Author: Chiasochris

Claims by the Son of God
(Prayer Walk thro John 6-8)

Backgrounder: Early in His ministry,
Christ issues a challenge: Search
the Scriptures, for in them you think
you have eternal life; and these
are they which testify of Me (5:39).
Now His public declarations and
miraculous demonstrations serve
to confirm what the OT said would
be true of Him. Using the Jewish
feast days as public forums, Jesus
declares Himself to be the Bread
of Life (6:35), the Sent One of God
(7:28), the Forgiver of Sins (8:11) and the Light of the World (8:12).

Dear Lord Jesus, we learnt from
Jn 6-8 Your claims as the bread
of life, the water of life & the light
of the world, pointing to Your deity.
Grateful that You are not only our Saviour but also meet our needs.
Help us constantly Come to You
for You are our Bread of Life,
Source of Joy & Light of Life. Amen
Continue reading “Praying thro John (April 21)”

God Gives Revelation & Wisdom

Backgrounder on Daniel 1-3:
Daniel prophesies concerning
the role of Gentile powers in
God’s program for His people.
The first 3 chapters of the book
describe the spiritual integrity
of Daniel and his three friends.
Selected for government service,
they resist the pressure to conform
to their pagan environment and
instead take a stand for God. Whether in diet, truthfulness or
spiritual discipline, the four young
men live out their convictions.

Lord,grant us Revelation & Wisdom:
During the Night the mystery
was revealed to Daniel in a vision.
Then Daniel said: Praise be the name of God forever; wisdom
and power are His (Dan 2:19-20).
He Reveals deep and mysterious
things and knows what lies hidden
in darkness… I thank and praise U
for You have given me Wisdom and
strength. You have told me what
we asked of You and Revealed to us
what the king demanded (v22-23)
Continue reading “Prayer Thot for the Day (April 20)”

God Brings Dead Things to Life

Backgrounder on Ezekiel 37-39:
In a vision told with vivid details,
that u can see the bones moving,
Ezekiel announces Israel’s future
rebirth. Reassembled with God’s
breath of life, the bones become
the new Israel, more glorious
and powerful than ever before.
Then in a second vision, Ezekiel
sees the revived nation utterly
destroy its last foe – the mysterious
Magog – after which God is
acknowledged by all nations as
the mighty and undisputed Victor.

Lord, You Can Revive All Things:
Prophesy to these (dry) bones…
This is what the Sovereign Lord
says to these bones: I will make
breath enter you, and you will
come to life… So I prophesied as
He commanded me, and breath
came into them, and they lived
and stood upon their feet,
an exceedingly great army…
Then you shall know that I am
the Lord (Ezek 37:4-13). Amen.
Continue reading “Prayer Thot for the Day (April 19)”

God Moves You in the Spirit

Backgrounder on Ezekiel 33-36
Ezekiel’s emphasis shifts from
the failures of Judah’s past to
the Promises of Judah’s future.
Jerusalem has fallen, and the
prophet’s tongue – silenced for
three years – is loosened at last
to declare that a new Shepherd
is coming. He will tenderly care
for the flock of Israel, rescue
His people from their scattered
homes of exile and restore them
to their covenant land.

Lord, we’ll Move in the Spirit:
I will give you a New Heart and
I will put a new spirit within you;
I will take the heart of stone out
and give you a heart of flesh.
And I will put My Spirit in you
and Move You to follow my
decrees and be careful to keep
my laws (Ezekiel 36:26-27).
I will Deliver u from uncleanness
and filthy behaviour (v29). Amen.
Continue reading “Prayer Thot for the Day (April 18)”

God Gives You A New Heart

Backgrounder on Ezekiel 7-11:
In a series of visions, Ezekiel
foresees the what, why and how
of God’s judgment upon Judah.
The What: total destruction of
Jerusalem and the departure
of God’s glory from the temple.
The Why: generations of idolatry,
wickedness & spiritual indifference.
The How: through the cruel Baby-
lonians, God’s agents of judgment.
But the harshness of the sentence
is tempered by a tender reminder:
A remnant will survive, receive
sanctuary in a foreign country
and return to the Land of Promise.

Lord, Thank You for New Heart:
Tell the exiles, this is what the
Sovereign Lord says: Although
I have scattered u in the countries
of the world, I will be a Sanctuary
to you during your time in exile…
I will gather you… and give you
the land of Israel (Ezek 11:16-17).
I will give them an undivided Heart
and put a new spirit in them;
I will remove from them their
heart of stone and give them
a Heart of Flesh… Then they
will truly be my people, and
I will be their God (v19-20) Amen.
Continue reading “Prayer Thot for the Day (April 17)”

God’s Faithfulness Is Great

Backgrounder on Lam 1-5:
God’s warning had come thro the
prophet Jeremiah, but the people
of Judah refused to listen.In 586BC
the Babylonian army attacked,
the people were carried into exile
and Jerusalem lay ruined & empty.
For days Jeremiah lamented over
the city and its future. As he cries
out in the darkness of destruction,
Jeremiah is given a spark of hope.
God promises forgiveness & grace;
the period of judgment is limited
and in His mercy God will restore
the city and return the captives.

Lord, we claim Your Faithfulness:
Through the Lord’s mercies
we are not consumed,
because his compassions fail not.
They are new every morning;
Great is Yr Faithfulness (L3:22-23)
Therefore I hope in Him!
The Lord is good to those who
Wait for Him, and seek Him.
It is good that one should hope
and Wait Quietly for the salvation
from the Lord (Lam 3:24-26).
You Remain the Same forever!
Turn us back to You and we will
be restored (L5:19-21). Amen.
Continue reading “Prayer Thot for the Day (April 16)”

Compassion of the Son of God
(Prayer Walk thro John 3-5)

Backgrounder: Jesus’ ministry
is not reserved for the temple.
At any time and in all places
He is ready with a word and a
healing touch. Nicodemus comes
by night seeking answers and finds
the miracle of the second birth.
The Samaritan woman comes
seeking water at the well and
leaves to tell her city about a
source of living water that will
never run dry. The paralytic at
the pool finds that even 38 years
of lameness is no obstacle to
the miracle-working Son of God.
Jew or Samaritan, religious leader
or religious outcast… Jesus’
Compassion knows no bounds.

Dear Lord Jesus, You show in
Your earthly ministry your deep Compassion with words & deeds.
Help us Emulate Your Compassion;
Help us Respond to Your Love;
Help us Turn to You always;
Help us Spread the Good News &
Help us Follow the Father. Amen
Continue reading “Praying thro John (April 15)”

Coming of the Son of God
(Prayer Walk thro John 1-2)

Backgrounder: Matthew, Mark and
Luke are called synoptic gospels
because they contain much of
the same material. By contrast
John, the supplementary gospel
provides a fourth dimension of
Jesus’ life and ministry. Fully 92%
of John’s material is not found in
any other gospel account. John
writes to convince his readers
Who Jesus is (the Son of God)
and how new life can be found
in Him (20:30-31). He begins in
eternity past, showing how the
Word who was one with God (1:1)
became flesh in order to take His
message of life to mankind. And
in chapter 2 shows His Authority
over Nature and over the Temple.

Dear Lord Jesus, thank you
for Coming to mankind as the
Son of God. Because of that
we have God as Heavenly Father;
we have Your Presence among us;
we have Gracious Blessings and
we have Revelation of Father. Amen
Continue reading “Praying thro John (April 14)”

We’ve Chronologically covered the
Old Testament, phase by phase:
OT1: Five Books of Laws incl Job.
OT2: Israel History to King David
from Joshua to 1 Chron + Psalms
as well as Reign of King Solomon
in 2nd Chron & Wisdom Poetry.
In OT Phase 3, we see decline
of the two Divided Kingdoms.
OT3A: 1 Kings & minor prophets.
OT3B: 2K1-17 & Prophets incl Isaiah
up to Israel’s Dispersion in 722BC.
OT3C: 2K18-25 & Prophets incl Jer
up to Judah’s Dispersion in 586BC.
Followed by Ezekiel & Daniel. And
then the Return from Exile, namely
Esther, Ezra & Nehemiah, as well as
Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi.
(All accessible in PrayerThots.com
Blog Announcements)

Having meditated on the synoptic
gospels in between OT phases,
we now continue with John. The
gospel of John is a gospel apart.
Mark, Matthew and Luke, despite
their different viewpoints, describe
many of the same events in
Jesus’ life. But John presents that
Jesus is God in the flesh, born to
die as the sacrifice for human sin.
Seven miraculous Signs,
Seven “I Am” Declarations and
Seven key Witnesses are cited
to show that “Jesus is the Christ,
the Son of God” (20:31).
Continue reading “Preview on John Gospel (Apr 14)”

Return From Exile (Mar 31)

We have been covering the Bible
by time sequence, phase by phase
OT1: Five Books of Laws incl Job.
OT2: Israel History to King David
from Joshua to 1 Chron + Psalms
as well as Reign of King Solomon
in 2nd Chron & Wisdom Poetry.
In OT Phase 3, we see decline
of the two Divided Kingdoms.
OT3A: 1 Kings & minor prophets.
OT3B: 2K1-17 & Prophets incl Isaiah
up to Israel’s Dispersion in 722BC.
OT3C: 2K18-25 & Prophets incl Jer
up to Judah’s Dispersion in 586BC.
Followed by Ezekiel & Daniel.
And then the return from exile,
namely Esther, Ezra & Nehemiah.

Continuing, we will meditate on
the last three prophetic books
of the Old Testament following
the return from exile. Listed below
are the background condition and
issues during that period of time.
Continue reading “Preview on Haggai, Zach & Malachi”