God created the world to be a joy to him, all creation radiates the joy of God and since we are made in him image, we share his spirit of joy. His joy is not of the world which is temporarily but an everlasting joy.

"Surely the joy of mankind is withered away" Joel 1:12 and "the mirth of the wicked is brief, the joy of the godless lasts but a moment" Job 20:5

For the fruits of spirit is joy that many philosophers, scientists, empires do not understand and fathom. How can joy be experience when there is unbelief in God. Alexander the Great conquered the entire known world of his day, but after he had done so he wept. "There are no more worlds to conquer, where is happiness to be found"

Christians are real people, living in real world, having real problems yet have the ability to have joy in the midst of them all because they know they have a great God and can rejoice in spite of lifes circumstnace. For Gods mercy, goodness and greatness as we claim and declare it!

"With Joy you will draw water from wells of salvation" Isaiah 12:3 and "whoever drinks the water i give him will never thirst. the water i give will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life" John 4:14.

(base on Rejoicing Church)

Stumbled on a song this morning from Chris tomlin's new album


Chris Tomlin "Rejoice"

See the morning, see it rising
Over the mountains high
See the mercy in the mighty hand of God

Living Water come and fill us
Only You can satisfy
Turn our sorrow into singing
The song of life

Rejoice, Rejoice
Sing with the angel voices
Rejoice, Rejoice
All Heaven and earth rejoice

Lord, Your strength is a tower
The righteous run into
Lord, Your love is a banner over us
And we hold on to the promise
That Your hold on us is true
There's no other like You, Jesus
No one like You

Always
Again I say rejoice

Reflection

"So I'll give You praise and sing with all my heart.
I will give you glory.
And my life, a pleasing sacrifice to You"

(Jesus Christ, Son of God)

Like most, I am a normal person who seeks and serves the Lord with all my heart.... I have been serving him fervently since the beginning of the year like no other time in my life. I have been through a number of experiences since then that has shaped and moulded me to be the person that I am at the moment...And I know that these plans has a purpose in my life. Its God's way of equipping me for the future and enlarging my heart for his people. And I thank God that he has chosen me for this.

There has also been times which I felt very zealous, faith filled and Joyful because of what he is doing all the time with e confirmations along the way. Other times such as tiredness, troubled and exhaustion, I turn to him ASAP. At these times my heart becomes heavy ladened, tired, weak and complicated. This is where I come back to the basics of my faith. I simplize my thoughts and feelings into one. I was made to worship God. So I pick up my guitar, play the songs that I can play, play with the music and those that I cant play I sing with my voice. Worshiping God and drawing on his strength alone. These are times of refreshing, that I draw my focus back on Gods goodness in my life. Renewing and recharging.

"For I have satiated the weary soul, and I have replenished every sorrowful soul." KJV
"For I have given new strength to the tired soul and to every sorrowing soul in full measure." BBE
Jeremiah 31:25

Just reflecting back from the humble beginnings of the year and until now, somewhat, I feel a sense of nostalgia and excitement for what there is to come in the future. It feels weird in a way that I couldn't picture this back then but I knew that God had a plan all the way long. Its strange but not a coincidence. I Look forward to more promises that God will fulfill real soon! I look forward for what lies ahead!

"Cadbury Timeout"

1 Kings 19

Tired and on the run, the prophet of the Lord, Elijah, had been preaching to Israel to restore their relationship with God (Covenant) and to turn away from the idol Baal and Asherah. He had challenged the prophets of Baal previously to light fire by calling on their gods to burn the pieces of meat, however Baal did not answer their request(Baal was a idol). Upon his turn, he called on the Lord almighty and miraculously fire was set alight and people declared that his Lord is God. That day the prophets of Baal and of Asherah were slaughtered.

Hearing this news, Jezebel put down a decree to kill Elijah. Elijah afraid for his life ran and when he reached Judah, he prayed "I have had enough Lord,take my life, I am no better than my ancestors". At once there was angel who told him to get up and eat and drink. He ate and slept in the Lord. The angel came down again and told him to wake up, eat and drink for journey ahead is long. He got up, ate, drank and he was strengthened for the journey ahead.

Times like this, when I am serving the Lord with my heart, taking responsibility at home and managing my studies, taking sometime timeout can be hard to find and in the end as i run I get tired. For in the end I am an ordinary man, i am flesh and bone. These are times when I become impatient, weary, tired, and emotional. YES I have emotions too. At these times I will ask God why, why did this happen, how come it had to be this way? couldnt it be the other way Lord? What could I have done better?

These are times I just shout and cry to the lord, expressing my feelings, through my joy and pain. I have a secret place that I would go to, and just let my prayers feel the night sky. Sometimes in frustration, I would shout at the top of my voice over a passing bridge (or somewhere no one can see just myself and the Lord). Then looking from afar his magnificent creations I can see his mighty hand, his faithful presence in my life. I see the beauty the Lord has made upon the chaos and complexities of life. I am assured that God is sovereign and loving, all I need is trust.

I learnt from Elijah that when we are on the "run", busy with our life, we may feel burnt out and emotional, we need to express our feelings and thoughts to God in whatever way that does not compromise Gods goodness. We need to call on his name for help and strength. He surely answers our prayers, he has for me. He encouraged me through his word, through my friends and through circumstances to reveal that his with me.

Practically what needs to be done? Pray to the Lord, feast on good food (spiritual and physical), food that you like that will give you energy and sleep early. Read his word that he may speak to you. Pray to the lord that you may have a good rest and that tomorrow the Lord will speak to you because God does not want you to run on dry. Just as Elijah was restored so that he may continue to do the good work, it is not wrong to rest, to take it slow and have our own time to be refreshed and restored. May the Lord bring balance and rejuvenate us!

p.s have a timeout chocolate or kit-kat helps too ;)