POWER PRAYER (PART 3)

I had a wonderful time at the Skypark at Marina Bay Sand hotel in the Singapore. Theview of top of the Skypark is breathtaking. Here are some of the photos.


POWER PRAYER (PART 3)

The Bible says that the prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective (James 5:16b). I would like to share three keys to having a powerful and effective prayer life. Three keys to Powerful and effective prayer.

Pray according to the will of God

Our prayers become powerful and effective when we pray according to the will of God. God desires to fulfil His will on earth as it is in heaven (Matthew 6:10). When we pray according to God's will, our prayers will be answered. Sometimes, our prayers aren’t answered because it is not in line with God's plan and purpose for our lives, family, business and ministry. Jesus prayed before his arrest to the Father to be spared from death on the cross. But Jesus also added to the prayer that He wanted God's will to be done (Luke 22:42).

"Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done." (Luke 22:42)

Because Jesus was obedient to the will of God, He went to the cross, died for the sins of mankind and rose to life on the third day. Jesus had the final victory over sin and death because He obeyed God's will. God is a loving Father who desires to answer our prayers. However, God only answers our prayers when it is beneficial to us, others and the kingdom of God. Don't be discouraged when your prayers are not answered because God always has a better plan prepared in advance. We need to realign our prayers according to the desires of God. We will know God's desires as we fellowship with God each day.

God will speak to us about the things on His heart so that we can pray according to His will.

Pray with great faith in God

There are times we pray but at the same time, we also doubt in God's ability to answer our prayers. We pray but we don't believe that God can make it happen or open the door for us. God desires for us to have full confidence in His character and power to answer our prayer. The Bible says that when we pray and doubt, we are like a wave in the sea, blown and tossed around by the wind; we will not receive from God (James 1:5-8):

If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. 6But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. 7That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; 8he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.

We need to remind ourselves with the words of Jesus in Mark 9:23. Jesus said "everything is possible for him who believes".

" 'If you can'?" said Jesus. "Everything is possible for him who believes."

No matter how big the mountains are or the obstacles we face, God can help us overcome them when we pray in faith. Nothing is too difficult for God. God can do all things in His power. We need to put our trust in God to act on our behalf. The God who parted the Red Sea for the Israelites is the same God who performs miracles today. We must let God be God of our lives. Don't put limitations on God.

There is no such thing as “too hard” for God. The God who created the universe is able to answer our prayers.

Pray with persistence

Jesus encouraged the disciples to be persistent in their prayer life with a parable about a widow who received justice even when the judge did not fear God nor cared about men (Luke 18:1-8).

1Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. 2He said: "In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared about men. 3And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, 'Grant me justice against my adversary.' 4"For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, 'Even though I don't fear God or care about men, 5yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won't eventually wear me out with her coming!' "6And the Lord said, "Listen to what the unjust judge says. 7And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? 8I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?"

Sometimes, our prayers get answered instantly. Other times though, our prayers may take years to fulfil. I remembered praying that one day I would graduate from university with a degree. I waited for 10 years before this prayer was answered from God. I did not give up praying or believing that God would help me graduate from university. Abraham received a promise from God that he will be father of many nations when he was 75 years old. He had a child with Sarah when he was 100 years old. Abraham had to persist in prayer even when both he and his wife were beyond their childbearing years.

4 "As for me, this is my covenant with you: You will be the father of many nations. 5 No longer will you be called Abram; your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations. 6 I will make you very fruitful; I will make nations of you, and kings will come from you.

Delay in answering a prayer does not mean that God will not answer our prayer. We need to persist in prayer so we can receive a great reward from God when He answers.

God is faithful even if it seems a long time in the offering. God knows the best time to answer our prayers so keep praying until we experience a breakthrough.

BELIEVE

I have been back in sunny Brisbane, Australia since Tuesday morning. It is good to catch up with my friends again. I enjoy driving my car around Brisbane; being able to buy groceries and cook dinner at home after months of travel. It is good to have some relaxation time in Australia. I am looking forward to visiting Sydney and Canberra in August.


BELIEVE

Jesus said in a powerful statment to Martha that she would see the glory of God if she BELIEVE. God desires for us to BELIEVE in Him so that we can experience more of His blessings in our lives. Read John 11:38-44

Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. 39"Take away the stone," he said. "But, Lord," said Martha, the sister of the dead man, "by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days." 40Then Jesus said, "Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?" 41So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, "Father, I thank you that you have heard me. 42I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me." 43When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, "Lazarus, come out!" 44The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face. Jesus said to them, "Take off the grave clothes and let him go." John 11:38-44

I would like to share about the principle of believing in God;

Believe in God when it seem too late

Everyone including Martha were disappointed that Jesus arrived four days late since He heard about Larazus critical illness. Martha insisted that it is a bad decision to open up the tomb after four day burial because of the odour. Jesus is not deter of the odour. He believe that it is not too late for God to resurrect Lazarus from the death. Have you ever been in a situation when you prayed for something and it appeared that God was postponing in answering your prayer. The time is ticking by and still God has not intervene on your behalf. You still have not received the phone call from your employer for the job, you still waiting for confirmation to begin a business, you still waiting for God to open the doors or ministry opportunity. Eventhough God may be too late at times, we need to put our trust in God to perform miracle. God has a perfect timing in everything on heaven and earth. We should trust in God's wisdom to do great things in His time. God lives outside of our time frame. We are finite but God is infinite.

Believe in God when it seem impossible

Many time we are faced with an impossible situation at home, work, business or ministry. We should allow impossible situation as an opportunity for God to display His love and power. I like the adidas slogon "Impossible is Nothing". Indeed, our impossible situation is nothing to God because He has the power to bring healing, restoration, salvation and blessings. Let God removes that mountains in your way. Let God heals that broken relationship. Let God perform a miracle in your business. Let God brings a greater anointing in your ministry. I like the title of Kathyr Kuthman's book called "God can do it again". Many great miracles occured in her ministry because she believed that the miracles that happened in the bible and history can be repeated.

Jesus command Lazarus to come out of the tomb and the dead man came out. We need to speak into our impossible situation in the name of Jesus. Allow God to do His work of miracles on our behalf. Indeed, God can do it again!

BLESSINGS FOR OBEDIENCE

I went for an afternoon photo shot in Singapore city area. I really love all the beautiful architecture and the river in the Singapore.

BLESSINGS FOR OBEDIENCE

The Bible encourages us to be obedience to God so that we can receive the blessings from God. I believe obedience is a matter of trust. When we fly on an airoplane, we cannot see the pilot but we listen and obey his instruction because we trust his knowledge and experience. If the pilot tell us to remain seated and put on the sit belt we follow his instruction because we know that he can see something ahead that we cannot see. Likeweise, we need to learn to trust in God so we can experience His blessing. Read Deuternomy 28:1-6

1 If you fully obey the LORD your God and carefully follow all his commands I give you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations on earth. 2 All these blessings will come upon you and accompany you if you obey the LORD your God: 3 You will be blessed in the city and blessed in the country. 4 The fruit of your womb will be blessed, and the crops of your land and the young of your livestock—the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks. 5 Your basket and your kneading trough will be blessed. 6 You will be blessed when you come in and blessed when you go out.

I would like to share in three blessings to trust God;

Blessing in the family

God promised to bless our family when we obey and trust in Him. The Bible says that the fruits of our womb will be blessed (Deut 28:4). His blessings will flow into our family, marriage, children and relatives when we obey Him. God desires to honour him with our words and actions. When we live according the principles of God in the Bible, there will be peace, joy and prosperity.

Blessing in our labour

We reap an abundant fruits and harvests on your labour when we follow God's direction. We can receive God's favor over our work, career, investment and business. God will bless the crop of our land as we serve His kingdom. God will make provision in our lives when we follow His leading. God will take of our lives as we trust and obey Him.

Blessing in our daily activities

God is watching over over us. The Bibles says that God will blesses us in our daily activities.

"You will be blessed when you come in and blessed when you go out" Deuternomy 28:6.

I heard a pastor sharing about inviting the presence of God in our daily activities. He talk to God while he was driving the car. Wherever he goes, he is conscious of the presence of God. We need to cultivate the presence of God wherever we are. Allow God to speak to us during the throughout the day and night. He desires to fill us with His love, peace, joy, strength and wisdom each day.

GOD-GIVEN DREAMS

I went to water diving at Sea World for the very first time! I was a bit apprehensive. The thought of going deep underwater with an oxgyen tank while swimming with stingrays and sharks really freightened me. After much prayers and encouragment from my friends, I gathered enough courage from the Lord to try out this new adventure. I had an unforgettable experience diving with hundreds of colourful topical fishes. (See photos)

GOD-GIVEN DREAMS

I love to live with God-given dreams. In fact, I am motivated and energised when I am doing what God wants me to achieve. We all need to live with a dream because we are made to do something bigger than ourselves in life. Without dreams, life can becomes mundane and boring. I love the story of Joseph, the dreamer. He was a seventeen-year-old who received a lifelong dream from God. Read Genesis 37:5-8:

Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him all the more. 6 He said to them, "Listen to this dream I had: 7 We were binding sheaves of grain out in the field when suddenly my sheaf rose and stood upright, while your sheaves gathered around mine and bowed down to it." His brothers said to him, "Do you intend to reign over us? Will you actually rule us?" And they hated him all the more because of his dream and what he had said.

I would like to share three characteristics of God-given dreams:

God-given dreams are bigger

I wonder what Joseph dreamed for his own life? I think he was just happy and contented with his superior position over his brothers. He was in a position of power even though he was younger than his brothers. He could have lived comfortably for the rest of his life without having to do any hard work or look after the family’s livestock. However, God had bigger plans for Joseph than spending life at home with his brothers. God wanted Joseph to be the prime minister of Egypt, second only to Pharaoh.

What is your dream? Is it small in comparison to God's dream for your life? I remember when I was young; all I wanted was to become a businessman. It is perfectly fine to be a businessman for God. I know many godly businessmen. However, God had other plans for my life. He wanted me to travel around the world and share His love and healing. I exchanged my personal ambitions to God's bigger dreams for my life.

God-given dreams are always bigger and better than ours.

God-given dreams are unique

Joseph’s brothers became very jealous of his God-given dream. They held a grudge against Joseph. Not everyone will understand or appreciate your God-given dreams. They may think you are proud, arrogant or crazy for having such a dream. God-given dreams are unique for everyone. God-given dreams are specific to each person according to both natural and spiritual giftings and talents. We need to thank God and appreciate Him for giving us a unique dream. We should not make comparisons with others and become envious or jealous. We all have our own God-given dreams to pursue.

Keep running with your God-given dreams even if no one understands or support you in the beginning.

God-given dreams are real

I wonder if Joseph knew what his God-given dream truly meant when he described them to his brothers, and later with his father. I think Joseph shared his dream not knowing the full implications because he was just a teenager. I think he was too young to fully appreciate the full meaning of his dream. Maybe there was no one older with godly wisdom to explain the dream to Joseph. No matter whether Joseph understood the dream or not, God did eventually fulfil Joseph’s dream 13 years later (Read Genesis 41:46).

Joseph was thirty years old when he entered the service of Pharaoh king of Egypt. And Joseph went out from Pharaoh's presence and traveled throughout Egypt. Genesis 41:46

God-given dreams will eventually come to pass even if it takes a long time.