Jesus is alive

Day 6 “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all those who practice it have a good understanding. His praise endures forever!” ‭‭Psalm‬ ‭111:10‬ ‭ESV‬‬ https://www.bible.com/59/psa.111.10.esv There’s a beautiful symmetry in the opening lines of the Lord’s Prayer: Our Father in Heaven, hallowed be your name. Jesus simultaneously invites us into revolutionary intimacy with our Father and reverential awe of his holiness.  Both of these aspects are important in our worship and prayer lives. Many people struggle with prayer simply because they doubt that God likes them. But there are probably just as many of us who fail to fully grasp his holiness. I wanted to share this testimony of my wife’s last day in this world on 20 Feb 2010 Maria's health was deteriorating in 2010 We decided to go for the second operation at Fortis hospital. The surgery was on 19 Feb 2010 and her condition was critical after the operation. I sent mobile SMS's to all for prayer and I was f...

Day 5 “But I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with its mother; like a weaned child is my soul within me.” ‭‭Psalm‬ ‭131:2‬ ‭ESV‬‬ https://www.bible.com/59/psa.131.2.esv Often when we start to pray it takes time to quiet and settle ourselves; to clear our busy minds and refocus on who we are praying to. That’s why it’s so important that we learn to be still. This is the first step in a deeper prayer life. Stillness and silence prepare our minds and prime our hearts to pray from a place of greater peace, faith and adoration.

Day 4 “One day Jesus taught the apostles to keep praying and never stop or lose hope. He shared with them this illustration:” ‭‭Luke‬ ‭18:1‬ ‭TPT‬‬ https://www.bible.com/1849/luk.18.1.tpt No matter how simply and honestly we pray it’s easy to lose heart and it's tempting to give up. That’s why it’s not enough just to keep it simple and keep it real, Jesus also says that we must "always pray, and not give up." I’ve found that one of the most important keys to "keeping it up" in prayer is to develop the discipline of a daily "quiet time". Jesus once invited his friends, "Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest", (Mark 6:31 NIVUK) and millions of his followers, ever since, have allocated a little time each day to retreat with Jesus to a quiet place.

“But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.” ‭‭Matthew‬ ‭6:6‬ ‭ESV‬‬ https://www.bible.com/59/mat.6.6.esv Jesus invites us to keep prayer simple and also to keep it real. The Bible is full of honest, prayers that are deep expressions of the heart. Sometimes these honest moments become our most important prayers. As we pray today, let’s spend some time telling God what is really on our hearts. In 2007, she had a major ailment of an infection in the blood that affected her heart. After a month's treatment at St. Johns Hospital the doctors told us we could take her home. However, on the day she was to be discharged, before we could come out of the hospital, she collapsed in the toilet. She was rushed to the CCU and the doctors declared that she was dead. We were praying for her life and once again God did amiracle. As Maria recollected this incident she told us that as she l...

“Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus,” ‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭10:19‬ ‭ESV‬‬ https://www.bible.com/59/heb.10.19.esv Keep it Simple The best bit of advice I’ve ever received about how to pray was this: keep it simple, keep it real, keep it up. Jesus warns us against getting over complicated in prayer. Instead, we are to keep it simple. To go into our room, close the door, and spend time with our Father. Jesus models this simplicity with The Lord’s Prayer, a prayer that was just thirty words long in its original language and takes approximately thirty seconds to read aloud. Jesus reminds us that prayer is the most natural and simple thing in the Universe. The writer of Hebrews is clear that God’s presence is freely available to us all at any time, in any place, through Jesus (Hebrews 10:19). God invites you to pray simply, directly and truthfully In 2003, Maria ( my wife )became ill and the doctor suggested for an open-heart surgery. W...

How to pray Day 1 “Now Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.”” ‭‭Luke‬ ‭11:1‬ ‭ESV‬‬ https://www.bible.com/59/luk.11.1.esv             Teach us to pray From today we are going to learn to Pray: In Luke 11, Jesus’ disciples ask him one of the greatest questions of all time: Lord, teach us to pray. In response, Jesus gives them the greatest prayer in world history: The Lord’s Prayer. Over the next few days we’ll explore this profound prayer and seek to develop our own healthy, sustainable rhythms of conversation with God. We’re going to study on the world’s most famous prayer—the Lord’s Prayer—given to us by Jesus himself for this very purpose: to teach us to pray P.R.A.Y. —Pause, Rejoice, Ask, Yield. There is power in prayer I share this testimony of my wife below. When Maria (my wife)was diagnosed with a heart p...

Day 1 “Now Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.”” ‭‭Luke‬ ‭11:1‬ ‭ESV‬‬ https://www.bible.com/59/luk.11.1.esv             Teach us to pray From today we are going to learn to Pray: In Luke 11, Jesus’ disciples ask him one of the greatest questions of all time: Lord, teach us to pray. In response, Jesus gives them the greatest prayer in world history: The Lord’s Prayer. Over the next few days we’ll explore this profound prayer and seek to develop our own healthy, sustainable rhythms of conversation with God. We’re going to study on the world’s most famous prayer—the Lord’s Prayer—given to us by Jesus himself for this very purpose: to teach us to pray P.R.A.Y. —Pause, Rejoice, Ask, Yield. There is power in prayer I share this testimony of my wife below. When Maria (my wife)was diagnosed with a heart problem in 198...