Month: August 2020

Wait Upon the Lord 

Isaiah is like a miniature Bible.
The first 39 chapters of Isaiah,
like the 39 books of OT proclaim
judgment upon sinful mankind.
And the final 27 chapters of Isaiah,
like 27 books of NT, proclaim a
message of Comfort and Hope.
The Messiah is coming to be the
Saviour of sinful people. Therefore,
Comfort my people, say your God

Lord, we will Wait Upon You:
The Everlasting God, the creator
Gives Power to the Weak, and
to those who have no might He
Increases Strength… But those
Who Wait on the Lord Shall Renew
their Strength: They shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall
run and not be weary, they shall
walk and not faint (Isa 40:28-31).
When you go through deep waters
and great trouble, I Will Be With you.
When you go thro rivers of difficulty
you will not drown…For I am the Lord
your God… your Savior (Isa 43:2-3)
Behold I will do a new thing… I will
even made a road in the wilderness
and rivers in the desert… that they
may Proclaim My Praise (v19-21).

Lord, sometimes we feel weary
in the challenges of life while
waiting for fulfillment of promise.
But Your Word says those who
wait in You will find new Strength.
Help me Lord to trust that You will
enable me to run and not grow
weary; and to walk and not faint.
In Jesus’ mighty name, Amen.

Lord, thank You for Your promises
of presence, deliverance and
protection. Because You’ve said:
“I will Be With you”, what have
I to fear? Help me to trust in You,
not only in the small details of life,
but also in times of great trouble.
For You are indeed not only my
Lord and my God, You are also
my deliverer & my Savior. Amen.

Lord, Your Word says U are always
with me in times of great trouble.
Help me Lord to hang on to
Your promise even when I can’t
see or sense Your presence.
Give me the needed strength
to pass through my trials and
ultimately triumph so that I will
not be in shame and that Your
name will be glorified. Amen.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RsMAXhc0QTs

Last Chance to Return (Aug 23)

Time is running out for Judah
with a growing sense of doom.
Popular opinion on the prophet of
God stands at an all time low. But even that can’t deter Jeremiah from
declaring God’s displeasure with
their sins & conduct. Moving from
the nation in general to the nation’s leaders in particular,Jeremiah singles
out three kings for judgment before
turning his attention to the Messiah
who will Restore righteousness and
justice. The nation will lie desolate
for 70 years when the wrath of God
is poured out on His wayward flock.

Lord, You are holy and You do urge
Your people to turn from their sins and may discipline; but You are
also good and will Restore them.
Help us Lord to heed the warning
of Your prophet; and be reminded
that God’s love wants to break
loose upon us if we will let it.
Help us to Keep Truth & Faith;
Help us to Hear Your Voice; and
Help us to Return Wholeheartedly.
In Jesus’ precious name we pray.

Lord, we will Keep Truth & Faith:
Thus says the Lord: Execute judgment and righteousness…
Do no wrong and do no violence
to the stranger, the fatherless,
or the widow, nor shed innocent
blood in this place. For if you indeed
do this thing, then shall enter the gates of this house, riding on horses
and chariots… kings who sit on
the throne of David. But if you will
not hear these words, I swear by
Myself says the Lord, that this house
shall become desolation (Jer 22:3-5)
Lord, note Jeremiah has to tell a king
how he ought to behave with justice.
Wanting to please others is part of
the human condition and it takes
steely personality to say unpalatable
things, especially to those in power.
Grant wisdom when called to speak
the truth & grace to keep faith.Amen

Lord, we will Hear Your Voice:
My heart is broken because of
the false prophets… For the land
is full of adultery… For they do evil
and abuse what power they have…
Do not listen to them (Jer 23:9-16).
He who has My word, let him
speak My word faithfully… Is not
My word like a fire? says the Lord,
and like a hammer that breaks
the rock in pieces (Jer 23:28-29).
Lord, help me to hear Your voice
speaking to my heart, though I
know the truth may hurt. Give me
discernment so that I can identify
what is from You and what is not.
Help me to examine what I hear
against the teaching of Your Word.
Holy Spirit, guide me in all truth
just as You have promised. Amen.

Lord, we’ll Return Wholeheartedly:
Thus says the Lord: I acknowledge
those who are carried away captive
from Judah, whom I have sent out
of this place for their own good,
into the land of the Chaldeans…And
I will bring them back to this land;
I will build them and not pull them down… Then I will give them a heart
to know Me, that I am the Lord; and they shall be My people and I will be
their God, for they shall Return to Me
with their whole heart (Jer 24:5-7)
Lord, give me a heart of flesh
that recognises who You really
are, not just on the surface but
in deeply personal ways. Lord,
I want You to be fully satisfied with my love for You & for me to be fully
satisfied in Your love for me. Amen.

Being Moulded by the Potter

Jeremiah himself becomes object
lesson to his nation, for his very
life models the reality of what is
soon to befall the nation of Judah.
The prophet is commanded to
remain celibate and avoid funerals
and feast days – a reminder to his countrymen they will experience involuntarily what Jeremiah is
called to experience voluntarily.
Loss of family, comfort & joy await God’s rebellious people – a message
that is finally heard; and results
on beatings and imprisonment
for the faithful prophet of God.

Dear Lord, just like Jeremiah
we may have no answers to the
questions and problems facing us.
Help us learn from Your prophet to
have the right attitude and mindset:
Help us to Trust You in tough times;
Help us to Yield to Your Molding &
Help us to Surrender to Your Way.
Help us to be confident in You,
for You are Good, Able & Faithful;
and You Will Make A Way for us.
In Jesus’ precious name, Amen.

Lord, we Trust You in hard times:
Cursed are those who put their
trust in mere humans and turn
their hearts from the Lord…
But blessed are those who trust
in the Lord and have made the
Lord their hope and confidence.
They are like trees planted along
a riverbank, with roots that reach
deep into the water. Such trees
are not bothered by the heat or
worried by long months of drought
Their leaves stay green & they go
right on producing fruit(Jer 17:5-8)
Lord, I put my total trust in You for
You are my hope and confidence
and let me never turn from You.
Draw me ever closer to You and
give me a passion to seek You.
Enable me Lord to be fruitful even
during life’s difficult times. And
Help me to put my roots deep into You and Your Word so that I am able
to endure dry spiritual times. Amen.

Lord, we Yield to Your Molding:
Then the word of the Lord came
to me: O house of Israel, can I not
do with you as this potter does?
…Like clay in the hand of the potter,
so are you in my hand O house of Israel. If at any time I announce
that a nation or kingdom is to be
uprooted, torn down and destroyed,
and if that nation I warned repents
of its evil, then I will relent and
does not inflict on it the disaster
I had planned (Jeremiah 18:5-8).
Lord, You want us to be useful in
Your kingdom and want to shape
us into Your beautiful creation.
But You Lord will only do so if we allow ourselves to be moldable.
Help us not be hard and unreceptive
to Your molding but be soft and
receptive to Your hand on us. As
we yield to You God, You will shape
us into a valuable vessel. Amen.

Lord, we Surrender to Your Way:
If I turn away from what You
have called me to do… Your word
becomes a fire in my inner being…
I am weary, I cannot hold it in…
But You Lord are with me like
a mighty warrior… So those who persecute me will stop & not prevail.
You Lord Almighty, are a pattern
for the righteous, and You probe
hearts and minds; Allow me to
see how You act against them,
for to You alone have I committed
my cause (Jeremiah 20:9-12).
Lord, there are times when I am
disheartened because it seems that
those against me are prevailing.
And at times I feel like quitting.
But I remember Your call on my life.
And I realise Your power, and You
are with me and You are for me.
So I praise You and press on. Amen

Experiencing God thro Obedience

Isaiah was written to call the nation
of Judah back to God and to tell
of God’s salvation thro the Messiah.
This week we learn the importance
of Returning, Seeking and Waiting
on God, thus positioning ourselves
rightly to experience His Blessing.
On Monday, we learn from Isaiah 1
to Repent to the Gracious God.
On Tuesday, we learn from Isaiah 6
to Respond to God’s Revelatn & Call.
On Wednesday, we learn from Isaiah
40 and 43 to Wait Upon the Lord.
On Thurs, we learn from Isaiah 55
to Come to the Lord and Seek Him.
On Friday, we learn from Isaiah 58
to Help the Oppressed and Weak.
Let us humble ourselves and pray
and seek His face…In Jesus’ name.

Seek to Help the Weak (Aug 21)

As Isaiah looks at his contemporary
situation, there’s little to commend it.
Empty ritual, meaningless fasts and
broken fellowship mark the spiritual
life of the nation. But Isaiah catches
a glimpse of the Glorious Future
awaiting the people of God. A day
is coming when darkness will be
swept away, affliction will cease and
the glad tidings of salvation shall
be proclaimed throughout Zion.
God has not forsaken His people
& groaning has given way to glory.

Lord, we aspire to Be A Blessing:
Is not this the kind of fasting I have
chosen: to loose the chains of
injustice… to set the oppressed free
and to break every yoke (Isa 58:6).
If I spend myself… (to) satisfy
the needs of the oppressed; then
my light will rise in the darkness;
then You will satisfy my needs…
then I will be like… a spring whose water never fail (Isa 58:10-11).
The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me…
to heal the brokenhearted…
to comfort all who mourn…
to give them Beauty for Ashes,
the oil of Joy for mourning,
the garment of praise for the
spirit of heaviness (Isa 61:1-3).

Lord, help me be disciplined enough
to fast and pray as You want me to.
For I need to deny the desires
of my flesh in order to focus
on my desire for more of You.
For I want to break every yoke
of oppression in my life and the
lives of others so that we will
see great breakthroughs. Amen.

Lord, Your Word promises that
when we give myself away in Your
cause, we will then find renewal.
Yet I often try to preserve time,
my resources and my energy
rather than being spent for others.
Help me choose generosity & help
me choose to be spent for others.
For when we seek God’s kingdom,
and His righteousness, all these
things will be added to us. Amen.

Lord, I don’t how much I must
have lost or the blessings I have
forfeited because I have lived
my way instead of Your way.
But I confess my sins of thought,
word and action to You now.
And ask that You will give me
Beauty instead of ashes,
gladness instead of mourning
and a garment of praise
instead of despair. Amen.

Come & Seek the Lord (Aug 20)

Nowhere in the Old Testament
will you see a clearer picture of the horrible price of your redemption than in Isaiah 52-57. Many verses
especially from Isaiah 52 & 53
show the anquish our Savior,
as suffering servant, endured
in paying the awful price of sin.

Lord, Your Ways Be Accomplished:
Seek the Lord while He may be
found, Call on Him while He is near.
Let the wicked forsake his way,
and the unrighteous… his thoughts;
let him return to the Lord (Isa 55:6-7)
My thoughts are not your thoughts,
nor are your ways My ways… For as
the heaven higher than the earth so
are My Ways Higher than your ways,
& My thots than your thots (v8-9).
My word that goes out from My mouth: it will not return to me empty
but Will Accomplish what I desire
and achieve the purpose for
which I sent it (Isa 55:11). Amen.

Lord, Your Word simply tells me
to seek and to call, and that’s it.
But I have a hard time believing
the simplicity of it all. Captivate
me Lord each time I come seeking You with the sound of Your voice.
And in Your mercy, please reward
my seeking and calling quickly and
decisively enough to establish this posture as a pattern in my life. Amen

Lord, Your plan may seems crazy,
for You sometimes use foolish things
to accomplish Your purposes. For Your thoughts are not our thoughts,
neither are our ways Your ways. When things don’t make sense prompt us Holy Spirit to ask You for
wisdom to discern what You’re doing
For I will be a fool if I didn’t Take
You at Your Word & Trust U. Amen.

Lord, grateful that Your Word of
promise will always accomplish
the purpose for which You sent it. Enable me to secure the power in Your Word by planting firmly in my
heart that it guides everything I do.
And help me use Your Word in
my prayers so that it becomes
a powerful weapon against
which the enemy cannot prevail.
In Jesus’ mighty name, Amen.

Wait Upon the Lord (Aug 19)

Isaiah is like a miniature Bible.
The first 39 chapters of Isaiah,
like the 39 books of OT proclaim
judgment upon sinful mankind.
And the final 27 chapters of Isaiah,
like 27 books of NT, proclaim a
message of Comfort and Hope.
The Messiah is coming to be the
Saviour of sinful people. Therefore,
Comfort my people, say your God

Lord, we will Wait Upon You:
The Everlasting God, the creator
Gives Power to the Weak, and
to those who have no might He
Increases Strength… But those
Who Wait on the Lord Shall Renew
their Strength: They shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall
run and not be weary, they shall
walk and not faint (Isa 40:28-31).
When you go through deep waters
and great trouble, I Will Be With you.
When you go thro rivers of difficulty
you will not drown…For I am the Lord
your God… your Savior (Isa 43:2-3)
Behold I will do a new thing… I will
even made a road in the wilderness
and rivers in the desert… that they
may Proclaim My Praise (v19-21).

Lord, sometimes we feel weary
in the challenges of life while
waiting for fulfillment of promise.
But Your Word says those who
wait in You will find new Strength.
Help me Lord to trust that You will
enable me to run and not grow
weary; and to walk and not faint.
In Jesus’ mighty name, Amen.

Lord, thank You for Your promises
of presence, deliverance and
protection. Because You’ve said:
“I will Be With you”, what have
I to fear? Help me to trust in You,
not only in the small details of life,
but also in times of great trouble.
For You are indeed not only my
Lord and my God, You are also
my deliverer & my Savior. Amen.

Lord, Your Word says U are always
with me in times of great trouble.
Help me Lord to hang on to
Your promise even when I can’t
see or sense Your presence.
Give me the needed strength
to pass through my trials and
ultimately triumph so that I will
not be in shame and that Your
name will be glorified. Amen.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RsMAXhc0QTs

Respond to Revelation & Call

Wickedness has permeated
every fiber of Judah – a condition
which God finds intolerable.
Isaiah’s national call for repentance
is so urgent that even his personal
Call & Commission to the prophetic
office must wait until chapter 6.
The task set before Isaiah is an
unenviable one, for God said the
people will be spiritually deaf and
nearsighted. Having encountered
God, Isaiah begins to declare harsh
words from on high with confidence
in the courts and palaces of Judah.

Lord, You are Holy & In Control:
I saw the Lord Sitting on a Throne,
high and lifted up… Above it stood
seraphim… And one cried & said:
Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts
The whole earth is full of His glory!
Woe to me, I cried: For I am a man
of unclean lips, and my eyes have
seen the King, the Lord Almighty.
Then one seraphim flew to me,
having in his hand a live coal from
the altar. And he touched my mouth
& said: Your iniquity is Taken Away
and your sin purged (Isa 6:1-6).
I heard the Lord asking: Whom
should I send as a messenger to this
people? Who will go for us? Then
I said: Here am I. Send me (v8-9).

Lord, all praise and honour to You
for Sitting on the Throne & by faith
I proclaim that You reign over all.
You are In Control and everyone
and everything is subject to You.
When my faith is weak & I despair because of challenges, remind me Lord that You are still in charge.
Give me a vision of Your kingship
over the whole world and over
my world. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Lord, whenever I sense Your holy
presence, I am greatly aware of
my Own Unworthiness. That really
makes me even More Grateful
for how much You had sacrificed
for me. Touch and purify me and
help me to separate myself from
all that is unholy. And I can come
before Your holy throne with
confidence to find Your mercy
and grace in time of need. Amen.

Lord, You are glorious & magnificent;
and I adore You for Your willingness
to share Your presence with me.
Reveal more of Yourself to me; and
grant me the atmosphere in which Your words are abundant and clear. Open my ears Lord to hear of what You have for me; to be and to do.
And help me have a tender heart
to respond positively to Your plan
so that I’ll do the good works that
You have prepared for me. Amen.

Repent to Gracious God (Aug 17)

A crisis exists in the nation of Judah.
Wickedness has permeated every
fiber of the social, political and
spiritual life of the country – a
condition that God finds intolerable.
Divine indictment falls from the
lips of His prophet Isaiah. Unless
Repentance sweeps the nation,
God will reduce His people to ruin.
Famine and pestilence will replace
feasting and pleasure to show that
the Holy One still rules in Zion.

Lord, You Desire to Make Us Clean:
Wash yourselves, make yourselves
clean… Cease to do evil, learn to do
good; Seek justice… Come now, and
let us Reason together, says the Lord
Though your sins are like scarlet,
they shall be White As Snow; though
they are red like crimson, they shall
be as wool. If you are willing and
obedient, you shall eat the good
of the land (Isa 1:16-19). Amen.

Lord, what an amazing promise
that You are willing to cleanse
any and every kind of sin. No act is
too awful, too big, too outrageous.
Even that sin, that unspeakable
thought, motive & act is forgiveable.
What an incredible Saviour You are!
Thank You for dealing fully and
finally with our sins. Thank You for
forgiveness in Christ’s name, Amen.

Lord, we’re grateful for your Grace.
Nothing stains quite as sin, for
it not only leaves a stain in our
heart but a residue in our minds.
By Your grace You don’t just forgive
our sins, You banish them; the stain
is removed & the guilt taken away.
We are fully clean by Your grace.
O what joy Your grace gives us
merciful God! We can never really
thank & praise You enough. Amen.

Lord, Thank You that You do not
see my sins, rather You see me
righteous because of the work of
Your precious son, Jesus Christ.
Thanks for Your loving kindness &
I want to eat the good of the land.
Help me reason with You & really
appreciate Your love and mercy.
Help me follow the Holy Spirit
so that I will remain obedient.
Help me have deep gratitude to
You for Jesus Paid It All. Amen.

Experiencing God thro Obedience

The key purpose of PrayerThots is
to have Close Walk with the Lord
and Nurture Growth as Disciples:
being More Christlike in character
& doing His work thro developing
heart for God by praying His Word.
To help grounding in scripture,
PrayerThots covers Key Verses
of the Bible Book-by-Book with
passage Background Context.
To Deepen Prayer Life of believers,
PT provides scriptural prayers,
three-para Pointers relevant to
differing needs, issues & maturity,
with Spiritural Song to meditate.

The current series on Experiencing
God through Obedience is perhaps
the central focus of discipleship.
We position to encounter God’s
presence through learning to seek
God’s voice, deepening our trust in
Him and ultimately thro Obedience.
Before moving on to the Prophets,
let’s pause to reflect our learning
over the last 3 mths from Torah laws,
Israel history and Wisdom poetry.

From Genesis, we see Abraham’s
Obedience in Trusting God though
he didn’t have all the answers; so
he went not knowing where (Gen12)
and sacrificed Issac not knowing
how He be father of nations (G22).
From life of Moses, we see in the Red
Sea crossing that the Israelites have
to Move Forward to experience the
mighty deliverance of God (Exo 14).
The Israelites were protected from harsh desert elements by Following the cloud (Num 9). And Moses
challenged them to Obey the Lord in
order to receive blessings (Deut 30)

Israel history begins with the call
to Joshua to Be Courageous
to receive the inheritance,
to do according to the law and
to claim the presence of God (Josh1)
David in 1Sam 17 killed the mighty
Goliath because he Remembered God helped him to kill the lion.
King David by Inquiring of the Lord
in 1Chron 14, won great victories
repeatedly against the Philistines.
Solomon in Seeking First kingdom
of God in 1Kings 4, was given not
only wisdom but also fame & wealth.
King Jehoshaphat by Seeking the
Lord for help in 2Chron 20 won a
great victory against the combined
armies of Moab, Ammon & Syria.
Nehemiah through watch and pray
with fasting and sharing with leaders
what God had placed in his heart, built the wall in 52 days (Neh 1-2).

And moving to Jewish poetry,
David in Psalm 34 Sought the Lord
and was delivered from all his fears.
Blessed is the one who Trust in Him
and fear the Lord (verse 4, 8-9).
God is our refuge and strength,
a very present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear…
We just need to Be Still and Know that He is God (Ps 46:1-2, 10-11).
Solomon urges in Prov 2:1-5:
If you receive my words and treasure
my commands… If you Seek her
as silver and search for her as
for hidden treasures, then you will
understand the fear of the Lord.
(And) Let us hear the conclusion
of the whole matter: Fear God and
keep His commandments, for this
is man’s all. For God will bring every
work into judgment (Eccl 12:13-14)