There are many miracles happening in this world. Our fate is to be born on this earth as a human, live as a human, and finally die. But the greatest miracle is we have a chance to listen to the word of Jesus, so that we can learn that there is a Heaven, a God, and everlasting life. Finally we will be given eternal life. We are to live as a human, talk as a human and die as a human.
This is our destiny. But certain opportunities come for us to learn about Heaven, the Bible, the truth, the Heavenly kingdom, and life, this is a miracle.
If you did not have health problems you wouldn’t be here. But now you have decided to be baptized. I am sure you never thought of this. Isn’t this a miracle? We may think it just happened, but it wouldn’t happen by our own power. This is something that God cannot do. He can split the Red Sea and He can destroy the great country of Egypt with an earthquake and calamities, but God cannot control our minds. He gave us the choice to choose and He won’t force us to change our mind. When you read the four Gospel Books, you will find that Jesus prayed all night long because He did not want to force any one.
He healed people, raised the dead, walked on water, fed five thousand people with five barley loaves and two fishes. But people wouldn’t change their minds. As He looked at these things He prayed at the Garden of Gethsemane and His sweat was like droplets of blood.
As I watch you be baptized this afternoon, I thought this is a miracle. It can’t happen because of someone’s wonderful lecture or sermon. I don’t want you to think that was why you were baptized either. It was not done by someone’s eloquent words, but it was the result of God’s work in your heart. You may be thinking how is this happening to me?
I thought the same thing about 20 years ago. I never thought that I would be a believer and attend church faithfully. But this is what God has done for us.
As I told you before, it won’t happen because of someone forcing you or by listening to good lectures. We did not come here on our own plan. You would prefer to go to work, stay home and watch TV, and read the newspaper at this hour.
There are a lot of churches around your homes. You may have passed by here every day yet never thought of going in here. Perhaps when someone knocked on your door to invite you to the evangelistic meetings, you refused to accept the invitation. But you have been here for several days now, and have listened to the lectures for two hours every day and have changed your mind to accept Jesus as your personal Savior. This is a miracle. I want you to experience many miracles in your life. Without a miracle, life is not that exciting.
1+1=2, 2+2=4, on up to make 1000 dollars and you spend 800 dollars and save 200 dollars.
After 10 years you have spent a certain amount for the children’s education and so on. All these things are very mathematical and obvious. These are not miracles.
The people who experience miracles are special people. The people of God, who are chosen by Him, will always experience miracles throughout their lives.
As you read in the Bible the nation of Israel was born by a miracle, led by a miracle and marched through this world with God. You have experienced a miracle, but hopefully not only this time but that you will experience many more miracles throughout your life.
Jesus told us, “Do you see these things? You will see the greatest thing.” This was spoken to Daniel. “You will see the greatest thing.”
In God all things are possible. All will be done well. Because of this I want you to pray to Him with bigger hope. I believe it will be done. The church members who do not experience miracles are boring church members. He is the Creator and He is still creating.
My wish for you is that you will experience miracles and someday you will experience the biggest miracle, that you will see the second coming of Jesus, with the Heavenly hosts from this end to the other end of the sky.
“Look, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who persecuted Him; and all the peoples of the earth will mourn because of Him. So shall it be! Amen.” Revelation 1:7
He is coming! He is coming with the clouds and the Heavenly hosts fill the sky from this end to the other. We will be up in the sky, and the earth will be covered with fire.
At the time of Noah the water destroyed the earth, but this time it will be fire. Away from the earth we will fly up to Heaven far away. At the day of the greatest miracle I want to see your faces. If we don’t dream about this kind of miracle our life will be in vain.
From now on I want you to believe that we who live with God can have miracles. I am always expecting to have miracles, and sometimes I actually experience them.
We live in this small space but I have experienced miracles from time to time. n my past seven years I had to be on the run from the North Koreans. At that time I experienced many miracles. Whenever I experience miracles I remembered that He said you would see the greatest miracles. I am expecting that greatest miracle someday. Let’s read Isaiah 11:6-8.
“The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together; and a little child will lead them. The cow will feed with the bear, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox. The infant will play near the hole of the cobra, and the young child put his hand into the viper’s nest.” Isaiah 11:6-8
Here again we see miracles happening. We are looking at a perfectly peaceful society. As we read these verses we are looking at the scene of animals that can’t be together and that cannot share now but are perfectly mingled harmoniously in Heaven. If we raise a wolf and a lamb, what will happen? Obviously that is an odd question to ask. If a fat calf and a lion are placed together in close proximity, the lion will eat the calf.
In Heaven the lamb and the leopard will mingle together, as well as the goat, the calf and the lion will play together in perfect harmony. The Bible was not written for the animals to read. The animals won’t say, “Oh, look at this, someday we will live in this wonderful land!”
Will I preach to the animals? The Bible was written for humans.
Is there a relationship between people in this world? There is nation to nation, society to society, person to person, having a discordant relationship like a wolf and lamb. What about the political relationship between America and Iraq? Iraqis dislike the Americans, so they caused harm to the Americans with suicide bombers.
Korea has been divided into south and north, and we do not believe that socialism and capitalism can work with each other. So we try to kill each other. If it’s just nation to nation or different idealism then we could avoid each other and get by. Can we hate each other like enemies in a family? If we are together we are not comfortable and get indigestion. If a husband and wife are having this kind of relationship it will be very tiresome. This relationship
is like one is a wolf and the other is a lamb. (Laughter)
(Answer: Husband is the wolf and wife is the lamb!) It is not always the case. I realize the real poor and weak is the husband.
In a countryside elementary school, there were 30 students in a classroom; about 20 of the students had grandparents for their guardians. A countryside church evangelist told me this story.
The school teacher said, when he noticed the students came to school with dirty clothes, or wearing the same clothes all the time they were cared for by their grandparents. Why is that so? These children were abandoned when their parents divorced, and are being raised by their grandparents. Today we do not know who is the wolf and who is the lamb.
We are supposed to have a close relationship, but if we have this kind of relationship between families it is a real problem. We don’t know the exact time but the Bible says, someday we will live in harmony. When will that be? That is the time when Jesus will return to earth. Let’s read Isaiah 11:9.
“They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain, for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea.” Isaiah 11:9
So, ladies and gentleman, do we really want to have peace in our heart?
If you know and have Jesus in your heart, you will have peace for you and your whole family. There are many students in the Salem Mission School. We are training them to become missionaries. Some may or may not be a missionary. But I emphasize to them that this place is not Samsung or Hyundai school, (for you to be a big business man) but their training in this school is to carry out their mission that will have a great impact on society. The most needed service is for one to become a gospel worker and witness to others. Whether the world recognizes them or not is not important, but they are the one who is really working toward peace and happiness.
The newspaper will announce the names of the top students who passed the exam from Seoul University. But in the Heavenly kingdom there will be an announcement too. I am emphasizing this, because you are spreading the word about Jesus, so this world will be happier, and you are trusted with the most important assignments. When everyone knows and accepts Jesus then peace will be bestowed on earth.
If the public school textbook taught of the birth of Jesus Christ and His life there would be real peace on this earth.
If they taught this subject as much as they teach English then our world would be a different place. The topics that we have learned the last two weeks are only the introduction. You have just discovered faith. The more you get to know Jesus you will have more peace in your heart. My wish for you is to consider seriously accepting Him as your God and personal Savior.
The way to stay focused on Jesus is “Prayer.” That is today’s topic. To the one who is new with faith in their heart prayer is most important. The true believer is a man or woman of prayer. So I am going to teach you how to pray.
There are several different ways to pray. You may have heard someone calling “Our Father in Heaven” even though you cannot see Him. There is a reason for that. The disciples had one big question. Jesus was working with the people who were against Him and they constantly hassled Him. Until midnight His opponents would attack Him. Sometimes He did not have enough time to eat and yet He treated many sick people, and was teaching the truth to them. The disciples thought
He should be very tired and stay in bed but the next day He seemed to be totally rejuvenated. So the disciples watched Him carefully and they noticed He was coming back from somewhere early in the morning. So the disciples discussed this among themselves.
Every morning He seemed to return from somewhere and there must be some secret there. They were curious and so they asked Him.
“We noticed you are coming back from somewhere and always full of energy. Is there a special place you go to gain strength?”
“Yes.”
“What are you doing there?”
“I am praying.”
“Is that the way to get strength?”
“Yes, it is.”
It was prayer that gave Him the strength.
“Then why don’t you teach us to pray?”
So He taught them how to pray the Lord’s Prayer. Let’s read Matthew 6:9-13.
Please memorize this prayer. Especially those who have just accepted Jesus, should memorize it. Let us study this prayer.
“Our Father which art in Heaven,
Hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come,
Thy will be done in earth, as it is in Heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil:
For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.” Matthew 6:9-13
Our Father in Heaven:
How do we start to pray? Call “Our Father in Heaven.” He
wants us to call Him Father.
“Our Father in Heaven!” He is telling us to call Him our Father! I have not seen any other gods, like Buddha, or 1000 year old trees, come closer for us to call them “Our Father.” There are none. Heavenly Father means He is promising us that he will be our father. So, when Jesus was baptized He told Jesus, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” Matthew 3:17.
When Jesus was baptized there was a proclamation. But when you were baptized, did you hear a proclamation, “This is my beloved Son/Daughter, in whom I am well pleased”?
“No?” You couldn’t hear that because it was too noisy. If you did not hear this then your baptism is not valid any more. (Laughter)
In fact I did not hear that either. “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”
What does that mean? In fact Jesus was sinless so He did not need baptism. But He was baptized to be a model for us.
He was a representative for us. When we graduated from the elementary school only one representative from the class was chosen to receive a diploma for all of us.
Two thousand years ago Jesus heard the Heavenly Father saying, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased,” so we do not need to be told again. Jesus heard it for all of us. All we have to do is to believe that He said the same thing to us. Do you
understand?
All of you should believe what our Heavenly Father told us, “This is my beloved son or daughter in whom I am well pleased.”
A lady whom I knew delivered a baby boy. This child could not talk when he was growing up. At the age of 14 his parents sent him to a special school. Several months later his father visited him and for the very first time he heard his son utter this word
“father.” His father was so excited and happy he hugged him and shed some tears of joy. “Finally you have called me father!” He quickly spread the good news to his home town. Some people may laugh at him and say, what is he bragging about? But to the father hearing that very first word “father” from a child was a very special happening.
Ladies and gentlemen, now you are over 50 and 60 years old but have you ever addressed God as your father? It is all right even though you stutter, just address Him as your Heavenly Father, and begin to pray. Then your Father in Heaven will be so excited and brag about you to His Heavenly hosts, “Look, finally my 70 year old son is calling me “Father!”
Sometimes we think having sufficient sunshine, air and rain throughout the four seasons is a very common thing. But have these seasons of spring, summer, fall and winter been programmed in somewhere? This is not something that humans can make in a factory. The abundance of sunshine, air, and water is something that man can’t manufacture in a factory.
Unless God provides us with these elements we can’t do anything about it. If you didn’t take care of your small apartment and leave it vacant it would be all messy. However this vast space and complicated ecological environment we live in, in order for it to run smoothly, must have someone to take care of it. People are thinking so foolishly.
By the grace of our Father we are breathing, drinking water and eating, yet we never address Him as our “Heavenly Father.”
After 40 years we finally realized there is a Father in Heaven and address Him as “Father” and pray, then our Father up above will be so excited and proclaim,
“Look he is calling me Father!” Just as I have mentioned to you, you can begin your opening prayer by addressing, “Our Father in Heaven.”
Next is “Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in Heaven.” We shouldn’t ask Him for a lot of things right after we address Him. We shouldn’t ask something like I want money, I need health or this or that for my children, but secondly we should thank Him and praise Him.
At first we say, “I wish for people in this whole world to know You just as I have learned to know You. And Your will be done in earth, as it is in Heaven, so we can be delivered from our heavy burdens and live harmoniously on earth.”
Hallowed be thy name. We want His name to be respected. Thank Him first. You may thank Him by saying, “I really appreciate that You led me to find You.” If you are really having a hard time to thank Him then what can we thank Him for? Give us this day our daily bread. Can we thank Him for a bowl of rice, potatoes or bread? Some may say, “If I work a month I can buy several bags of rice so I can eat it for months. Isn’t that what I earned?”
Ladies and gentlemen, if God does not give us the spring, summer, fall and winter or sunshine and water, then not one single sweet potato will grow.
No matter how much money you pour on it, nothing will grow. That is because God in Heaven gives you every single meal that you eat. So you should thank Him for that gift. We ought to be thankful to Him for a single meal.
“Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.” Thirdly, as it says in verse 11, “Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.” We need to ask Him to forgive our sinful nature. In the evening about the time of prayer you may be reminded that you may have offended someone. Ask Him, “Heavenly Father I think I have spoken something wrong to him. Please forgive me and let my friend forgive me, also. And I ask you to help me that it won’t happen again.” Whenever you remember you have sinned against God then you’ve got to ask for His forgiveness. “Dear God I remember such and such wrong doing, please forgive me. And in the past I’ve done this and that, please clean my sin with your blood that you have shed on the cross and please erase it all.”
If you ask Him for forgiveness then it will be erased. That means you are asking Him to not let you forget His cross as long as you live.
Why do you get stressed because someone made you upset? It is because you have forgotten the cross. We can’t understand the Son of God totally but at least we can understand there is no human who died in that cruel manner.
Ladies and gentlemen, if we nail and hang someone outside, he will get frosted at night, and get thirsty under the sun in the morning, and after a week he will be dried like dried fish and die. Heaven refused Him and earth refused Him so He was hung in between Heaven and earth in the form of a cursed one. That is the cross.
If a man was hung on the cross he would last at least a week, then why did He die so soon? Because our sins were so heavy, His heart burst and He died sooner. Does that mean that He took the burden of our sin on our behalf? That means if we deceived someone, did wrong or were mean to someone in secret, then all these things made Him sad and shameful.
For example: If my friend and I were in a vehicle and he was driving and he got into an accident. If he told me that he was living with his mother and he was supporting her and this accident would cause him to be in so much trouble that he would not be able to support his mother if he confessed to the accident. So I volunteer to change into the driver’s seat and pretend I was
involved in the accident. I may be blamed for it but would I feel guilty like my friend would? No. I may even feel proud, because I bravely covered for his mistake and volunteered to transfer his mistake to me. I may even end up in jail for him, but this is what is meant by sharing our burdens.
If your child had a fight with his classmate and broke his tooth, the teacher would call you to school and you would have to apologize to him and say, “It is my fault, I should have taught my son better.” But will the parent say, “I am not responsible for that, that is what my son has done and so he is responsible”?
For our God to take the burden of our sin means just that. Jesus took all our sin and suffered on earth because we are His children. His heart burst open because he felt our guilt and wickedness all by Himself. Usually one on the cross could live for a week but He was crucified at 9 am and died at 3 pm. He suffered with the heavy burden of guilt. His sweat glands opened so wide and blood vessels must have burst open and blood like sweat dropped from His face.
If you were to say you do not know Him, then when He comes back He will judge you and He won’t say you are not guilty.
“I died for you….”
You will be judged if you say I do not know Him. Please do not be in that group. When we remember His sacrifice we can’t get upset at someone else. But the problem is we always forget that.
“Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Till seven times? Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, until seven times: but, until seventy times seven.” Matthew 18:21-22
One day Peter asked Him, “When someone makes a mistake how many times shall I forgive him?” In that Jewish society forgiving three times was enough.
Is it easy to forgive someone 3 times for the same mistake? It may not be so easy even it is your wife, husband, child or neighbor. But Peter had a good lesson of forgiveness under a great teacher, Jesus, so he doubled the number plus one so a total of seven times to forgive.
He thought Jesus would say, “Oh, you learned so well.” But instead Jesus told him to forgive 490 times which means forgive forever. And He continued His story.
A man owed 10,000 talents (=30kg gold) and couldn’t pay it back. So the king called him and commanded, “Are you going to pay back or not?”
“I don’t have money your majesty.”
“Alright I will forgive you.”
Then on the way back home he met his debtor who owed him 100 Denarius (=one day salary) and he grabbed him by the throat and said, “What a good chance to meet you!”
“Please give me a month of time to pay you.”
“No!”, he said and he had him put into jail. The king heard this news.
“I forgave his 10,000 talents but he couldn’t remember that and put
his debtor in jail?”
“His paper work is not finished, right? Call him right back!”
And he told him, “I forgave you fifty billion and you put your friend for five million? I will have to recalculate and add more interest on you.” And He put him in jail and told him that he could not come out of jail until he had paid off the whole debt.
That was more than five hundred billion in these days. It sure was a big amount.
Why couldn’t he forgive his friend but grabbed his throat? It happened because he forgot that he was forgiven so much more. Why do we get upset and make others get upset?
Actually you are making yourself stressed. It’s because you have forgotten the cross of Jesus. As long as you remember that He died on the cross for you with so much suffering then you won’t get upset with others that easy. So every day you should pray.
I think we can pray like this:
“Dear God please let me remember your cross at all times.” Because we are so forgetful, we should pray without ceasing.
Ask whatever:
We ought to ask Him for our health, our children, our girls who are married, our church members, our neighbors, our country and all. It may take time but it is important. Let’s read Philippians 4:6-7 and see how we should pray.
“Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:6-7
It says if we pray He will keep us in peace. As we read we may pray to Him.
But people don’t pray for two things that we don’t believe are possible through Him. For instance, “Please help me change my character.” Why not? It’s because we don’t think it will ever happen to us. This proves that we do not believe in Him totally. When we do believe, we don’t pray for that, because we don’t want to be embarrassed in front of others. “Dear God I’ve got some more things to do before sunset. Please stop the sun for me.”
Could you pray for anything like that? But in the Bible there was a man who prayed like that. His name was Joshua and he prayed while war was going on. Believe it or not God answered his prayer. People think, “That can’t be possible or the truth.” Can we make our car run or stop? Can we turn our television on and off? Yes, because humans made it. Did God make the sun? Did He make water? Yes
He did and of course He can make them stop or go. But we think He can do only what we humans can do and underestimate His power.
That is why we only pray for what we think is possible. We shouldn’t be praying for just little things. If it is something that we really need, then we ought to pray for it, even though others might think it is impossible. When the right time comes our prayer will be answered. Pray for everything please, even though you can hardly believe and it will happen.
Sometimes we think our request is insignificant and so we do not want to pray for it. But this is not true. He told us to pray for everything. Fifty four percent of our worries are not important but when they accumulate, they become a big deal.
When I was in China I met a lady whose husband was an alcoholic. I guess he did not drink on their first date. One day his 12 year old son came home from school and he could not recognize the boy because he was so drunk.
He asked his wife, “Who is that boy?”
She couldn’t believe it. Mrs. Im was so sad. At that moment she remembered someone invited her to attend church. So she started to attend alone at first. It was quite a long distance but she did not mind the travel. One day she persuaded her husband to follow her to church and he did with an alcohol bottle in his hand. Church members welcomed both of them and as he attended frequently he changed little by little. Finally he quit drinking. It was a miracle.
Mrs. Im was so thankful. She noticed that in her town there wasn’t a church so she pleaded with her husband to start a church near her home. He yelled at her, “You think a church can be started by anyone?”
“Yes we can start one. Why don’t we start it in our home?”
He had wasted all his money by drinking so they started worshiping in their humble home. A lot of people wanted to worship in China so gathering people was not a problem. But there was no one to do the preaching. So all they did was sing from the hymnal and read the Bible. People came from a long distance so she had to prepare some food to eat but all they could afford was diakon (radish), cabbage and potatoes. So every time she prepared the food she prayed,
“Dear God all I have is potatoes, please let my guests enjoy as they eat. Thank you for sending me these nice guests.” As they ate they said, “It is strange that it tastes so delicious, I have finished two bowls already.” But Mrs. Im knew the reason why. God made it delicious.
One day I visited another place, and a neighbor grandpa came to church on Sabbath, so I taught him to pray. Next day was Sunday and they had to go someplace by bus. It was about a 30 minute ride. His wife had arthritis so she couldn’t stand too long but the bus was crowded.
He remembered to pray and prayed out loud, “Dear God, my wife has arthritis so she can’t stand too long. Please prepare a seat for her. I ask in Jesus name, Amen.” Three young people in the back of the bus all got up with smiling faces. They must have been Korean so could understand his language. His daughter told him, “Why didn’t you pray silently? Wouldn’t it be bothersome to others?” He said, “Look, He answered my prayer right away and gave me three seats. When I pray out loud, God can hear me better.”
So it says pray for every matter, big or small. I believe He will answer you in His time, and in His way. After you pray, just let it go into your heart, and be comfortable. That’s the way you can live your life comfortably.
A man of God means a man of prayer. If I tell you what I pray, you may laugh at me. At times I even ask Him to control my emotions. “I am not very happy right now, please help me.”
You may ask me, what should we do? There is nothing for us to do. I will tell you that all you should do is pray and listen to what He wants you to do.
We can’t say let there be light, but we can pray to Him that we need light. To let the light be here is not ours to do. We are not God. So making light appear is what God can do and asking
Him to give us light is what we should do. Pray in every aspect of our lives. A Man of God means a man of prayer. The prayer that won’t be answered: Let us read James 4:3.
“Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.” James 4:3
If you were to pray that He would give you five million dollars because then you won’t have to worry about your living expenses and then you could put all your efforts into spreading the gospel. This kind of prayer won’t be answered. If my 13 year old son asked me to buy him a motorcycle, would I buy it for him? I know what would happen to him. So when we pray we ought to think whether it is to fulfill our lust or not.
Unceasing prayer:
How long should we pray? Jesus gave us an illustration for that. Let us read Luke 18:1.
“And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint; Saying, There was in a city a judge, which feared not God, neither regarded man: And there was a widow in that city; and she came unto him, saying, avenge me of mine adversary. And he would not for a while: but afterward he said within himself, Though I fear not God, nor regard man; yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me. And the Lord said, Hear what the unjust judge saith. And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them? I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?” Luke 18:1-8
In a certain town there was a judge who accepted bribes. Unless someone would bring him an armful of bribes he wouldn’t listen to their case. In those days the farming areas with widows and orphans were the poorest people. They couldn’t plow or carry heavy rice bags. They were isolated, lonely and were being ignored.
These days are different. The poorest people are the widowers, because as technologies develop we can do lots of things by our fingertips, so we need more women than men. But farming in Bible times was different. They needed manpower.
A widow was victimized by unfairness, so she went to the judge. But he refused to meet or listen to her plea for a fair trial. She kept knocking at his door to get his attention. Finally the judge said, “OK, I will take care of it tomorrow so please don’t come anymore.”
Our Heavenly Father is trying to tell us, even the unfair judge listened to the widow because she bothered him. However, our Heavenly Father will hear you when you pray diligently. So pray unceasingly till he answers you.
My mother was baptized not too long ago. I prayed for this matter for about 20 years. Our town was formed with the Confucius compilation. None of the town people were interested in Christianity.
They wouldn’t even ask me in a proper way, “Do you go to church?” but instead they would ask me, “Do you belong to the Jesus party?”
They never heard of a church. Ours was a big family and we lived in a close neighborhood. So mother was very hesitant to accept Jesus. She had to take into consideration that all her relatives would talk about her. “I really want to attend but how can I?”
Finally she gathered up her courage and she was baptized last winter after I had prayed for her for 20 years. Just pray unceasingly until He answers your prayer.
The prayer that will get answered right away:
The prayer that will get answer right away is like this: for instance a husband and wife argue and fight frequently. They must feel terrible. I felt the same way after my wife and I had a quarrel. Once I had to go and give a Bible study right after our argument because that is my job.
Can you imagine right after a family quarrel going and teaching others to love one another and that God is love? This would be a very difficult task because I would not be in the right mindset to teach.
Then what can I do? Reluctantly, I drag myself to the place and then pray. Right after our fight I just didn’t feel like praying even though it was the time for me to pray the most. That kind of mindset is not mine but Satan’s. The devil will whisper in your ears saying something like this, “How dare you go to share the message of God like that?” That is the voice of the devil so you need to pray more.
I found a corner and knelt down to pray. “Dear God, I am only human, and I feel so terrible. However I’ve got to go teach the Bible now, but I know I can’t teach your Word in this present state of mind. Please let me have peace in my heart and help my wife to understand my situation. And let me be generous to my wife.”
It takes only 3-4 minutes, but the strange thing is the 5 minutes before and the 5 minutes after prayer are very different! When we pray to have a generous mind He answers that prayer right away. He doesn’t delay for that kind of prayer. He will answer promptly. I want you to try it, and you will know. It is necessary to pray at the right time. Pray all the time and don’t wait too long.
Pray three times a day:
Let’s read Daniel chapter 6 to see how many times will be appropriate.
“Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house; and his windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime.” Daniel 6:10
How many times? Three times are ideal.
Early in the morning before you eat breakfast, and by lunchtime you need to pray again. It’s because you need to feed your mind. As you feel hungry pray again at dinnertime. Before you go to bed you need to pray again.
Why do we need to pray at least three times a day? It’s because we believe He is living and He is right next to us always. The best way to express our faith is with prayer. Prayer is the clear expression that we believe God is near us.
We shouldn’t be like the ostrich. Ostriches are so silly. When people chase after them with a car, they get tired of running so they just put their head in the sand and because they cannot see anyone they assume that no one can see them. God can see us everywhere so we cannot hide. Many people believe that God cannot see us just because we cannot see Him. You cannot say He is not with us because we cannot see Him. If you think so then your thoughts are the same as the ostrich. Even though we cannot see Him we believe He takes care of us and we can pray to Him. That will be the most enthusiastic expression of our faith.
Ending prayer:
When we pray in the morning what should we pray at the end? It is written, “Lead us not into temptation and deliver us from evil.” As we pass through an alley could a brick be dropped on top of us by accident? Can that happen to Christians also? You thought the angels would watch over Christians? The devil wants us to be tempted so we could also have an accident as we cross the road. That is why we should pray ahead of time for our sons and daughters that He will keep them safe.
A daughter of a deaconess in China met a robber right in front of her apartment. Fortunately the knife did not puncture her heart so she survived but that kind of accident can happen to us too, so we need to pray ahead.
A prayer longer than our life:
Ladies and gentlemen, someday you will hand down your possessions and your land to your children. However, prayer is the most precious of your assets for your descendants. Prayer is longer than life. Even though he is gone, Pastor Moody’s prayer lasted longer than he did!
Pastor Moody, a famous pastor in America, started to pray. He was praying for four friends of his. Five years later one started to attend church. And after 16 years of prayer another was converted and attended church. The third friend accepted the gospel 3 years before Pastor Moody passed away and the last one accepted five years after he died.
That is why I am saying that prayer is longer than our life. Pray for your grandchildren and for your descendants.
Pray in the name of Jesus:
At last we should end our prayer like this, “We ask in Jesus’ name. Amen.” Why do we need to say, “We ask in Jesus’ name?”
It’s because we don’t deserve to ask God for anything. We have lived all our life as an enemy to God and we are like the very youngest son, the prodigal son. How could we ask our Father for so many things? We don’t deserve to do so. But, we can ask in Jesus’ name and we can ask a lot.
Where is Jesus? He is sitting on the right side of God’s throne. When we pray, Jesus will take our prayer and take it to our God and say, “Heavenly Father, I sacrificed for him and he believes in Me. On behalf of Me please listen to his prayer.” That is what He is doing now. That is why we say, “We pray in Jesus’ name” before ending. And Jesus is pleading to God for us.
As we studied, praying in this order, anyone can easily pray. First of all, address God, in the name of Jesus, and then thank Him and praise Him. Ask for forgiveness and ask Him to let us remember His cross at all times. And also ask Him for what we need. Then end with the words, “We pray in Jesus’ name.” That’s it. To the new believers, I recommend that you memorize the Lord’s Prayer. Memorize it when you can’t sleep and when you are taking a walk; write it down on a piece of paper and memorize it as soon as possible. And then try to pray in this order, and you will see lots of miracles. I want you to experience many miracles in your life and my greatest wish for you is to experience the best miracle. That is you will meet Jesus on the day of His second coming, when your body will be changed to be incorruptible and in the blink of an eye, you will enter into everlasting life. God Bless you.
