Month: April 2023

God Enables & Rewards You

As opposition to Jesus’ ministry
increases, it is no longer safe to
move openly in Galilee. So Jesus
traverses the regions of Decapolis,
Caesarea & Perea & avoids crowds.
In the final days of His ministry,
Jesus begins to prepare His
disciples for the faithful journey to
Jerusalem that will mark the end
of His life and the beginning of
their role as bearers of glad tidings.

Lord, You Don’t Short-Change Us:
Jesus said: How hard it is for
those who trust in riches to enter
the kingdom of God… With men
it is impossible, but not with God;
for With God all things are
Possible (Mk 10:23-27).
And I assure you that everyone
who has given up house or brothers
or sisters… or property for My sake
and for the Good News Will Receive
in return a hundred times … And in
the world to come that person will
have eternal life (Mark 10:29-30)

Lord, You are all-powerful and
nothing is really too hard for You.
And that includes changing my
most difficult circumstances.
What is impossible for me is
certainly Not Impossible for You.
So I ask that You would do the
impossible and transform me
into a God fearing person,
full of Your love, peace and joy. Enable Lord to do great things
for Your kingdom by the power of
Your Spirit. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Lord, leaving things behind for
the kingdom is painful and may
not seem to make much sense.
But to serve You Lord whole-
heartedly, we may have to give
up certain things valuable to us.
And when we give up comfort or
lifestyle to serve God, He promises
to provide rewards and blessings 100 times over for our commitment.
Grant us grace to take a leap of faith
for furtherance of Yr kingdom, Amen

Seek ye first the Kingdom of God
And His righteousness
And all these things shall be
added unto you. Allelu Alleluia.
Man shall not live by bread alone
But by every word
That proceeds from the
mouth of God. Allelu Alleluia
Ask and it shall be given unto you
Seek and ye shall find
Knock and the door shall be
opened unto you Allelu Alleluia

Christ the Bread of Life
As opposition to Jesus’ ministry
increases, it is no longer safe
to move openly in Galilee. So
Jesus traverses the regions of
Decapolis, Caesarea and Perea,
thereby avoiding the crowds and
deadly plots of religious leaders.
In the concluding days of His
earthly ministry, Jesus begins
to prepare His disciples for the
faithful journey to Jerusalem
that will mark the end of His life
and the beginning of their role
as bearers of the glad tidings.

Lord, You are our Bread of Life:
Another great crowd had gathered,
& the people ran out of food again.
Jesus called his disciples and told
them: I feel sorry for these people…
How many loaves of bread do you
have? He asked. (Mark 8:2-5).
When the Pharisees heard that
Jesus had arrived, they came to
argue with him. Testing him to see
if he was from God, they demanded:
Give us a miraculous sign to prove
yourself. When he heard this, he
sighed and said: Why do you keep
demanding miraculous sign(v11-12)
Whoever desires to come after Me,
let him deny himself, and take up
his cross & follow Me… Whoever
loses his life for My sake and the
gospel’s will save it. For what will
it profit a man if he gains the whole
world, and loses his soul? (v34-36)

Lord, we are amazed by the miracle
U performed to feed the multitude.
Thank You Lord for the ways You
are still providing for our needs
even as we put our trust in You.
There are many people who are
physically and spiritually hungry.
Prepare us Lord, strengthen us
and use us to partner with You in
what You are doing on earth. Amen

Lord, forgive me when I demand
evidence of Your power instead
of thanking You for all that You do.
Open my eyes to see the works
of Your hand everywhere I go.
With all my heart I welcome
Your presence however You
choose to reveal Yourself to me.
In Jesus’ precious name, Amen.

Lord, You promise that we will
find true life by denying ourselves.
Help me Lord not to be too
preoccupied with myself; and
grant me the humility to do so.
Help me instead to focus on You,
Your kingdom & Your purposes.
As I trust and follow You Lord,
You will provide all that I need and
let me experience You fully. Amen.

God’s Word Is Trustworthy

Through both His words and works,
Christ proclaims His true identity
to the disciples and the multitudes.
At 1st even His closest companions
are perplexed by His power and
authority, wondering: What manner
of man is this, that even the wind
and the sea obey Him (4:41). But
patiently through the miracles of
exorcism, healing and even raising
the dead the Master Servant works
to convince His followers of the
nature of His person and mission.

Lord, we’ll Wholly Trust Your Word:
Listen, a sower went out to sow…
The one sown among thorns; they
are the ones who hear the word
and the cares of this world…choke
the word and it becomes unfruitful.
But the ones sown on good ground,
those who Hear the Word, Accept
It and Bear fruit (Mark 4:1-20).
When evening had come,
Jesus said to his disciples: LET US
Cross to the east side (v35).
Suddenly a storm struck the lake.
Waves started splashing into the
boat and it was about to sink. Jesus
was in the back of the boat asleep.
His disciples woke him and said:
Teacher don’t You care that we’re
about to drown? Jesus got up and
ordered the wind and waves to
be quiet. The wind stopped and
everything was calm. Jesus asked
His disciples: Why are u So Fearful?
How is it you hv No Faith (v37-40).
And they said to one another:
Who can this be, that even the
wind and the sea obey Him (v41).

Lord, worldly worries and desire
for things can affect us, especially
when our routine is overcrowded.
For material pursuits can easily
distract & deafen us to God’s Word.
Help us Lord to be focussed so that
we can Hear God when You speak.
Lead us not to have divided heart
but instead be Wholehearted to
You by Responding to Your Word.
Mold our hearts Lord to see things
from Your perspective so that we
will be ready to produce fruit. Amen

Lord, help us to remember clearly
Your Instructions like what You
told the disciples: “Let US Cross.”
Remind us to Rely On Your Word
and Not Focus on situation we’re in.
Remind us Lord Your Presence and
help us to say focussed on You.
Remind us no storm can take us
off course, for You Can Do all things
& Your plan can’t be thwarted. Amen

Lord, Thank You for Mark gospel,
which captures two purposes of
Christ coming to earth: to minister
and give His life a random for many.
Grant us the grace to be like Jesus
in having a servant mindset.
Grant us the grace to Love the
Word of God and to Respond to it.
Grant us the grace to Trust Fully His
Word for it’s powerful & trustworthy.
Lord, we’ll Live By Your Word. Amen.

God Empowers & Directs Us

Backgrounder on Mark 1-3:
Mark begins his gospel without
genealogy, birth narrative or
any prologue. He begins with
the ministry of John the Baptist,
the forerunner who will prepare
the way for Jesus’ ministry of
Servanthood. Mark’s emphasis
throughout is on Christ’s works
rather than His words, as befitting
a Servant. Miracles of healing and
exorcism precede calling Andrew,
Peter, James, John and Matthew –
and His choosing 7 other disciples.

Lord, You Empower & Direct Us:
This messenger was John Baptist.
He was preaching that people
should be baptised to show that
they had turned from their sins
and turned to God… It came to pass
that Jesus came…and was baptised
by John in the Jordan..Immediately
the Spirit drove Him into the
wilderness. And He was there
in the wilderness forty days,
Tempted by Satan…and the angels
Ministered to Him (Mark 1:4-13).
Then Jesus said: Follow Me & I will
make you become fishers of men.
They immediately left their nets
and Followed Him (v17-18).
After sunset the whole town
gathered at the door and Jesus
healed many of various diseases…
Very early in the morning… Jesus
went off to a solitary place to Pray.
Simon and his companions went
to look for him and when they
found him they said: Everyone
is looking for you! Jesus replied:
Let Us Go to the next towns that
I May Preach there also (v32-38).

Lord, recognise that soon after
the commission of Jesus Christ
into ministry comes temptation.
Equip me Lord to Resist Temptation
and Enable me to be so prepared that I recognise the enemy’s tactics
from the moment they manifest. Teach me to rebuke the enemy by
having good knowledge of Yr Word.
Enable me to resist entertaining
temptation even for a moment,
but rather Turn to U immediately
so that I can stand strong. Amen.

Lord, we carry a lot of things
around with us – responsibilities,
attachments, and to-do lists.
You alone know all the issues; but 
I hold them loosely as I come to You.
Grant me Lord the willingness to
be prepared to Let Go & Follow You.
And as You increase in importance,
let other things decrease. Amen.

Lord, we note You know exactly
what to do after a very successful
ministry time. Help us follow Your example to seek the Father’s Will rather than rely on common sense.
For I’m constantly thinking of things
I have to do. Help me set aside time
with You, help me focus and reward
my solitude with Yr company. Amen.

Trusting God Through His Promises

Over the last three months, we have
been meditating on the theme:
Trusting God thru His Promises.
We know the importance of prayer
in our lives; and there are so much
to pray about for ourselves and
for others: dreams, hopes & plans.
But often we are held up by doubts:
Does God care about our requests?
How valuable then it is to pray back
to God the very promises found
in His Word. When we speak God’s
very words back to Him, we no
longer wonder if this is something
God cares about, for He brought
it up in the very first place.

Lord, each time when You reveal
something of Your nature, You are
promising us that You will be true
to that nature in any circumstance.
We know by promising and then
performing what U promised, You’ll
awaken in us expectation & desire
and find outlets in prayer of faith.
Praise You that Your promises are
rock solid; and that Your very nature
and character stand behind them.
Grant us faith not only to merely
believe Your Word but also to act
on it. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.

We are meditating through the Bible,
which is organised by genres:
Laws, History, Poetry and Prophets…
Before we continue into Poetry,
for variety sake we will have
the 2nd Gospel interlude in Mark.
But here’s the key thots over the last six weeks from 12 books of Histories
which encourage us as we see God’s
promises being fulfilled in its time.
F26: God Gives Courage (Josh 1)
M5: God the Mighty Helper(1Sam 7)
M12: God Fulfils His Plan (1Kgs 8)
M19: God Answers Prayer (1Chr 4)
M26:God Aids Overwhelmed(2Ch20
A2: God Faithful & Restores (Ez1-3)
Navigation: Click PrayerThots.com
Scroll to Calendar, Select mth & day.

Trusting God thru His Promises

The purpose of the Historical Writings of Judges and Ruth as well as Ezra, Nehemiah and Esther is to
reveal the redemptive plan of God.
On Monday, we learn from Judges 7
that God Loves to Do the Impossible.
On Tuesday, we learn from Ruth 2/4
that God Is Faithful & Redeems Us.
On Wednesday, we learn fr Ezra 1-3
that God Is Faithful & Restores Us.
On Thursday, we learn from Neh 1/2
that God Puts His Word In Yr Heart.
On Friday, we learn from Neh 8-10,
that God Strengthens & Gracious.
On Sat, we learn from Esther 8/9,
that God’s Mighty Deeds Spur Us.
Let us humble ourselves and pray
and seek His face. Help us O God
be Christ’s disciples who trust You;
for You truly keep Your promises;
for You’re faithful & gracious to us;
for You reveal Your purpose, love
to do the miraculous, strengthen
Your people as well as redeem and
restore us. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

God’s Mighty Deeds Spur Us

The final chapters of Esther’s drama
read like the ending of a fairy tale.
Mordecai is promoted, the Jews’
enemies are destroyed and Esther
secures letters from the king
establishing the Feast of Purim
as a perpetual reminder of God’s
great deliverance. In the epilogue,
Mordecai receives recognition in the
Persian annals fr pagan historians.

Lord, we will Remember Your Deeds:
King Xerxes gave estate of Haman
to Queen Esther… The king took
off his signet ring… and presented it
to Mordecai…Esther appointed him
over Haman’s estate. Esther again
pleaded with the king to put an end
to the evil plan of Haman… against
the Jews. Then the king extended the gold scepter to Esther(Est 8:1-4)
Mordecai recorded these events
and sent letters to the Jews
throughout all the king’s provinces,
encouraging them to celebrate
an annual festival (Esth 9:20-21).
These would commemorate a time
when the Jews gained relief from
their enemies, when their sorrow
was turned into gladness and their
mourning into joy. So, the Jews
adopted Mordecai’s suggestion
and began this custom (v28).

Lord, as we read the book of Esther,
we reflect on the many events
demonstrating sovereign control:
Mordecai’s unrewarded kindness,
king’s insomnia, Haman’s casting
of lots and Esther’s two banquets.
With God in charge, we can take
courage that He will guide and
lead us through life’s challenges.
Lord, we’ll Be Committed to You; and Remember Your Deeds. Amen.

Lord, we note Esther and Mordecai
were faithful to the point of risking
their lives to save others; and God
gave them a reward in proportion
to their all-out commitment. Lord,
we note You are faithful and do not
abandon Your people and promises.
Help us run with perseverance the
race marked out, fixing our eyes on
Jesus perfecter of our faith. Amen.

Lord, we ask for Your favour in
response to our keeping faith in You.
And we will run with perseverance
the race marked out by You for us.
As we seek first the kingdom of God,
we can be confident to benefit from
Your sovereign care and faithfulness.
And we will remember and celebrate
Your goodness in our lives and Your
faithfulness to Your people. Amen.