PRAYER: Lifeline to God

Last week we learned about the power of the spoken word; how it can unleash powers to bless our lives and those that we love. This week let us learn more how to put that power into action. Let's tap into the lifeline God has given us; let's use use the power of our words to talk to the source of life.


What is prayer?

The act of communicating with a deity (especially as a petition or in adoration or contrition or thanksgiving) – Web definition

As Christians, when we pray we are literally conversing with our God – God the Father, Jesus (Son of God), and the God the Holy Spirit.


Do we really need to pray?

Living a righteous life in Jesus is not just about doing this and doing that to gain plus “pogi” points before God. It’s first and foremost, building and nurturing a relationship with Him. Everything we do and say should be geared towards making us closer and more intimate with our Almighty God.

It’s basic that to build a relationship with someone, one has to spend time with that person, talking and sharing experiences. We should not fool ourselves into thinking that we can be close to God, and enjoy His protection, guidance and blessings without spending time with Him in prayer. Not praying is basically saying non-verbally to God that we don’t need Him now, and that we trust ourselves more.


Does God talk back to us?

Since prayer is by definition a communication, then God should also talk back to us. The primary way God communicates to us is through his written word, the Bible. That is why it is tantamount for our spiritual growth to read the bible everyday.

God, in his infinite wisdom and power, may choose other means like:
• God can speak to us directly to our heart and mind
• God can use other people (to give the council and instruction specially those people who are already close to him)
• God can use events in our life
• God can use things to give us a message


How “not” to pray?

Jesus himself told us how not to pray.

• Do not be a hypocrite

Matthew 6:5
“And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full.”

• Do not pray like pagans

Matthew 6:7, 8
“And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.”


How to pray properly?

Our Lord Jesus also taught us how to pray properly.

• Call to the Father, and give Him honor and praise

Matthew 6:9-10
“Our Father in heaven; May your holy name be honored;
May your kingdom come;
May your will be done on earth as it is in heaven;

• Ask not only for your need but also the needs of others; be generous in prayer.

Matthew 6:11
Give us today the food with need;

• Ask for pardon, not only for yourself but for others, and forgive those who offended you

Matthew 6:12
Forgive us the wrong that we have done; as we forgive the wrongs that others have done to us.

• Ask for deliverance from testing that is beyond your capability to endure, and for protection against, and victory over the enemy

Matthew 6:13
Do not bring us to hard testing; but keep us safe from the evil one.

• Pray through Jesus, the only way to the Father

John 14:6
Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”


How often should one pray?

How often do you want to be nourished and feed? How close and intimate do you want to become with your God?

Proverbs 3:5-7
Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Never rely on what you think you know. Remember the Lord in everything you do, and he will show you the right way.

How wise is a man who relies on God more, who talks to him everyday, and who remembers him in everything that he does because God will show him the way.

Satan is at work day and night, round the clock to deceive, and to mislead us from the right way of living. He has the world as his playground, and everything on it can be his tools. We may not see him but rest assured that he is there looking for ways to weaken us spiritually, and then to chain us with sin. Our only chance of survival is to always remember that we have an almighty, all-loving and supremely wise God, and stick to Him at all time.


Does God really answer prayer?

1 John 5:14~15
We have courage in God’s presence, because we are sure that he hears us if we ask him for anything that is according to his will. He hears us whenever we ask him; and since we know this is true, we know also that he give us what we ask from him.

Absolutely! There are five things to remember always when making a prayer request: (1) Our prayer request should be specific (2) Our prayer request should be in accordance to His will (3) Be generous in prayer, pray for others too (4) We should ask in the name of Jesus Christ (5) God will grant our request based on His impeccable timing, not based our desired timing.

Prayer is powerful because we are connecting with an Almighty God. A prayerful life should be our lifestyle because whether we like it or not, satan is at work everyday of our life, and the only way we can be saved from his evil traps is to stick with our God.


NOTE: Most of the materials in this article were taken from the booklet, One2One, written by Steve Murrell.

PS: If this post inspires and enlightens you, then give praise to God for all glory and honor belongs to Him alone...

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THE SPOKEN WORD: The Godly Power Within Us

Do you know that God has given each of us a measure of control (power) over our life? We may not be able to control the things that will happen to us (only God can) but God give us the power to control our reaction to these things. We have the power to either bring blessings or curses upon our lives and that of our love ones.

How? One way is by our words.

The universal purpose of the spoken word is to have something get done.

Psalm 33:9

When he spoke, the world was created; at his command everything appeared.

God used His words to create the world.

In your office, what does your boss normally use to get you to do something? Spoken words of course. E-mail is basically an electronic form of a spoken word; when you write your mails you normally dictate mentally to yourself though not loudly what to write, right?


The spoken word has physical power.

Proverbs 18:21

“The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit.”

One day your husband/wife or someone you truly love tells you that he/she doesn't love you anymore, and that he/she has someone else in his/her heart, wouldn't you experience physical pain or discomfort?

On the other side, if your boss affirms to you that you did a great job after you finish a whale of a job, you will feel a physical comfort, right?.

Whether we like it or not, the spoken words from other people has the power to affect the way we feel; it does something to our physical life. The same is true of our words to other people.

The spoken word has spiritual power.

Proverbs 18:7

“A fool’s mouth is his undoing, and his lips are a snare to his soul.”


Imagine that you have a book of life. In it everything you do and say got written and read by God, the heavenly beings, and satan. Each page of your book of life has two columns only -- Kingdom of Heaven/God and kingdom of hell.

Every time you speak a word, it will be written on the appropriate column. So you spoken words either affirm your alliance to the Kingdom of Heaven/God or the kingdom of hell. (Both these kingdoms are in the spiritual domain.) Either you unleash the power of the Kingdom of God to your life, and the ones you love or you unleash that of the enemy.

Bottomline, our spoken word does something to our spiritual life, and to that of our love ones -- good or bad.


Our spoken word is a manifestation of our will.

Genesis 2:15

"You may eat the fruit of any tree in the garden, except the tree that gives knowledge of what is good and what is bad."

When God created us, he did not make robots out of us, so that we can be programmed to do only His divine will. Instead, God give us the freedom to choose, and He honors the choice we made.

How do we manifest our choice? Through our action, and words.

Revelation 12:10

“…the accuser (satan) of our brothers, who accuses them before our God day and night.”

Therefore, our spoken word is legally binding even in the spiritual domain. This means that God can use our spoken words to bless us, and protect us from the enemy or that the enemy can use it against us before God. And God being just and holy, can allow the enemy to harm us on the basis that it's our will, as spoken by us.

The spoken word of the righteous nullifies the spoken word of the wicked.

Proverbs 12:6

“The words of the wicked are murderous, but the words of the righteous rescue those who are threatened.”

Halleluiah! God is good, and merciful!

Right now, if you are ensnared, and enslaved by the enemy, your spiralling downward towards a more sinful life, because of a spoken word (decision) you had in the past, don't lose hope because God is loving and merciful. All you need to do to reverse your life right now is to repent sincerely; humbly ask for God's forgiveness, help and guidance; and turn away from your old wicked life and live a "righteous" life.

John 16:23

“I am telling you the truth; the Father will give you whatever you ask of Him in my name."


Once you've done all of the above, then rebuke the curse of the enemy in your life using your spoken word in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

My favorite words are, "I rebuke the work (sickness, poverty, fear, dangers, etc.) of the enemy (on my wife, on my children, on myself, or others) in the name of my Lord Jesus Christ! I only accept the blessings and graces from you my God who is my Father and the Creator of all things. This I pray in the name of my Lord Jesus Christ. Amen!"

By God's grace it really works.

Matthew 12:26

“So if one group is fighting another in satan's kingdom, this means that it is already divided into groups and will soon fall apart!" 

You cannot rebuke the works of the enemy by your spoken word if you are still dwelling in his kingdom; if you are still living a wicked life, and is distant from God. That simply doesn't work according to Jesus based on the above passage.

Purify your heart and guard your mouth 

Psalm 141:3-4

“Lord, place a guard at my mouth, a sentry at the door of my lips. Keep me from wanting to do wrong and from joining evil people in their wickedness. May I never take part in their feast.”

Let's face it. We are human, weak and inconsistent, which means that it is very difficult for us to capture every thought we have, and to guard every words that comes out from our mouth. We may fall and stumble but this doesn't mean that we have to stop trying.

"God doesn't require us to succeed; he only requires that we try." -- Mother Teresa

All we need to do is the try with all our heart and mind to change for the better, and God will honor our sincere effort, and He will help us change. God can do anything.

Hebrews 4:12

“For the Word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.”


Practical Applications

(1) Be on guard with what you think and say; do not entertain ungodly thoughts because words originate from the thoughts, and your words create blessing and curses to your life and those you love
      As the wise saying goes, "We cannot prevent the birds from flying over our head but we can prevent it from building a nest."

(2) Avoid the company of ungodly people unless you are spiritually strong, and unless when absolutely necessary
      2 Corinthians 6:14
      "Do not try to work together as equals with unbelievers, for it cannot be done. How can right and wrong be partners? How can light and darkness lived together?"

      As the wise saying goes, "Birds of the same feather flocks together." Either you change them or you will change and be like them.

(3) Use the power of your spoken words by rebuking, using the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, the curses and bad things you heard, you thought, and you experienced just loud enough for your whole being to hear it, and be a witness

(4) Strive to live a righteous life and read the bible in order to know how
      Matthew 22:29

      "Jesus answered them, 'How wrong you are! It is because you do not know the Scriptures or God's power.'"

(5) Make it your goal to speak only words of love, faith, hope, blessing, and encouragement to others and to yourself.
      Chinkee Tan, author of the book Till Debt Do Us Part, and For Richer and For Poorer shared a very practical yet very powerful way of answering the question, "How are you?" His recommended answer is, "I'm good! But I know it will become better!"

PS: If this message inspires and enlightens you then give praise to God for all the glory and honor belongs to Him alone...

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THE BIBLE: The Ultimate Guide to Life

When I was still working in one of the design and manufacturing companies in MEZ1, Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu, Philippines, I accidentally plugged a 110V Agilent digital multimeter to a 220V AC power line in the wall. The tester lit up for a second and then went dead.

In our christian walk, there were times when we try to do the same -- plod away without reading the instructions first.

A common example of this is a christian who after a personal encounter with God, still high with the inner peace and spiritual joy from the experience, eagerly made the first step in the great race of life, only to find out later on that he lose that special feeling of closeness to God, the desire to serve Him, the inner peace, and joy. He was falling back to his old ways, he was off tracked.

Why does situation like this happened? Aren't we suppose to be spiritually strong after we are saved?



We are like babies in spirit
Peter 2:2,3

Be like newborn babies, always thirsty for the pure spiritual milk, so that by drinking it you may grow up and be saved. 

After we are saved, we are like babies in spirit, weak and in need of nourishment. This is what most christian failed to realize; with the sincere desire to love God, he set out to follow his examples only to become an easy prey to the many subtle traps of the enemy. He did not know that when he decided to follow Christ he won't be walking against air but against the wall of the enemy. If a man can't easily break a wall how much more can a child be. If a baby will tackle a bull by it's horn, you don't expect him to win, don't you?


Thirst and drink the spiritual nourishment regularly
What is the "ultimate" nourishment or milk that can make us grow strong in spirit?

The words of God.

Matthew 4:3,4
Then the devil came to him and said, "If you are God's Son, order these stones to turn into bread." But Jesus answered, "The scripture says, 'Human beings cannot live on bread alone, but need every word that God speaks.'"

Therefore, the urge to listen and read the words of God after you received your salvation is but normal and natural, much like a new born crave for milk. When you have this urge be happy and indulge with words of God by reading the scripture for your spirit will grow.

Food makes the body grow strong, the words of God make the spirit strong.


A strong spirit is strong in faith 

Romans 10:17

Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ.

The christian who is strong in faith, is strong in spirit. But a strong faith can only be attained by knowing the words of God, and applying it consistently in the daily grind of life. How can you have faith in God when you don't even know Him well much his nature, ways and instructions?

Don't fool yourself into thinking that you will grow in your christian life without knowing, and putting into action the words of God. Doing so is like joining a 50km marathon when you are fully dehydrated and/or totally blind. Either you can't last against the every second subtle attacks of the enemy or you may still be running on but on the wrong path.


The bible is our ultimate guide to life
Joshua 1:8
"Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful."

Who wants to succeed and be prosperous in life here on earth, and attain eternal life thereafter?

I can see all of us raising our hands and feet with a big YES! Of course we all want to be successful. The good news is, God has revealed and laid out before us in the holy scripture (the bible) the secrets to success, be it in the physical or spiritual domain.

So the question now is, "Are you willing to devote a portion of your time to know the words of God through reading the bible or are you too busy working and enjoying the world to really care?" "Are you willing to put into practice what you know from reading the bible or are you more inclined to serve your own personal interest and continue following the ways of the world?"

If you are wise, you should follow the advice of Joshua.

Joshua 24:15

...As for my family and me, we will serve the Lord.

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REPENTANCE: The Start of a New Life

What is it like to repent?

The law of nature dictates that if you do something bad, bad things will eventually happen to you.

Eloy was an out-of-school youth. His neighbors and childhood friends grew up to be pick-pockets, snatchers, and drug users while Eloy followed her mother's advice and opted to live a straight life as a cigarette vendor, and jeep dispatcher.

One day, his mother got sick and she needed some medication. Whatever little money Eloy was able saved, were already spent. Upon hearing Eloy’s family situation, Lando, his childhood friend who followed a crocked path, invited him to go with his gang to earn some money. This time Eloy relented.

The group decided to rob a house under the protection of the darkness and stillness of the night. Eloy and the rest of the gang climbed to the two-storey house while Lando acted as the watchman. Unfortunately for the gang, the owner of the house was awaken by the noises they made, and alerted the barangay tanods in time before Eloy, and his companions were able to escape. All of them were captured, beaten and jailed except for Lando who was quick and smart enough to fleed.

If you were on Eloy’s shoes what would you feel? How would you react?

First, you will feel sorrow because of what happened to you. 
This is the most natural and universal first feeling. If bad things happened to us, we normally feel sad about our situation.

After the first reaction, the parting point between a winner and loser, between a person with a hopeful future and a person with a hopeless future, between a Godly person and a worldly person emerged.

Second, you will feel sorry.
A Godly person feels sorry that he disobeyed his God who loves him; a worldly person feels sorry that he got caught. See the big difference?

Third, you blame someone.
A Godly person blames himself for what happened to him; a worldly person blames somebody else. In the case of Eloy, he would blame Lando for inviting him and leaving him, the police, and the barangay tanod for beating and capturing him, if he is a worldly person.

Fourth, you make a resolve. 
In the case of Eloy he could make a solemn resolve to change, and not to repeat the mistake (sin) he has done; or he will vow to improve his skills, to be smarter next time, and never be caught again.


Fifth, you seek help. 
A Godly person repents, and asks for forgiveness from God, and from the people he offended, and ask God's help to change himself to be a better person; a worldly person feels not regret, sees nothing is wrong with what he is doing, and seek to network with people who can help him improve his trade.

Yet now I am happy, not because you were made sorry, but because your sorrow lead you to repentance…Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death. – 2Corinthians 7:9-10

In every day, hour, minute and second in our life, we are in a crossroad; to think, speak and act the Godly way or the other way. And God in His infinite wisdom gives us the power to choose. What we (physical and spiritual) become from that point on, depends on the choices we make now.

When you disobey God, and sin, the only right choice is to repent – feeling sorry for offending a loving God, resolve not to make the same mistake again, ask for God’s mercy and forgiveness, and live a new life.

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