Examen

Learnt Examen (a form of prayer) from Children Sunday Worship. We tried to teach children to do an examen every night before they go to bed. I find that prayer is not limited to children, it really helps me to get close to God, to become more aware of His presence during my daily life.

Below is the step-by-step guide for Examen:

(1) Be silent – take a deep breath and then breath slowly to focus your attention on God’s presence in you and with you.

(2) Answer the below three questions in your mind:

(a) When was I happiest today and why?

(b) When was I sad or mad today and why?

(c) Is there anything I am sorry about today?

(3) Think about your answers and listen to what God may be saying to you.

(4) Close your prayer by telling God ANYTHING and say goodbye to God.

ACTS

ACTS is a basic outline/pattern of prayer. ACTS stands for:

A – Adoration

C – Confession

T – Thanksgiving

S – Supplication

A

Begin the prayer with adoration, or worship. Adoration reminds us of who God is and whom we are praying to. The ONE who is worthy of our adoration.

C

Then, deal with your sin specifically. And, ask for God’s forgiveness, and ask God to work on your sins. “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” (2 Corinthians 5:17)

T

Not only feeling grateful, but express your thanks to God.

S

Finally, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” (Philippians 4:6)

Habit of Prayer

Let prayer becomes your habit. You can achieve that by first setting up a regular time and place for your daily prayer.

Regular Prayer Time: Have a regular time for prayer. Once a day (EVERYDAY), shut the world out and tune into God.

Regular Prayer Place: It can ensure a minimum of distractions. Most importantly, once you identify a place, and pray in that place regularly, it will become a holy place for you – the place where God meets with you.

“If we spend sixteen hours a day dealing with tangible things and only five minutes a day dealing with God, is it any wonder that tangible things are 200 times more real to us than God?” William R. Inge

為萬人禱告

Remeber last Sunday service's message:

"我 勸 你 第 一 要 為 萬 人 懇 求 、禱 告 、代 求 、祝 謝．
為 君 王 和 一 切 在 位 的 也 該 如 此 ． 使 我 們 可 以 敬 虔 端 正 、 平 安 無 事 的 度 日 。
這 是 好 的 、 在 神 我 們 救 主 面 前 可 蒙 悅 納 。"
提 摩 太 前 書 2:1-3

If you wanna do that, but don't know where to start, you can go to:
http://www.missionpathway.org/
(first, click the "Misson Pathway" tab, then choose "宣教日引2007年")

宣教日引每日介紹一個未得之民，讓我們認識，及為他們代求。

Let us use our prayer to support these ppls!

(photo from Mission Pathway)

A Story about Prayer

Heard a story about prayer yesterday. To me, the story is very powerful and reminded me again about the power of prayer and God’s grace and love. Forgot some of the details of the story, but still wanna share the story with you guys.

There was a place that experienced persistent drought. For this reason, A group of people led by a minister had gathered in the town square to pray for rain. When the minister went up to the stage and saw the crowd, he announced that the prayer meeting had been cancelled. The reason: none of the people there had brought their umbrellas.

“你 們 若 常 在 我 裡 面 、 我 的 話 也 常 在 你 們 裡 面 、 凡 你 們 所 願 意 的 、 祈 求 就 給 你 們 成 就 。” 約 翰 福 音 15:7

禱文

“求主作我唯一的愛慕,唯一盼望,唯一追求。”
– 卡西安

因主的名

造物主，今高唱您名字；和平之君，得勝者。
地上古今的君王，也折服於您面前。

造物主，今高唱您名字；全能之主，安慰者。
全憑主恩典憐憫，令我滿心溫暖！

全因主的聖名，勞苦可得安靜；
行走於孤單困惑裡面有主傾聽。

全因主的聖名，愁心可得歡樂；
祈禱的必得勝，我以性命來做證！

This is a song that every one of us is very familiar with. We sang this song on last Sunday worship, and the lyrics touch me deeply, especially the last sentence: “祈禱的必得勝，我以性命來做證”.

Christians experience the same life ups and downs as non-Christians. Similar or same problems happened to us in the areas of relationship, family, career, health etc. The only difference is how we take it and how we react to it.

And, it should be different, as God is 全能之主, and He has a plan for all our lives. We know as long as we walk in the will of God, our future are secure in His hands. We might experience 軟弱 from time to time. But we always can ask for God’s help thru prayer.

“你們祈求，就給你們；尋找，就尋見；叩門，就給你們開門。 因為凡祈求的就得著，尋找的就尋見，叩門的就給他開門。” 馬太7:7-8

Let us all use our lives as a testimony for Him.

禱告(讚美之泉)

禱告 因為我們渺小
禱告 因為我們知道 我們需要 明瞭 祢心意對我們重要
禱告 以假裝不了
禱告 因為祢的愛我們需要 祢關懷 我走過的祢都明白
有些是我只想要對祢說 因祢比任何人都愛我
痛苦從眼中流下 我知道祢為我擦
再早晨我也要來對祢說 主耶穌今天我為祢活
所需要的力量
祢天天賜給我
祢恩典夠我用

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v5hwJL5fCvY

Why we have to pray?

This week, I just started reading a book called "Too busy not to pray" by Bill Hybels. In the first chapter, it builds a beautiful picture about why we have to pray. And, I'd love to share with you all.

It talks about the time that Moses discovered that God's prevailing power is released through prayer. (Exodus 17:8-13)

When you pray, you are like stretching your arms toward heaven and inviting God to involve Himself in your daily challenges. You will then be able to experience His prevailing power. That power may come in the form of wisdom, form of courage, form of confidence or perseverance, a changed attitude, or a changed circumstances.

On the other hand, it is hard for God to release His power in your life if you choose to place God aside. It is just like you put your hands in your pockets and say "I can handle it on my own."

交託禱告之範例

我的身體
我的心思
我的心願
我的計劃
我的抱負
我的家庭
我的婚姻
我的愛情
我的事業
我的金錢
我的時間
我的朋友
我的才幹
我的重擔
我的憂慮

親愛的天父：

祢是我的陶匠和創造主，現在，我把自己完全交託給祢，讓祢在我生命每一刻都作主，我要祢掌管我人生的每一個層面，沒有絲毫出於我自己的私意，求袮按照祢的旨意使用和改變。求祢每天、在每件事上提醒我：祢是我生命的主，我願意讓祢在一切事上擁有最高的主權。求祢開我的眼晴，讓我看見隱藏在我人生中，未降服在祢掌管下的部份。我所渴望的，就是討祢的喜悅，並使祢的名字得到榮耀！主阿，這是我的禱告。