I have always found public praying hard and would rather not do it, but I still have to as a worship leader, and so when I came across this book, I quickly bought a copy and began reading.
Leading in Prayer, A Workbook for Worship
by Hughes Oliphant Old
I have only just started but have already found it very useful. My next rostered duty will be a month away, which gives me enough time to finish reading it.
It will definitely become my reference book from now on when I prepare to worship lead.
It is also a very good read. Whilst reading the chapter on The Psalms as Prayer, there is a considerable section on singing the Psalms. And I read this line, highlighted here:
I like how the author described it as "a sunburst of musical diamonds."
Wow, it definitely makes me want to check it out.
It is indeed lovely and I wish I'll be able to one day sing it in a cathedral with the most wonderful acoustics.
Check it out, if you do appreciate 15th century high church music, that is.
I wasn’t really listening to it and when the song finished, I let it continue playing. But what was next played surprised me so much that I have to now pay attention now. I need to look into the words of In Christ Alone.
I know you are curious about the next song but I will only talk about it tomorrow. I am still on the central message of what God wants to tell me.
In my life, I do rely and depend on a lot of things for meaning and purpose of life but they are nothing in the presence of God.
It is only in Christ that my hope is found. And no power of hell nor schemes of man can ever pluck me from his hand.
It is in the power of Christ that I stand, every minute, every hour, every moment of my life.
I asked the Lord for a word from him today. I really needed it: his presence, his faithfulness, his strength, his assurance.
He gave me more than a word.
He gave me a sandwich.
I have always loved the chiasm literary device. A chiastic structure is one where the central message is in the middle sandwiched by passages before and after.
I have a playlist of gospel songs and in asking for a word from him, I hit Shuffle and my phone plays Hillsong’s Mighty to Save.
I felt this is not a coincidence but really a song God is giving me because I have been ministered by it a couple of days ago. It’s like him reminding me, “didn’t I tell you already.”
Mighty to Save
Well, everyone needs compassion
A love that's never failing
But let mercy fall on me
Well, everyone needs forgiveness
The kindness of a Savior
The hope of nations
My Savior He can move the mountains
My God is Mighty to save
He is Mighty to save
Forever Author of salvation
He rose and conquered the grave
Jesus conquered the grave
So take me as You find me
All my fears and failures
And fill my life again
I give my life to follow
Everything I believe in
And now I surrender (I surrender)
Shine your light and let the whole world see
We're singing for the glory of the risen King
Jesus, Shine your light and let the whole world see
Pastor Wong Fong Yang preached on the Lordship of Christ from Colossians 2:1-8, with God’s word to chart us off into the new year.
I like it when he referred to 2:6-7 as a litmus test of life in Christ.
So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.
~ Colossians 2:6-7 (NIV)
His message for the new year is that we will continue our lives in Jesus, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith we have been taught all these years, long or short.
And the litmus test is to ask: am I overflowing with thankfulness or am I always complaining or murmuring?
I pray for a more Spirit-filled 2018, to live my life more fervently in Christ, to stay rooted in him, to continually be built up in him, to be strengthened in my faith in him. And all in all, to overflow with thankfulness in whatever circumstances I am in.
Pain insists upon being attended to. God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our consciences, but shouts in our pains. It is his megaphone to rouse a deaf world.
~ CS Lewis
This is my favourite quote of all time and it is most relevant today. I’ve not been talking to God for such a long stretch of time in a long while.
It’s not good but good that the time has come. Thank you Lord.
Praying Backwards, Transform Your Prayer Life by Beginning in Jesus’ Name
by Bryan Chapell
I am still in the midst of reading it but I’m finding it an excellent read. I have had so many questions about prayer and I have blogged before that even though I don’t understand it, I am still praying—and it’s tough sometimes—because God commands us to.
I found some answers from this book—to some important questions.
Here are some of the excerpts:
But how are we supposed to pray without doubting? Is it wrong to allow any thought that we might not receive the answer we desire? If so, how do we keep negative thoughts from invading our brain? Isn’t being told not to doubt a little like being told not to think about pink elephants? Once you have been told not to think about something, it’s practically impossible not to think about it...The basic problem with all definitions of believing prayer that make God the servant of our will is that the object of belief is misplaced...The success of our prayers does not lie in exceptional confidence that we have pumped enough of our own faith into our prayer (and extracted enough doubt) so that now God must respond. Our belief must be in God. He, not our desire, is the object of our faith.
Praying in Jesus’ name requires seeking first the kingdom of God and his righteousness with the absolute trust that God will then add all that is best for us (Matt. 6: 31–33). This is the way that Jesus prayed and the way he taught us to pray.
All who are so bold as to tell God exactly how to answer are expressing a kind of belief, but it is great faith in human wisdom and faint confidence in our God.
“The better you know the Shepherd, the easier it is to trust his heart.”
And I am in love with any writer that quotes and draws the truth from CS Lewis’s Chronicles of Narnia:
In The Magician’s Nephew, C. S. Lewis has his lion king, Aslan, send two children, Polly and Digory, on a mission with Fledge, the flying horse. After a while, they discover they have no food. Polly and Digory are dismayed: “Well, I do think someone might have arranged our meals,” said Digory. “I’m sure Aslan would have, if you’d asked him,” said Fledge. “Wouldn’t he know without being asked?” said Polly. “I’ve no doubt he would,” said the horse. . . . “But, I’ve a sort of idea he likes to be asked.”
We may grow concerned that faith in God’s sovereignty may also tempt us to reason: Why ask if God already knows?...no doubt he knows what to do, but he likes to be asked. God is like that. He knows what we need before we ask (Matt. 6: 8), but he still likes to be asked. He urges us to pray in ways that deepen our love and trust of him.
Isn’t it an excellent book to start the year with?
We are to pray for others and support each other in petitions to the Lord, but we can sometimes pray the wrong things for our brethren and loved ones.
That is exactly what happened to me today.
It happened because they did not have the full story and so when the person prayed for me, she prayed for exactly the opposite of what I am asking God for.
She was not to blame of course because I wasn’t given the opportunity to say more about my situation but I’m also okay in not doing so. I appreciate the privacy accorded to me, but then the prayer wasn’t accurate.
So what do we do in such circumstances, for both the person who prays and the person prayed for?
Of course the person prayed for can talk to the person who prays and they can pray again.
But if that is not possible or preferred, then nothing I suppose. We pray for others as we deem necessary and as the Spirit lead but that also begs the question, was it really Spirit led?
I don’t know.
But this I know: we need to be thankful that God knows all. And he hears our prayers and will answer according to his perfect wisdom and knowledge.
I am okay when I have my own private prayers because I will just speak my mind without much thought about structure or form. I wouldn’t think of what I should say, I will just speak my mind and from the heart, sometimes casual and sometimes formal.
But when I pray in public or when I attend prayer meetings, I get quite stressed up as I don’t usually know what to say. I do know what to pray for, especially since it’s a prayer request. I just don’t know how to pray it.
I also hold the view that we do not treat prayer like a wishing well, asking only for things we want, or reminding God to keep his promises, as if he needs any reminding.
So to the very core of it, I do not really understand prayer. To me, God already knows what’s best and will give us his best, whether in a form of a blessing or discipline, he knows what is best for us.
So then, why and what do I pray?
I pray because it’s commanded by God and so I do it. But what do I pray about. I am not exactly sure and so other than taking on how Jesus taught us to pray, I would just speak my mind and my heart.
I also began to see what books I have on prayer and found I this in my stash.
Praying Backwards, Transform Your Prayer Life by Beginning in Jesus’ Name
by Bryan Chapell
I have just started reading it and I like it. I do not want to rush through it and thought I’d read it bit by bit to learn and practice as I go.
Here are some gems so far from the Introduction and first portion of the first chapter:
When we pray “in Jesus’ name,” we pray for his sake more than our own. We still present our desires and concerns to God, but we do so in the context of yielding our priorities to Christ’s priorities.
In this fallen world you cannot avoid suffering; you can have peace in the midst of it. You cannot avoid trials; you can have confidence of their purpose. You cannot bind God by your prayers; you can guarantee his blessing. You cannot direct the will of God; you can pray according to his will and rest in the assurance of his love. You can pray knowing that God will marshal the powers of heaven to accomplish on earth all he knows is best for your eternity. Praying in Jesus’ name is the key.
We approach the throne of grace without the burden of our sin and with the righteousness of our Savior. We ask for his blessing based on God’s wisdom, not ours. We trust in his faithfulness, not in the adequacy of our faith.
I especially like what Chapell says here: We trust in his faithfulness, not in the adequacy of our faith.
I always berate myself for not praying enough, for not reading his Word enough, for not keeping close to God enough, and I realized I have been depending a lot on what I have done or not done to keep this relationship with God, when at the end of it all, it is God himself who first sought me, and who first call to fellowship and commune with me.
So the next time when I am reminded to pray or read the Bible or just to be in his presence, I must not do it in guilt that I have not done enough, but to simply be there with the ever-present Emmanuel, God who is with us, who is with me.
I was in church today when pastor introduced some visitors from the US and he shared with the congregation how they have supported the church in prayer all these years.
The topic of prayer has always been a mystery to me. But I take it as a commandment from God that we pray and to pray fervently, and so even if I don't understand it fully, I obey and I pray as much as I could, as best as I could, though it isn't actually as much as I wished or as well as I wished.
When pastor told us about the prayers of our counterpart in the US, this picture came to mind:
I imagine prayer is a connection of the people of God as we pray for one another we connected with each another in the Spirit and in love. It's like weaving a tapestry of love and brotherhood across the whole world.
We all belong to God and even if we don't pray for others, He will never forsake any of us. But yet, we are to pray for one another. We need to be connected to one another in Christ and prayer is the perfect way of doing so as we remember each other, we love each other in the Lord.
We sang this good ol' hymn in church today it is timely that I'm being reminded to strengthen my relationship with Jesus, to fully turn my eyes on him, on no one else, on nothing else, but on him alone.
I found this excellent version of the hymn sung by Loyiso Bala, Neville D and Ivan Siegelaar.
O soul, are you weary and troubled? No light in the darkness you see? There’s light for a look at the Savior, And life more abundant and free!
Refrain: Turn your eyes upon Jesus, Look full in His wonderful face, And the things of earth will grow strangely dim, In the light of His glory and grace.
Through death into life everlasting He passed, and we follow Him there; O’er us sin no more hath dominion— For more than conqu’rors we are!
His Word shall not fail you—He promised; Believe Him, and all will be well: Then go to a world that is dying, His perfect salvation to tell!
There is also this new version of the song by Nichole Nordeman that has also grown on me over the years. I listen to it whenever I need to remind myself to depend on God and God alone, whatever the circumstance.
My Father, my God, my Lord. I feel so far away from you even though I know you are near. You are here. Your presence is with me. Yet I long for more closeness. I long to seek you every moment of my life and yet I know I don't all time. I desire to come near, to center my life in you, from you, through you. I need to put you first and seek you. You have told me that when I seek you I will find you when I search for you with all my heart. So here I am, Lord, coming to you, believing in you—despite my fears, doubts, and failures. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
pearlie
Prayer inspired by Jackie M. Johnson, Powerful Prayers for Challenging Times
It is my experience that when I pray for patience, my patience will surely be tested. Sometimes I catch myself still praying for patience, but it is at a time when I truly needed it, especially with difficult and toxic people.
So I found this prayer to be patience helpful.
Lord,
Here I am facing a new day. I know that without yielding to your calmness and contentment, I will succumb to frustration and irritation.
I seek your help today.
Make me more aware of my emotions and my attitudes. Remind me that I have control over the attitudes that I choose to present to the world.
Remind me that I can learn to overcome every challenging situation today by putting on the shoes of peace and displaying an even temper.
Remind me to show kindness.
Give me more ability to receive your love and give it away to others today.*
Help me to work hard and do my best. But help me to care more about loving others than I care about getting tasks done.
Lord, I want to grow spiritually this day. I want to be more Christ-like tonight when I go to bed than when I got up this morning.
Today I will focus on developing the fruit of the spirit instead of pleasing myself.
Today I will thank you, Lord, for leading me toward love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
Today I will praise you, Lord, and I will celebrate your love for me.
