Martha opens her house for Jesus and makes herself busy trying to prepare; probably a meal. See, hospitality was held in high esteem in the culture of those days. The story says that she was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. It leads us to the “Great Kitchen Debate. Distraction or Devotion Which Is Better?”
Now she had a sister named Mary. She came and sat at Jesus’ feet listening to his words. This troubles Martha. She comes and asks Jesus, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me.”
This seems to be a normal complaint and request in this context. One person is doing all the work. The other is simply chatting with the guest. Martha feels herself a victim left alone to do all the work.
Don’t you also feel like complaining when others seem to take it easy while you alone shoulder the burdens at work, whether it be home or office?
The Response: Nailing the Problem Which Is Lack of Focus
What makes this normal situation different is Jesus’ response: “Martha, Martha, you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”
Jesus is not finding fault with Martha’s hospitality. But Jesus is pointing out that she is worried and upset about many things. The language that Jesus used tells us about a person being pulled in different directions at the same time. There seems to be a lack of focus.
Isn’t it typical of many of us? Aren’t we pulled in many different directions when it comes to work? When that happens, can you stop for a moment and try to prioritize. Look at what is urgent and of utmost importance at that point in time. Then focus on that one thing. It will make a difference.
Which Is Better: Distraction or Devotion
Jesus is trying to point out to Martha that her value in life does not come from what she does. God does not give us marks according to our performance even though he has promised many crowns and rewards to his faithful followers.
Jesus is present in her house. He was welcomed as the guest. Yet Martha is now very busy, distracted with preparations, her many tasks, and much serving.
She failed to value his presence. She failed to value his words—his words which Peter once described as words of eternal life (John 6:68). More than that she feels herself to be a victim of the situation when she could have had the joy of having the companionship of the Son of God in her home.
Martha is someone with great faith as her extraordinary declaration of who Jesus is shows (John 11:27) while at another time she conversed with Jesus by the grave of her brother Lazarus. But on this occasion, she is making her kitchen the greater priority.
Always put people first and tasks below them in your priority list whether at home or the office. You will be blessed and you will be a blessing in doing so.
God Is Valuing Your Companionship Not Your Busyness
We live in a fast paced world. We are busy all the time. We are dominated by the chores of life and its dull routines. Unless you make a deliberate effort to sit at Jesus’ feet, you will miss him altogether even when he is present with you.
Jesus in his response to Martha tells her that the better choice is devotion. Spending quiet and quality time with him is more important than attempting to do something for him.
So many of us are trying to do things for him. He doesn’t find fault with that. But he is asking us not to lose focus. Not to miss the better thing.
Life’s moments might not repeat themselves. So when you are with someone who loves you and cares for you, give him or her the fullest attention you can possibly give. That is the better thing than the good things you might be able to do for them.
Choose Devotion: Spending Time with Jesus
When was the last time you enjoyed the presence of God in your life? It is not something dramatic. It can happen in the kitchen in the ordinary routines of life. Just think on God. Thank him and praise him. Tell him you love him.
Will you not take a few moments to stop and talk with Jesus. In the words of Robert Frost,
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
Choosing to spend time with Jesus who bled and died for you on the cross is a choice very few make on a daily basis. That is a road that is less travelled by. But if you choose to go that way, the way of love, adoration, worship, and devotion; it will make all the difference.
Featured image: Photos by Monika and Elina Fairytale from Pixabay | Adobe
Most of us do not know how prayer works. When you discover it; you will be confident to pray. And also experience the power of prayer. The truth is that most of us are disappointed with prayer. Simply because God did not answer prayers according to our wishes; many of us have given up on praying to God.
Encouragement to Pray
This post is an attempt to encourage you to pray. For God is always listening to your prayers. There might be a lot of doubts in your mind about prayer. All of them cannot be answered.
But I can assure you one thing–-If you keep on praying in spite of your doubts, and your feeling that God is absent and not listening; there will come a day and a moment when you will have the joy of knowing that none of your prayers were lost.
Prayer Is About Seeking and Finding God
Remember, God is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, He has promised that when you seek his face (that is his companionship and not his gifts), you will find him when you seek him with all your heart.
Yes, you will find him if you are earnest in prayer. Finding God and discovering more about him is the great encouragement and joy in prayer.
Prayer as a Relationship Based on Love
Prayer is not all about asking; even though God encourages us to ask, seek, and knock. He delights in us asking him because those who believe and trust in the name of Jesus are his children. So prayer is a joyful time of sharing things in your heart with your Father in heaven. So it is based on a relationship of love and not on fear.
Prayer Is the Ability to Listen to God
Prayer is also the ability to listen to what God is saying. He mostly guides us through words from the Bible. When God speaks there is an unmistakable certainty about it. It will be specific with a calm assurance of God’s peace.
When he speaks he will never contradict what he has already said in the Bible. Jesus has promised his gift of peace to us. So if you have an impression in your heart and it takes away your peace and brings distress and conflict in your mind; know that it is not from God. When God speaks, it will also come with his peace in your heart.
Prayer and Emotions
Prayer can become a time of display of strong emotions too. Sometimes we are too burdened to even utter a word. There is an inward groan from the heart for help while the lips are silent. Often we cry in our distress.
God collects all our tears in his bottle and records them in his book or scroll says the Bible. So there is nothing to be ashamed about crying or weeping as you pray. The shortest verse in the Bible says: “Jesus wept.”
Prayer as a Discipline
A life without prayer is like a barren desert. There is no refreshing, no renewal, no reviving or recharging. If the Son of God could not live without prayer while on earth; how can we?
Even though it is possible to pray anywhere and everywhere at any time during the day or night; it is good to set aside time for prayer regularly at a place which is quiet where no one will disturb you. A place where you can be alone; talk to God and listen to him.
Prayer and Action
A day begun with a prayer of thanks for the gift of a new day, and a seeking of help and wisdom for the activities of the day, will be a day accompanied by God’s blessings. Instead, we often rush to work, get too busy with our daily routines, and forget God.
Prayer is also work. So much can be accomplished if people would pray more for God’s guidance and help and knowing his will than trying to achieve everything in their own strength and knowledge.
It is prayer that gives you the courage, wisdom, and strength to make your faith become action. It assures you of success in your efforts because God is involved in your attempts because you prayed.
Prayer and Distractions
A problem with prayer is that a lot of distractions come to mind when you try to pray. Why? Because the devil knows that if someone gets connected to God; then he has to flee. So he prevents that from happening.
With the mobile in our hands; it is quite an easy thing to keep us buried in the entertainment it brings. Even the good things you watch can take away the best time you can spend in prayer.
Prayer Starters
The miracle of prayer is that even a child can pray. No qualification is required for you to start praying. If you don’t know how to start praying, why not just say, “O God, I love you.” It is a good starting point.
Or say “Hallelujah.” it means Praise the Lord. All heaven resounds with joyful notes of thundering Hallelujahs in song and praise to the Lamb of God. Oh, it can bring down God’s presence to surround you!
God’s Help in Prayer
There is also God’s help and assistance in prayer. God the Holy Spirit from within our heart, lifts up our inmost desires and heartbreaks to the throne of God. the Father. The Bible presents God as our Saviour who daily bears our burdens.
Jesus, present at the right hand of God, always lives to intercede for us. He shared in our human experiences and prayed to God while on earth with loud cries and tears. So when prays for us, he is merciful and compassionate and a great friend to bring our needs before God.
Jesus the Only Mediator Between God and Men
See, there is no need for any other person, past or present, to come between you and God. For the Bible declares that Jesus is the only mediator between God and men.
He is your advocate who speaks in your defense before God. He speaks on your behalf and through him alone you can approach God in prayer.
The Name of Jesus carries authority. God listens when you pray in the Name of Jesus for his precious blood always speaks the word of forgiveness for you when you are broken in heart and turn away from your sins.
How to Pray
You can pray anytime. You can keep your eyes open or closed. You can stand, sit, walk or kneel, or prostrate yourself face down and pray. You can pray while in the kitchen, while you are driving, or while you are attending a business meeting.
You can pray in any language or just pray to God silently. Sometimes God gifts you a language you might not know, a language that is angelic or human to help you pray.
What to Pray For
You can ask for help, for wisdom, for guidance, for strength of mind, for grace to forgive others, for courage to face difficulties, for receiving favour in the eyes of others, for health and healing, for mercy and forgiveness; and patience to wait for God to act in your life in his time.
You can ask God to gift you his peace and joy in all your troubled situations and even ask God to help you to pray in the right way. .
You should pray for the Spirit of God to touch you with God’s everlasting, unfailing, and compassionate love, because God pours out his love into our hearts through the Spirit of God.
Prayer Changes and Transforms Us
Prayer also changes us. God uses delays and frustrations and cries of “How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me?” to break our wills and make us humble. He prepares us before he blesses us. Therefore be bold and confident to pray to the God of all hope and mercy.
He first of all encourages us and makes our heart strong before he answers our prayers. He also prepares circumstances so that the time of our relief and deliverance will be of maximum impact to strengthen our faith in him.
The New and Living Way Opened for Us to Pray
When Jesus shed his blood on the cross and his body was broken on that tree; the huge curtain of the temple was torn from top to bottom supernaturally. It indicated that by the blood of Jesus a new and living way was opened for all to approach God with boldness and freedom. Yes, you have access to God the Father 24 x 7 through the blood of Jesus and the Spirit of God.
Peace as a Sign of Assurance in Prayer
Then, there is the peace of God which guards our hearts and minds like a battalion of soldiers and secures it against all invading worries. It can happen even in the most trying circumstances when we pray.
Therefore we need not be anxious because the peace that comes from God in answer to prayer surpasses all logic and human understanding. Yes, God will gift you his peace and make you bold. The assurance in your heart comes even before the answer to prayer comes and no change is seen in the negative situations you are in.
Why Prayers Go Unanswered
Even though there are so many things that put a roadblock to effective praying; there are a few things that need to be highlighted:
If we cherish sin or wrong things in our heart; God cannot answer prayer.
If we harbour unforgiveness in our heart; God cannot answer prayer.
If we ask with wrong motives, God cannot answer prayer.
If there is a lack of faith and there is doubt in our heart; then God is not pleased with that prayer.
And if we do not ask according to his will for our lives; God cannot answer that prayer.
And often we give up praying before God’s answer reaches us. See he is shaping and moulding your character and strengthening your faith while the answer is on the way. But a lack of persevering prayer can cause us to miss God’s best in our lives.
Start Praying Now
So my dear friend, why not start praying. Come to God with a child-like expectation. Be honest about anything and everything. God listens and he already knows what you need even before you ask him. And all heaven notes a man or woman who prays.
It is a blessed joy and great honour to have an audience with God every time you pray. And signing off prayers, “In the Name of Jesus,” aligns your requests to God’s character and his purpose for your life. Amen (it means “so be it.”).
Discover How Prayer Works
There is no way that any one of us will ever graduate in prayer. Prayer is like an ever-deepening river. You learn to pray by praying. The more you pray, the more you discover about prayer and the God who answers prayer.
As said in the beginning, prayer is an expression of a love relationship. You are God’s child. So talk to your Father in heaven. You can talk about anything; even your secret innermost thoughts and struggles of the mind which no one else can know anything about.
Whatever is your concern; is his concern too. Prayer helps you know God and discover him as your Comforter and Friend and Guide and Helper. May God gift you joy in prayer as he has promised in the Bible.
Simplicity in Prayer
The Bible says in Jeremiah 33:3, “Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.”
God is asking you to call on him. He promises to answer you. You have direct access to God through Jesus. He will show you things you do not know in response to prayer. Just call him.
And speak to him as you would talk with a friend.
The Power of Prayer
Prayer is powerful. It is your direct connection with God. Prayer has got the power to demolish strongholds of negativity and wrong thoughts in your life. Prayer has got the power to move mountains that stand in your way. Prayer has got the power to change the hearts of people. Prayer has got the power to bring you angelic help in times of distress. Prayer has got the power to open doors in your life. Prayer has got the power to make God’s promises real in your life.
So “pray continually,” “pray without ceasing,” “never stop praying,” “pray all the time,” with thanks in all circumstances to experience the power of prayer.
Fight Discouragement in Prayer
The greatest weapon the devil uses to get people to stop praying is discouragement. He will tell you that God will not answer your prayers. He will discourage you through opposition even through your close relatives, family, and friends.
Discouragement can come when you prayed for something positive but its opposite happened. Discouragement can come through delays to getting answers to prayers.
But Jesus is encouraging you to close the door and pray in secret to God and not give up praying. Do not doubt God’s Word. Throughout the Bible we find God answering prayer on behalf of his children. Therefore you need to fight discouragement that comes and go on praying.
Ask | Seek | Knock | Receive
Let me end with this encouragement to pray from Jesus’ words in Luke 11:11–13 in the Bible:
“Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”
“Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart” (Psalm 37:4 Bible).
That is an exciting promise. No limits. It simply states that God will give you the desires of your heart. When God’s Word says so, you can put your confidence in it because God always keeps his part of the promise made. As you look at this promise you find God’s part as well as your role in it. God will give, but you have to delight in him.
God First
In simple words, it means you should not put the cart before the horse. You have to put God first in your life. In all things. It is then that God becomes the delight of your heart.
When your thoughts revolve around God most of the time; he becomes the delight of your heart. This is a simple way of saying it. But it can become a start pointing. Start thinking about God and his everlasting love for you. Think of God sending his Son Jesus to bleed and die on the cross for you. Think of his forgiving love towards you.
Love for God
Delighting in God is all about love for him. He simply desires you to love him “with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.” Love for God and delighting in him go hand in hand.
Again, try to express your love to God. Start to praise him. Just thank him that he has been good to you. Maybe you have gone through great troubles in life. You feel a grudge against God for the bad things that have happened. Still, make a try to tell God that you love him.
It might seem like offering God bits and pieces of a broken toy. But he accepts them all from you because you are genuinely trying to express your love. He accepts it from you as a loving father would accept it from a little child.
Talk to God
If you persist in expressing your love for God and try to talk with him; then over a period of time, God works in your heart. Be honest with God when you talk with him. Bring all your desires to him. And tell him all that is in your heart. He listens to all that you say and even what you do not say. Your heart is an open book before him; so are all your thoughts too. So he knows it all.
When you delight in God, that is when you put God first, something happens. That means you don’t fight with God about your desires. You don’t quarrel with him over it. You just tell him whatever is in your mind.
When God’s Desires Become Your Desires
During this process, God gets the chance to help you understand what his mind is about the desires you have. He will, through different people or situations but mainly through words of the Bible, speak to you. And he will show you what is best or wrong about your desires. And you get a chance to align yourselves with the best that God desires in your life. It is like having the sail of a boat catch the wind.
Then God’s desires for you become your desires. And he will give you the desires of your heart. So delight yourself in the LORD, Let him be first in your life. It will exclude and put to death every evil and sinful desire; and the temptation to do wrong that comes to your mind.
The Cleansing Blood of Jesus
And then when your heart is free of all darkness and is filled with God’s light, there is no limit to God fulfilling the desires of your heart. You might wonder how your heart can be rid of evil! Is that even possible? Yes, it is possible if you ask God to wash you clean by the blood of Jesus shed on the cross for you. The power and effectiveness of the blood of Jesus is overwhelmingly real.
Yes, when you delight in God, he will fulfil the desires of your heart. Isn’t that like one blank cheque given you to draw from the unlimited resources of God?
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Do you consistently speak words of hope or do you speak words of despair? The power of words we use is immense. Some of their impact even time cannot erase.
But from where do words pour out? Jesus spoke the truth when he said: “For out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks.” Yes, speech is an outflow of the abundance of good or bad we store up in our hearts.
Words spoken do carry great power. In fact, the wise King Solomon said, “The tongue has the power of life and death; and those who love it will eat its fruit.” It is no secret that words affect us, influence our emotions, and colour our relationships.
So let us strive to build others up through our words. Let us encourage others; and let us avoid diminishing people in front of others. A little bit of kindness in our hearts can make the words we speak have a healing touch. It can become a lifeline of hope to a discouraged person.
But an empty vessel cannot pour out water. Likewise life-giving thoughts have to be stored up in our hearts to give life-giving words to others.
In other words, motivational speaking is effective only when the speaker is overwhelmingly thinking of uplifting the audience and painting for them the possibilities that life and the future holds for them.
His or her words should help the listeners look away from their current reality which might look like a wet blanket of despair to the future that is like a door wide open to what each of those persons can become.
Your words therefore can throw open God-gifted possibilities in the life of people. So store up God’s Spirit-filled wisdom in your heart; and your words will truly ignite hope for others. Let your mouth always speak the good, the lovely, and the inspiring that your heart is full of.
But inspiring words do not happen by chance. It has an intense and intimate connection with what our character truly is. And character is not formed in a day or two. It is shaped over the years.
For we are shaped not only by what we allow to influence us but also by what we make an honest effort to avoid. For if we avoid the baggage of words that are acidic like slander, gossip, and mocking others; our mouths will speak only of the beautiful things stored up in our hearts.
Then when we talk; our conversations will turn out to be pleasant; filled with kindness like food seasoned with salt. It will taste good and preserve relationships in contrast to having a bad taste and destroying others.
Let us therefore keep our eyes and ears open to store up good things in our hearts so that when we speak they will bring words of cheer, hope, and comfort out of the abundance stored up there.
“But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgement for every careless word they have spoken.” — Jesus Christ
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It is impossible to grow in your career without being able to say No. If you say Yes all the time, that means you are being a people-pleaser. It means that you are not focused. It again means that you don’t set priorities. It also means others don’t respect your boundaries or are not even aware of them.
If you say Yes to everything; you are going to bleed your time, energy, resources, and money for the tasks others are responsible for. That means others easily make you work for them for nothing. A Yes man or woman does not realize that he or she is an individual worthy of respect and esteem like anyone else.
Now the question is how can you say No. You might be afraid that you will hurt people if you say No. That might be true. But we are not talking about saying No to genuine requests for help. Instead, you need to ask questions to find out the real intent of people asking for favours from you. If you discover that, you will be shocked to know that what they said to you to get things done was not sincere but only a mask to conceal the real motive of manipulating you.
Often there are people who want to get things done by dumping the task on the head of someone who is weak-willed. That is not delegation but just making use of you to get them some leisure time.
Now be courteous when you say No. Tell them you have more urgent priorities to deal with at the moment. Point out to them some other method or resource or help they can seek.
A No response comes from your realization of what you are called to do in life. The more you grow as a professional the more focused you should become. That can happen only if you learn to say No to anything that distracts from what you are converging in on life.
Be passionate about one thing. Your passion shouts out loud when you talk. You need not try to convince the interviewer about your passion; it simply shines through. Instead of wasting time mastering interview techniques, take time to be extremely good at one thing. This one thing can be your ability to code excellently well in a particular programming language or your passionate pursuit to excel in a hobby of yours. That will bring you success.
Now, interviews are won not by the precise answers you give. It is good if you can give the right answers. But it is more about the confidence you inspire in the interview board that enables you to get the job. And it is here that the passion you have will help you.
It is quite natural that the interviewer will, at some point in time, start asking about what you are passionate about. Then you get the chance of your lifetime to showcase your knowledge and expertise. If you say it well, then it will inspire confidence in them.
That brings us to yet another point. How to craft your answer well. The best thing you can do is to write down your thoughts as part of the interview preparation process. The first draft might be just a starting point, the second draft can improve upon it, and probably a third draft after striking out what is not needed can become your pitch for the interview. Many make the foolish mistake of being over confident of their ability to speak off the cuff and nose dive into the pit of failure.
When you prepare, try to connect some elements of your passion with the job you are being interviewed for. Something like: playing football taught me the art of teamwork; passion for photography helped me sharpen my focus; participation in chess tournaments have increased my ability to concentrate and enhanced my strategic thinking; and so on.
And definitely you should try to organize the points of your presentation. It will demonstrate your clarity of thinking; your level of preparedness; and your ability to inspire confidence. Organising content is not about saying everything about what you know. It is more about choosing the best things and editing out the rest.
If you have played cricket with passion; tell them something about your playing for your school, college, or club; about what kind of player are you; a batsman, a bowler; an all-rounder; if a bowler what kind of bowling you have specialised in: fast, medium, spin, and so on. Highlight some of your best achievements.
If you have captained any team; tell them so and it will highlight your leadership capability; your ability to motivate your team; and so on. And definitely be prepared to answer questions like who is your favourite cricketer and why? Such questions will help you to speak with authority and confidence on what you really know; and your passion will shine through.
Finally, let me say that if you are not passionate about something; it is highly likely that you will not be passionate about anything including your job. If you can demonstrate your enthusiasm and your ability to persevere by talking about your passion; you stand a good chance to clear the interview. So before you think about mastering interview techniques; make it a point to be passionate about one thing. And let it speak for yourself at the time of interview.
Beyond interview success; life is about passions; isn’t it?. As the famed Formula One (F1) Racer Michael Schumacher had written on his traditional Schuberth red helmet at his farewell: “Life is about passions. Thank you for sharing mine.” So having a passion in life is about continuing the journey in hope.
There is not one who does not feel anxious at some point in time. For a student it can be just before an exam; for a professional it can be some pending work or a meeting with the boss. For many others it is fear of the future; health issues; financial insecurity or being late to catch a train. It is natural to feel anxious. But let us try to look at how to manage it.
First of all, look to God.
He is a strong tower, a mighty rock, a shade and shelter, a comforting mother, a helping hand ever present, who lives for ever and never sleeps. He is watching over you all the time. Even when you are struggling he is seeing it and is moved with compassion for you. Cast all your anxiety on God, because he cares for you says the Bible1. So look to God. Make a conscious effort to think about God.
Secondly, try to declutter your life.
See when we organize poorly; when we accumulate little things over the years; when we say yes to all unimportant requests from people; when we refuse to say No to activities that blurs our focus on what is important; they all lead to anxiety. So take time to remove the weeds that mar the beauty of the garden of your life. When you declutter it will make life simpler.
Thirdly, talk to your friends.
Just admit that you feel anxious. Talking things with your friends can relieve anxiety. They may or may not give advice. What they say might not help or be practical in your situation. But still talking with friends will relieve anxiety. Do not be like a dam with all shutters down; but open the spillways with trusted friends.
Finally, travel with hope.
Life might not be easy. It is natural to fear and feel anxious. But hold on to the firm hope that you will emerge strong in spite of all your anxiety; God-helping you. Never give up hope. Miracles do happen. It might not be like a burst of lightning always; but like the simple ordinary blooming of a flower bud more often.
Hard work leads to success. There is no doubt about it. So many people have proven that through their life and experience. So what makes hard work work for you? Let us consider what it does.
Hard work often begins from a burning desire to get things done. It begins from a passion to fulfill some ambition or dream. It begins from a drive to achieve some goal.
Hard work without planning and organizing or scheduling your work doesn’t go a long way to get things done. You need to create a time table and learn to stick to it. Hard work therefore involves time management and effective use of resources available.
Hard work definitely involves working more than normal or usual. It involves saying NO to legitimate entertainment or other distractions to focus on your work. Disciplining yourself to spend extra hours at working hard is essential to success.
Then there are 3 enemies to hard work you should be aware of:
One is talk. There are many who talk big and deliver nothing. The Wise King Solomon wrote: “All hard work brings a profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty.”1 Therefore talk less and focus on getting things done.
The second enemy of hard work is laziness. Let us look again at what King Solomon had to say. “Laziness casts one into a deep sleep, And a lazy person will suffer hunger.” 2 So many people know what is defeating them. They know that they are their own enemy. And they are defeated not by anyone from outside but by their now laziness. The best way to get out of laziness is to act immediately. NOW is the key word.
The third enemy of hard work is procrastination. That is putting off doing something for a later time. Let me quote King Solomon again: “Farmers who wait for perfect weather never plant. If they watch every cloud, they never harvest.” 3 Postponing things by looking at unfavorable circumstances is like never getting on the boat because you wait for the waves to stop.
So what is the conclusion of the matter. Stop talking. Stop being lazy. And stop postponing. Instead start doing now. Yes hard work with God’s blessings leads to success.
“Be still” as your success mantra is easily said than done. Being still is not about switching off one’s mind and thinking; but bringing God into the driver’s seat of one’s mind. It is not a one-time action; but a constant attitude that shows reliance and dependence upon God and his wisdom in the affairs of our lives.
“Be still” is a command God gives and is much more than just a success mantra. He expects us to pause our worries and trust him for results. Obeying the command “be still,” is like a farmer having done all his hard work and waiting for the crops. There is nothing to do but trust that all will come out well.
“Be still” is however difficult to obey because we always like to be part of the action. But God knows that there are situations where the best thing for us to do is NOT to interfere in what he is trying to do. God’s delays might be to prepare us for the blessing ahead. But if we act without being still; it can be like a child splashing paint on to the canvas on which his Artist Dad has almost completed a perfect work of art.
“Be still” is also difficult for us because we do not trust God’s goodness. We do not wish to put our entire reliance on God. It is like God sending us an aircraft to fly. But we prefer to drive a car the whole way because we simply find it hard to believe that God is keenly interested in leading and guiding us in ways that are best for us.
Finally, let me conclude by saying that the ability to “be still” leads us to know God better. Let me also remind you that being still is not passive waiting. Instead it is an eager expectation on our part to see God act on our behalf. At the same time we should avoid to engineer people or situations in our human wisdom which can easily fail to see God’s higher purpose. Therefore a success mantra you can trust is to “be still.”
We all know the story of the greedy fox. Therefore, today, let me tell you something about greed.[Click this link to listen to the BPPS Podcast of this speech on YouTube.]
First of all, greed makes you blind to true love. When greed takes over; people become willing to tear apart blood relationships. Remember this is just for some material gain, wealth, money or inherited property. What a sad situation it is!
Secondly, greed makes us worship money and wealth. Dear friends, only God alone is worthy of our adoration, praise, and worship. But greed makes us forget that. And we start to bow down in front of greed.
Thirdly, greed can make you grab all you want; but at the end of the day you’ll be left with nothing. Remember, how Alexander the Great had the wisdom to ask his friends to put two holes in his coffin through which his empty hands could be put outside of it for all to see and think. He had conquered a large part of the world. But he was taking absolutely nothing with him when he died.
Finally, greed can make you a monster. Many angels at heart have become ruthless when they had allowed greed to take control of their lives. Values like love, compassion, mercy, and kindess disappear from the lives of those who are greedy.
Therefore my friends, stay away from greed. Let the story of the greedy fox remind you to stay away from greed. Let me conclude with the words of Jesus Christ: “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”1
Thank you.
1Luke 12:15 Bible NIV 1984.
Featured image courtesy: Amanda Frank (Unsplash)
There is no success, no movement forward, no progress, no growth, and no development if you don’t try. So it is popularly said, “Try again and again until you succeed.” But the question is how should you try. Here are a few ways in which you can and should try.
First of all, you should try again and again with enthusiasm. As Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm.” Don’t let anything discourage you. Interestingly, the word “enthusiasm” comes from the Greek words “en” and “theos”; and it means “in God.” So when you are full of enthusiasm it will be like you are energized with the joy of God.
Secondly, you should try again and again with persistence. It simply means to keep on doing and keep on moving. Many give up after they try a few times. A last final try is built upon many earlier attempts; and all of them go into the making of success. As Former U.S. President Calvin Coolidge said: “Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence.” He added that talent nor genius nor education can take the place of persistence. So persist.
Finally, you should try again and again with hope. There is much in this world that can cause despair. But as R. L. Stevenson said, “To travel hopefully is better thing than to arrive.” You should never give up hope. You should hope for a better tomorrow, always. You should hope that there will be light at the end of the tunnel. You should hope that love and truth will win over hate and lies. You should hope that your attempts will end in success. So journey in hope.
To conclude, think of what the motivational speaker Nick Vujicic said:
“I am gonna try again and again, because the moment I give up, is the moment I fail.”
Therefore try again and again with enthusiasm, persistence, and hope. Victory is near!
Victors, even when they have seasons of doubt, never yield to despair. Their attitude is not that of a defeatist one but one of a champion, a winner or a victor.
If at all you have a defeatist attitude here are three ways to change them to a victor’s attitude:
First of all, stop telling stories of doubt, negativity and hopelessness. They only feed the spirit of despair already filling your mind with darkness. Instead start to talk hope and possibilities and you will see closed doors open and light shine. That is a victors attitude in action.
Secondly, think on the big picture of your life. Do you wish a season of darkness to make you see your whole life as a failure? Surely not; isn’t it? So, look for ways you can leverage the lessons of your dark days to inspire and motivate you to achieve. You still can finish strong in spite of stumbling. That will take the sting out of your defeatist attitude and make you a victor.
Thirdly, if you have placed your trust and confidence in God, look at the One who stands by your side to fight for you. He is El Gibbor, Mighty God. 1So do not look at your smallness, do not look at circumstances that threaten to defeat you but look to God who is always Victor. Do not be satisfied with just a look but fix your eyes on him to the exclusion of all else. That will energize you with his mighty power to win over your defeatist attitude and be a victor.
So let me conclude. Stop telling negative stories. Look at the big picture and seek to finish strong. Fix your eyes on God who is your El Gibbor. With these steps you will pull down mighty strongholds of defeatist attitude in your life and put on a victor’s attitude.
You need not be a millionaire to make people happy. You can simply make a difference by saying a timely word.
Let your timely word come straight from the heart. In other words, let it be sincere. The words “Children are enjoying your class,” are simple and down to earth. But the happiness it can bring to a teacher’s heart is immense.
To say a timely word, you should learn to appreciate others. It is simply an expression of your genuine wish to see others do well and succeed. “You sounded very confident when you gave your speech today,” will boost the speaker’s confidence and esteem still further. Without doubt it will make him or her happy. And you need not be a millionaire to do so.
Finally, saying a timely word can be that ray of hope which can illumine the darkness in a person’s life. Often God uses people to say a few words that might give others much needed wisdom and guidance at that point in time. “Don’t get discouraged. Your failure today can turn out to a blessing in disguise,” is an example of your timely word becoming a blazing torch of hope to someone ready to give up.
Let me conclude. You can live a life of purpose by speaking a timely word. Speak straight from your heart, appreciate with sincere words, and be a tool in God’s hands to light up the hearts of others with happiness. And let me remind you once again that you need not be a millionaire to spread happiness all around, wherever you are!
Most of you will agree that your mind is at war almost always. There are battles happening every now and then. Some thoughts pop up when you see, hear, or touch something.
These thoughts in your mind can look and feel innocent and harmless at first instance. But without warning it can tear apart your soul, you heart, your mind, your emotions, and your entire being if you are not watchful.
There are three simple things you need to keep in mind to win the battles that rage in your mind. One, do not entertain wrong and evil thoughts like how you welcome and entertain guests at home. Two, run away from all sources of temptation. The longer you stay the weaker you become. Three, the determination to win is crucial, but more important is your dependence and trust in God to find victory.
Of course, having said all that, you should exhibit courage when you are torn apart in your mind by wrong thoughts. You might be tempted to give up when the struggles become intense. You might find an accuser’s script running in your mind saying you’re a failure because of your previous faults. But that is a lie. You have hope as long as you choose to have God help you.
The good news is that the battles in your mind can make you become strong and mature and having a good character. They can keep you humble and in an attitude of prayer. For God’s wisdom is always available to all who seek it to find help in winning the battles of their mind. So don’t quit the fight to win!
Usain Bolt, one of the greatest sprinters the world has seen, wrote in his autobiography1: “Distraction for one hundredth of a second might be enough to lose a race.” In this modern world of gadgets when most of us spend too much time on our mobiles, distractions, especially caused by time spent on social media can drug you to lose in life.
Why do I use the word drug? Because drugs cause addiction. And who will disagree that social media is so addictive that you simply cannot control the urge to check and recheck and scroll through the reels and trolls and status updates.
Now the impact of distractions can be felt in a few areas: Losing focus, losing a sense of priorities, and losing the sense of responsibility are some of those.
Secondly, let me talk about losing a sense of priorities. Time is limited. So not one of us can accomplish anything worthwhile in life without establishing priorities. That tells us what is urgent, important, can wait, and not needed. But distractions often make us spend valuable time on minor things, things that don’t matter, and what is frivolous.
Thirdly, let me talk about losing the sense of responsibility. Take the example of a mother of school kids and also a professional. If the mother spends long hours with her mobile, she is not doing justice to her prime responsibility of caring for her children. And one cannot find fault if her kids too just snug her and watch all that she is watching.
Let me conclude. My dear friends, life is short. And today, distractions are stealing away much time from your life. You are losing focus, losing a sense of priorities and also the sense of responsibility. So say no to distractions and avoid being drugged to lose in life. The decision is yours. Take it now! Clip on Distraction from Malayalam Sermon on the Blood of Jesus
1Usain Bolt | Faster Than Lightning | My Story | Published by Harper Collins
The Bible says: “I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.” Psalm 119 verse 11.
We live in a world where we face a lot of temptations. Our hearts and minds are not strong enough to resist them. We need God’s help. At the same time, we need to store up and hide God’s Word in our hearts. Why?
Because God’s Word is living and active. It is sharper than any double-edged sword. God’s Word is like fire and a hammer that breaks a rock into pieces. Therefore, storing it within our hearts gives us a fighting chance and resisting power against sin. God will bring to our minds the right word at our time of need.
Therefore, let us try to memorize God’s Word and hide it in our hearts. Yes, “I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.” Psalm 119 verse 11. Amen.
Times have changed. Centuries have passed by. Empires have risen and fallen. From the man who walked all the way; we have come to a point when man travels to Space as a tourist. But man has not changed. His heart is having the same makeup and is prone to get corrupt. It is not virus free; not at all. Therefore let me talk about one of the viruses that plots evil in the human heart—the breaking of the 10th Commandment which God gave the world through Moses the prophet: You shall not covet!
Coveting is essentially an yearning to possess something which is not rightfully ours. It can be anything that you set your desire on. For a child it can be a pencil, a toy, or even a sweet his or friend has. For a man or woman it can be things much larger and more prized than all these. Coveting is a desire that crosses boundaries God has kept for our own safety. It is like ignoring the red lights and pressing on the accelerator of your car. You might succeed to get, to grab, to hold, and to possess. But it destroys everything that we cherish in life in that process:
Relationships turn murky. There is heartbreak and sorrow. Justice is upset. Wrong is done. There is violation of human dignity. The tales of misery and sorrow do not end; it continues in the family. The results of breaking the 10th Commandment which says, you shall not covet, is terrible.
So is there a checklist I can refer to in order that I might not violate the 10th Commandment? It is a good question. The starting point is, do not covet anything that belongs to your neighbour. The wise King Solomon made the point: “All labour and all achievement spring from man’s envy of his neighbour.”1 We compare and contrast with what our neigbours have. Then we start to covet.
Be thankful for what you have. Get rid of that sense of dissatisfaction in life. Serious consequences that can plague you lifelong accompany the violation of the 10th Commandment, you shall not covet. At the end of the day you and me are answerable and accountable to God when we stand before his judgement seat. Not one of us can stand before his wrath. So let us not covet.
You are reading this probably because you are going through a period of low self-esteem. It can happen due to a lot of reasons. But it need not stop you from moving ahead successfully in life.
There are many external causes for low self-esteem. Being unable to do what you are good at, lack of finances, words of criticism, emotional or physical abuse during childhood, rejection from loved ones, breaking up of relationships, ill health; can all contribute to low self-esteem.
The chances are, low self-esteem you feel is based on others’ negative opinion and false estimates about you. When someone says, “You’re an utter failure,” or “What benefit do you get when you help others?” it is bound to make you feel low and down.
But are those estimates true? Maybe that’s how someone feels about you. Their ideas of success might be totally different and influenced by the crowd they mingle with.
Whatever it be, feeling low on self-esteem is painful and can take away the enthusiasm to do anything purposeful. There are three things you should keep in mind when you go through a period of low self- esteem:
One, God values you and sees infinite worth in you so much so that he sent his one and only Son Jesus to shed his blood on the cross and die for you. Believe God’s truthful estimate about you.
Two, patiently keep doing your good work knowing that its fruit and reward will come someday without fail. Do not mistake slow-moving phases of life as failure.
Three, the pain of low self-esteem can make you a better person. It can make you more creative, more compassionate, and more humble before God. In due time, God will exalt you. Trust in his perfect timing for you.
So when low self-esteem troubles you, pour out your sorrow before God. He will listen to you, for he is compassionate. You can lean on him for strength in times of low self-esteem. The night is darkest, as it is said, just before dawn!
Air, water, soil, and noise pollution are commonly talked about. The advancement in technology and the giant leaps made in development has caused harm to our environment and to ourselves. But today I would like to speak about the pollution of our minds which nobody talks about much. This pollution is immersive and no one can easily escape the web it weaves.
Pollution of our minds is a reality. There are several ways in which it can happen. Pollution of the mind happens when the gateways of the mind like the eyes and ears are open to pollutants.
We live in a highly visually stimulated world. Technology has brought lot of distractions too right in front of our eyes along with all the educational, informational and entertainment possibilities it offers. The question is, “Are children taught to filter all that they see?” Does our educational system teach them how to discern whether what they consume on the internet is polluting material or not?
As there are non-biodegradable waste, so also there are pollutants of the mind that are non-erasable. Some kinds of conversations we listen to which fall into the category of slander and gossip remain in the minds with permanence. So also certain kinds of literature we read, movies or videos we watch, or sensational news we consume that glorify evil; all put their roots deep down in our minds.
So here are three simple steps to avoid pollution of the mind:
One, avoid and run away from places, situations, and entertainment, which you know can poison your mind.
Three, involve in creative activities and cultivate good friendships in life.
To conclude, let me remind you that in this age of Space travel and tourism, we have created a huge quantity of debris in Space already, thus polluting what was majestic, glorious, and reflecting God’s incomparable wisdom and power. We’ve polluted everything possible, filling it with junk. Therefore, let me plead with you not to let your minds become a garbage graveyard from where nauseating smell emanates and the smoke of burning never stops.
Forgiving someone who has done you harm or wronged you in some way is not easy. We hold a grudge against a person who has wronged us. This can go on for years.
But consider. Who are you harming in the long run? It is you yourself. I do not know about the chemical changes that happen in the body due to this; but I can assure you it is certainly negative.
You are like a person poisoning yourself a little bit each day. You fail to enjoy the good things of life because the grudge you hold in your heart colours your emotions black and ugly. No matter what you do the grudge puts up its ugly head to distract and discomfort you.
Having said this much, is there any solution to it? Saying that you should forgive the person is easy. Because no matter what you do you are unable to forget the wrong that the person did to you. You might even get angry and burst out at the one who suggests to you to forgive the other.
That’s quite normal. But should it be left like that? Therefore seek God’s help. If you sincerly ask him for wisdom to deal with the situation, he will give it to you without finding fault.
The point is it is humanly impossible to let go of a grudge. Because it persists. It irritates. It clouds your mind and thinking. It makes you hate.
I don’t have solutions. But I know only to point you to the One who can provide you the grace to let go the grudge you have. Seek God and his help today. For his mercy is great and his compassions never fail. He will surely help you to give up the grudge you have.
Maybe it doesn’t happen like you switch on the lights. But when God gives you grace, there will be a diluting of acidity that has been eating away the peace in your heart and mind.
A world in which people are becoming more self-centred and busy, kindness holds a miracle-working power. Possibly kindness is a kind of tender-hearted and compassionate love in action. The Bible calls kindness a fruit of the Spirit; meaning that God makes that quality grow in us as we increasingly connect with him like a branch in a tree.
Regarding kindness, I wish to share with you four quick thoughts:
One, kindness begins with an attitude. It begins with you and me having open eyes and ears to see and listen to others. Most people are hurting in one way or other. They need a listening ear. They needed someone to tell them that there is hope ahead so as to help them find strength in God.
Two, kindness is also action-oriented. It can be the gift of a smile, a loving and understanding touch, a phone call or a message to cheer up a heart. Some need help in material ways like money for education or hospital expenses. Seeing someone in need and then not helping when it is in your power to act is quite the opposite of kindness.
Three, kindness has to be cultivated. As said earlier, it is a fruit. When we show kindness we reflect that quality in God who is compassionate and showed tender-hearted kindness to us when he gifted Jesus his Son to come to this earth and bleed to death on a cross. So kindness is about showing love in action to those who might not even deserve it. It is not easy. It requires a spirit of sacrifice and often a forgiving spirit too.
Four, kindness is often shown outside but absent within our homes. It has been often pointed out that we show kindness to everyone but often forget to show it those who are our loved ones at home. This is a serious neglect we need to address. Home becomes a light of joy when kindness is shown to each other. For example, not shouting at your loved one when a mistake is made is an act of love and kindness.
So my dear friends, let me conclude saying that kindness is a much needed virtue in today’s world that is increasingly busy, driven by artificial intelligence, and powered by selfish attitudes. Kindness can be that one thing which will bring a miracle of love, affection, friendship, and joy being restored in your homes too. May God give you the strength and courage to exhibit kindness to all; especially to those who are close to your heart.
When angels compere, first and foremost, they compere only according to script. For angels deliver God’s message given them.
So also when you compere, your confidence will be high if you have scripted all that you plan to say.
II. Smile from your heart.
When angels compere, they communicate joy. I don’t know whether angels smile; but Jesus said about the little ones that “their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven.” So when children smile; it should be making angels smile too as there is always joy in heaven.
And when you compere, the best thing you can bring on stage is your smile. If you smile from your heart; it creates a joyous mood and anticipation in the audience.
III. Vary your voice and style.
When angels compere, they vary their style to suit their message. When they warn; they have a solemn tone communicating urgency. When they sound hope; their voice is one of comfort and strength.
The lesson is that you have to match your voice and style to suit the mood and occasion. You might invite, celebrate, thank, or simply communicate information. You cannot use the same style for all.
IV. Build rapport with the audience and put them at ease.
When angels compere, they put the audience at ease. Often they are seen and heard saying, “Do not be afraid.”
As a compere you should be able to build a rapport with the audience. Some insightful remark or a timely word that can address the dominant mood of the audience can be a great move.
V. Focus spotlight on others and highlight them.
When angels compere, they simply do whatever duties they have been assigned to. They are flames of fire and servants of God worshipping him. They do not call attention to themselves but to the message and to God who sent them.
As a compere, your role is not to be in the limelight but help the audience to focus on the person being celebrated. You are to be like a voice drawing attention to others.
VI. Create memories; not just compere speeches.
When angels compere, there is a flash of heaven meeting the earth for a brief moment in time. As a compere if you can create some precious memories; that will remain in hearts and minds for long.
In that sense, the world has ever since found hope in these words of the angel on Bethlehem’s first Christmas carolling night: “I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Saviour has been born to you. He is Christ the Lord.”
So, with angels, let us also respond saying, “Gloria in Excelsis Deo.”
VII. Be committed to excellence.
When angels compere, they do it with excellence. When they worship God saying “Holy, Holy, Holy,” or while responding to the summons of God their words and actions are enthusiastic. In other words, you’ll never see an angel perform below his best.
So being an emcee or compere is a commitment to excellence. It is an art that is mastered over time. Attention to detail and a burning desire to perform well will help you excel as a compere.
Even when others might call you a failure; God doesn’t call you so. For the blood of Jesus shed on the cross was to give you a new beginning in life. So, thank God for all your failures.
Believe that God can use all your failures to make you a better person. A broken and contrite heart; and humility often comes as a result of failure.
God looks at your heart and your motives more than your failure; whatever that be. Therefore, if at all you have failed, do not give up hope.
For stars in the heavens still twinkle at night. And no failure in your life is final; if you can accept God’s help to rise up once again.
Praising God does not come naturally to any one of us. We are reluctant to give God, praise. And when it comes to our failures which certainly includes mistakes made; there is no chance or even a remote thought of praising God. Even if we try, it is going to be painful. But praise has got power. It has the power to change us and transform us. Let us look at how it does so.
Praising God simply takes the burden of failures off our back. When we praise God we are saying that our analysis of our failures is not going to help us beyond a certain point. When we praise God, we are saying that we are already in the pit of self-pity by brooding over our failures and we want to get out of it. Praise puts us on the gear forward to victory.
Praising God is one of the best ways you can tell God that “I give total control of all circumstances that I find myself in to your hands.” You can now confidently expect God to carry your burdens. When you praise God, you can look forward to God making your failures work for a good purpose in your life. You may not understand how; but even the storms obey his will.
Praising God defeats all spiritual forces of darkness. One thing you can be sure of: You cannot fight spiritual forces of darkness with weapons of your making. Logic, intellect, or academic brilliance will not help in any way. But praise turns the battle around. In the midst of your greatest failure; start praising God for who he is—God Almighty; full of goodness, compassion and mercy. It is then the battle turns around to give you victory over all that has been troubling you.
Praising God can open doors that were closed. It can bring down barriers and make a road for you even in the wilderness. It does not matter how long you’ve stayed defeated; what matters is whether you can start to praise God with unending enthusiasm. As I said at the beginning, praise does not come naturally to any one of us. But music helps. If you can sing a song of praise; then the language of praise will start to overflow from your hearts and lips.
Praising God is the best way to overcome the spirit of despair that often pulls you down. Jesus came to set captives free. And he does so by giving you the garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. So just put on praise. It simply is a joyful lifting up of God’s holy name. Then failures will yield you greater returns because praise changes doom and gloom into joyous shouts of victory.
Finally, praising God shifts your focus from your failures to God himself. It is such a liberating truth. Suddenly you’re free of the burden of shame of your failures. So go ahead and praise God for all your failures and he will fight for you for the battle is the Lord’s and victory rests with him.
Sermons come in short and long versions. It can move the hearts of people if delivered well. Many have written scholarly books and articles on homiletics—the art and craft of sermons and preaching. This, in contrast, is an attempt to give an overview to the art and craft of sermons and preaching.
Some sermons bloom like a bud opening into a flower. Others develop like compartments being added to a train-like structure. A few sermons are like thunder and lightning. Some others are like embers glowing in a fire; some like the gentle rain falling on green grass. Certain sermons grow up like building blocks being stacked one upon the other while the most common ones are like a tripod resting on three points.
Anyone can attempt to preach. But God calls certain men and women to preach. If someone recognizes that call, he or she should try to fan into flame the gift that God has given him or her. That requires diligent study and adequate preparation.
When God calls you, the first instinct is to rush ahead and preach. Good. But at the same time do not neglect to spend time with God alone. Read and meditate on God’s Word much; not with a view to gain knowledge or prepare for a sermon. But just to keep unhurried company with Jesus, get to know him close, and allowing him to search your heart and mind.
This is what Jesus meant when he asked you to abide in him. It is a life-long process. When this happens, your sermons will become channels of God’s life flowing through you to people.
Preparation in Prayer
A preacher is a messenger of God. He (when I write he, it includes both men and women preachers) is under authority of God to preach. And the Word of God he is trying to preach is living and active; a two-edged sword, a fire, and a hammer that breaks rock into pieces.
Therefore he has to handle it with care. So he has to listen to God while he is preparing a sermon. He has to spend long hours in prayer before he dares to enter the pulpit to preach.
This is the most neglected aspect in preparation of a sermon. The first instinct is to read some other sermons on the internet, refer books, and try to prepare the skeletal framework of the sermon. That is all good.
But the first thing to do is to pray. Seek God’s face. Ask him to purify your motives in preaching. It can easily be pride; it can be the desire to be famous; it can be to show off your knowledge.
You therefore need to ask God to purify your motives, that the delivery of the sermon be holy to the Lord and all glory be to God alone. Again you need to ask God to cleanse your heart by the precious blood of Jesus, and ask the Holy Spirit to guide the meditations of your heart and prepare the hearts of the audience to receive God’s Word.
When you are focused on preaching God’s Word there can be conflicts at home or other distractions that can easily discourage you. So pray for God to keep you safe in his arms. But when you pray you may not feel any emotional high. You might feel that your prayer is hitting a thick wall and not getting through to heaven. But do not count your prayers as lost.
God is ever listening. And when you pray much, there will come an assurance at some moment—before the sermon, at the time of entering the pulpit or when you are speaking—that God has heard. It is this preparation in prayer that gives your sermon the power needed to touch hearts and minds with the proclamation of God’s Word.
Seeking the Help of the Spirit of God
Even when God employed men across centuries to write the Bible, the real author of the Bible is the Spirit of God. He can bring to life what is written and impart that life to the listeners of the sermon. So seek his help when preaching for wisdom, for authority, and for empowerment to preach.
The Spirit of God cannot operate through an unclean vessel. So seek his help to purify your heart and mind by the blood of Jesus. The Spirit of God will not bless your sermon if you have not done the hard work of diligent study and preparation because you cannot expect to approach God’s Word casually and expect results. The Spirit of God will not operate when the preacher is more interested in airing his own opinions, discussing current events, and using the sermon for political purposes.
The interesting fact is that a preacher might feel totally inadequate, feel lack of courage in his heart, and maybe not physically at his best. The preacher might feel that he will not be able to preach at all. Yet in these moments of weakness, the Spirit of God moves mightily. And when you think that the sermon did not come out well, the Spirit of God would have used it to bring God’s purposes to be fulfilled.
Understanding the Focus
The Bible deals with history, poetry, preaching, prophecy, prayer, promises, commands, instructions, and so on. But the purpose of the Bible is to help us understand God’s intervention in human history through Jesus Christ. And the focus of the Bible is the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross and his shed blood there for the forgiveness of sins. A preacher has to keep this in mind always whatever topic he is called to preach.
The apostles had nothing else to preach. They preached Christ and him crucified. They preached the resurrection of Jesus Christ. This is the gospel. Everything else is secondary.
But know one thing. Preaching Jesus is not popular today. Yet, Jesus himself said that the Law and the Prophets and the Psalms testify about him. So as a preacher you might be talking sacrifices in the Old Testament. You can tell your audience how sacrifices in the Old Testament were a shadow of the cross. You might be talking about Old Testament laws and regulations. You can tell your audience how Jesus came to fulfill the Law and the predictions of the Prophets. You might be preaching on promises in the Old Testament. You can tell your audience that these promises are made real to us through Jesus as we approach God in his name.
So when you prepare a sermon, one question you have to ask yourself is, how can I relate it to Jesus and how can I bring the attention of the audience to the blood of Jesus through this sermon? For whatever a sermon does; whether it inspires, it persuades, it influences, it informs, it entertains; nothing saves but the blood of Jesus. When you have an intent to speak on the blood of Jesus, God will give the wisdom and the communication skill needed to integrate it into the sermon.
Communicating Truth
A preacher is not called to be popular. Instead he is called to preach the truth faithfully. Therefore he cannot please men. Often he becomes a fool for Christ while preaching. He is called to present the truth about sin, unbelief, the wrath of God, the reality of hell, the second coming of Jesus and final judgement. At the same time he is called to preach God’s love, mercy, compassion, and to communicate hope and the certainty of life after death to all who believe and trust in Jesus.
We are called to speak the truth in love. That means we should not preach with a self-righteous attitude—that is with a holier-than-you-all attitude.
Then, there are truths in the Bible which go against popular vote today. It can be in areas of personal holiness, relationships, money management, communication and many other areas. For example, the New Testament teaches that a believer is not to seek to marry an unbeliever. We have an Old Testament example of Wise King Solomon led astray by ungodly wives he married. You have to preach this truth.
Another example is that of mocking, scoffing, gossip, or slander. You have to tell your audience that engaging in all these kind of talk is sin. And according to what Jesus warned there is going to come a time we have to give account for all these.
Now is preaching the truth easy? Absolutely not. As a preacher the first instinct will be that of self-preservation. The second instinct is to please the crowd. The third instinct is to exhibit our knowledge. The next instinct might be to show off our communication skills. And so on. But when preaching the truth takes priority expect people to criticize you or even hate you or speak against you. Great popularity is no indicator of being faithful to preaching the truth.
Communicating Using Stories
Jesus made his teaching memorable by simple stories he used. They are called parables. Many preachers, in an attempt to display their scholarship, forget this powerful tool in their hands. Often relevant stories used to illustrate a truth preached stays in the minds of audiences even when they forget the rest of the sermon. So choose simple stories from your own life, from literature, from what you read on the internet or watched in a movie. The art of storytelling is mastered over time. You need to have a passion for storytelling to succeed.
There are some simple principles that will help you. Keep stories short and simple. Let it highlight one truth or point in your story. If you are using a story in your intro, make sure that it is connected to the main thought of your sermon. It should lead into the body of the sermon.
Too many stories can be an overkill. But using one story or illustration to highlight a point can be really helpful. Stories from the life of missionaries can be really encouraging.
A story that is often told in sermons is that of a small wooden boat a boy made and which was lost when he floated it in running waters. Later he sees that in a shop and buys that. Then he says to the boat, ”Now you’re twice mine: first, I made you, and now I bought you.” This story has been told time and again, but still tells us about how Jesus redeemed us. So try to communicate truths using stories.
Compassion for People
One of the main highlights of Jesus’ life was that he was moved with compassion for people. A preacher is not someone who looks down on people but recognizes that he himself is a sinner saved by grace. When he recognizes that God has shown him great mercy and has forgiven him much, he will display the same compassion to people whom he is preaching to. Such sermons help people to experience the love of God.
But when people preach prosperity, there is no compassion because they are employing deception to mislead the crowd to a gospel which neither Jesus nor his disciples preached. When people preach doctrinal issues more than Christ, they have no compassion because they are ignoring the heart-cry of the audience to experience God. Instead of helping them drink from God’s Word; they muddy the waters so that it becomes impossible to experience God.
Now, compassion for people will not come automatically. It is a burden even Moses found hard to bear. Paul too was burdened by his concern for the churches. Compassion can come only to a shepherd-heart. There is great breaking of heart when you have compassion for God’s people. God moves and touches people through broken and contrite hearts.
Jesus often was burdened when he saw that the people were like a flock without a shepherd. He is looking today for people who will stand in the gap and plead for God’s people like how Abraham did for Lot. Today God’s people are being destroyed because of lack of knowledge, because of the worries of daily living, because of divisions in the church, and because of lack of teaching of God’s word in the church. So speak to people with God’s compassion that in their brokenness, they might find the healing touch of God.
Understanding a Passage
Read a passage thoroughly before you start preparing a sermon. It doesn’t matter if your sermon is based on a text, a topic, or whether it is inductive or deductive or expository or whatever technical term is used to describe your sermon. Read a passage or passages thoroughly before you start preparing. Understand the historical context in which it was written.
There will be literary or grammatical or semantic highlights of the passage you might need to explore (use appropriate hermeneutical/exegetical resources to do so).
For example, Jesus’ sixth word on the cross, “It is finished,’ is one word in the Greek, “Tetelestai.” It means paid in full and was a kind of seal used in transactions of the day when payment was done in full. These kind of details can help the audience better appreciate the truth.
Use the information you gather to supplement the truth you are preaching and not make it the chief focus in your sermon. For example, there is great debate about when Jesus is coming back. Is it pre-tribulation, mid-tribulation, or post tribulation? It is easy to go around explaining all the points and taking your stand on it. But what is the main point? The main point is that it is certain that Jesus is coming soon and we have to be ready looking forward to his coming whenever that might happen; isn’t it?
Try to Have a Grip of the Timeless Message
An example can make it clear. Jonah’s story is one of disobedience. It is as clear as daylight. But in that story is a greater message of God’s compassion and mercy shown to a merciless people (the Ninevites). And God’s great desire to reach out to people who live in ignorance and sin and darkness and bondage with his love and mercy; giving them a chance to repent.
It was the reason why God created the storm and made a big fish to swallow Jonah and to vomit him onto dry land after three days and nights and brought him back to preach a message of repentance. Jonah being in the belly of the fish three days and three nights is referred to by Jesus as a sign of his own resurrection from the dead thus proving him to be Messiah. These are the timeless message here.
Again, when people preach on the parable of the Prodigal Son or the parable of the Good Samaritan, there is a modern trend to read into the story current psychological research and findings. All this is good intellectual exercise. But the bottom line in these stories is the joy of finding someone who was lost and his restoration to fellowship; and showing mercy to a total stranger as an illustration of the teaching of love your neighbour as yourself. Do not miss these timeless messages while dissecting a passage for your sermon.
Help People to Know What Action to Take
“Repent,” is a consistent message of the Bible. It is not just being sorry for your sins. There should be a change in one’s life. Help people understand what action they have to take to make the message real in their lives.
There has to be action if the message has to be effective. If the message does not deal with practical things that has to do with attitudes of your heart, words of your mouth and actions that you take; then it is just an academic exercise.
For example, one of the areas people struggle with is time spent on their mobiles engaging with social media. Telling them to spent time with God might not help. Instead ask them specifically not to touch their mobiles in the morning without having spent an hour reading God’s Word. Well, people might be shocked. But at least they will have an idea about giving God first priority in the morning.
Again, when you teach about maintaining purity, you may need to spell out action that need to be taken. For that, you might need to tell people that they have to run away from sources of temptation like how Joseph did. And how to use Scripture to defeat the devil like how Jesus did saying, “It is written.” And again, how they can claim victory over the devil and overcome him by the blood of the Lamb of God (see Revelation 12:11). And again, how they can use the shield of faith to put out all the flaming arrows of the evil one.
Be Willing to Be Rejected
When you speak God’s Word truthfully, the chances are that you will face rejection. Like how God said to Ezekiel: “You are nothing more than one who sings love songs with a beautiful voice and plays an instrument well, for they hear your words but do not put them into practice (Ezekiel 33:32 NIV 1984).”
The first thing to remember is that people are very much impatient these days. They want to be entertained. They want showmanship on stage. But that is not possible when you preach the Word of God truthfully. So they will complain if it goes a little longer than they expected. Then there will be people who come to advise you about how to tone down your message so that it will suit the congregation.
The greatest offense comes when you preach on sin, the cross, the blood of Jesus, the second coming of Jesus, the wrath of God, coming judgment, and hell. The point is that you cannot be a preacher of God’s Word and at the same time please men. Is it easy? The answer is a big NO.
The Introduction
Preaching is challenging because the audience comprises young and old, men and women and children too. There can be people with all kinds of attitudes and needs in the audience. There will be some who are bored and find listening to sermons a chance to sleep. There will be people who are ready to criticize and find fault with every word you say. Children can be distracted as they may not make much sense of what you say (unless you start with an engaging story they can follow). And there will be those who are playing with their mobiles.
But certainly there will be many who are facing difficulties in life and coming to listen to the sermon to hear an encouraging word from God that can give them hope and courage. So the introduction becomes important as that unveils before them what is coming later in the sermon, and what they can expect to take home from their sermon.
Whatever it be, the introduction should capture attention. It is said that you get around 3 seconds to engage someone as far as a web page is concerned. In speech it could be a little longer. But there should be something in your opening remarks that would hook audiences. There is no universally true method, but you can experiment. Some will succeed; some will fail. It’s all a learning experience.
This is an intro to a sermon I attempted years ago in my youthful enthusiasm:
April 20, 1814 Paris, France.
Napoleon bids farewell to his old guards.
Soldiers of my Old Guard: I bid you farewell. For twenty years I have constantly accompanied you on the road to honor and glory.
February 11, 1861.
President-Elect Abraham Lincoln bids farewell at Springfield, Illinois.
My friends: No one, not in my situation, can appreciate my feeling of sadness at this parting. To this place, and the kindness of these people, I owe every thing. Here I have lived a quarter of a century, and have passed from a young to an old man. Here my children have been born, and one is buried. I now leave, not knowing when, or whether ever, I may return . . . .
11 December 1936
King Edward VIII gave this farewell address after having abdicated the throne of England to marry the lady he loved. This is what he said:
At long last I am able to say a few words of my own. I have never wanted to withhold anything, but until now it has not been constitutionally possible for me to speak.
A few hours ago I discharged my last duty as King and Emperor, and now that I have been succeeded by my brother, the Duke of York, my first words must be to declare my allegiance to him. This I do with all my heart.
[By this time the audience in the church were visibly disturbed thinking that I totally missed the fact this is sermon in a church and not a speech to a secular audience. Then I said:]
2000 years ago,
another man gave a farewell address. And he was no ordinary man. He said:
“Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am (John 14:1–3 NIV 1984).”
If you ask me, I might not attempt this introduction these days; because it is a bit long. But it has one redeeming aspect; that is it succeeded in building the mood of a farewell address. In fact, we shouldn’t forget that Jesus spoke these words to his disciples who were unsettled at heart by the news that Jesus was soon to be betrayed and that he will leave them.
Perhaps this introduction that I attempted was a failure because it violated audience expectation about a sermon introduction too much. Or it might have done its purpose of making the audience listen intently because they thought the preacher had mistaken the sermon to be a speech to a secular audience.
But my point is that, you should try to experiment with new approaches to introductions rather than fit into stereotyped moulds which makes people lose interest at the beginning of your sermon itself. Without any doubt, the worst beginning is: “Today the topic given to me is . . .” They will switch off active hearing and tune out immediately.
Here’s an example of beginning a sermon with a simple illustration or story: Speech on Gratitude.
The Conclusion
Many preachers summarize the points they had said. Others focus on the call for action. Some end with a brief story that crystallizes the main emphasis of their sermon in the minds of the audience. Whatever it be, the conclusion is perhaps the most important part of the sermon and the time when perhaps the audience interest will be very high. So be ready to go for a strong conclusion and do not leave it to chance. Be thoroughly prepared with a conclusion.
The following conclusion was planned but the question at the end came at that particular moment. I would say it was God-given. “The Bible is a book of invitations. Jesus called disciples to himself saying, “Come, follow me.” In Matthew 11:28, Jesus says, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened.” At the last day of the Feast of tabernanacles Jesus cried out saying, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink.” The Book of Revelation ends with a picture of the River of the Water of Life flowing. And the Spirit of God and the bride say, “Come!” Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life.” Are you thirsty? Amen.
Sometimes preachers make the mistake of taking too much time with one point and then finding that they have to rush through other points. This gives the false impression that one point was more important than all the others. Or in a much worse judgement; the audience will think of the sermon as poorly constructed. Don’t worry too much if this has happened to you. That is how it is in the beginning days of preaching. It is only with experience that this sense of balance to be maintained will become part of your strength in preaching.
The lack of balance happens for several reasons. One point is more dear to you and you spend much more time on it. But what can be more true is that you fail to think-through the other points. See, borrowed ideas has to be made your own. You should take time to prayerfully think-through those ideas in the light of God’s Word. You have to develop that thought. It takes time. Failure to do so is what often results in lack of balance.
Or it can be because you have too many points. For example, if you find that Point #1 and Point #2 have been well-developed in a 3-point sermon; and there is not full maturity of thought with Point #3; it is better that you leave out Point #3 and then develop the first two points to their fullest strength and impact.
Transitions
When you travel on the road signposts help you to navigate. It helps you know where you have reached and how much more you have to travel to reach destination. Similarly a preacher has to employ transitions to help the audience travel along with them. First, second, third is a simple way to help audience understand the main points. At the same time, it is important that you use creative transitions from the intro to the body of the speech.
After giving a quick intro about the story of Eric Liddell, you can use a statement like: So the story of Eric Liddell is a great motivation for us to remain faithful to God’s call in our lives. Or, Eric Liddell and his passion for running should remind us that we too are called to run the race of faith and to finish strong.
Equally important is how you end each segment. When you do so; you should attempt to close that segment before moving forward. Say something like, we have now had a look at how God provides for the needs of his children. Now let us take a look at how God protects his children. Such transitions help the audience to easily have a position check as to exactly where they are at the moment, where they are headed to and how long it might take to reach there.
Audience Focus
A preacher has to be in touch with people. Jesus was always in touch with people. A preacher has to be like that. He has to know what people think, fear, dream about, and struggle with. A preacher’s role is to help people understand that they have a God whom they can approach with freedom, boldness and confidence calling him, “Abba Father.”
A preacher’s role is to help people understand that God cares about them. A preacher’s role is to decrease while God grows big in the minds of the audience. A preacher’s role is not to report what the newspapers discuss about current events or discuss theological jargon but to shine the spotlight on Jesus.
The comment, “It was a good sermon”; though it is pleasing to the preacher’s ears, falls short of, “I was able to experience God through your sermon.”
The Preacher
The preacher is called to preach the foolishness of the cross. He is called to walk close with God. A preacher therefore has to avoid and remove from his life anything that hinders the message of the cross.
A humble heart which is sensitive to the voice of the Holy Spirit and trembles at God’s Word and cleasned and sanctified by the blood of Jesus is what a preacher should be. In every sense, all this is not accomplished in a day or two but is a lifelong process as God chisels away at the preacher shaping him to declare his message with humility as well as Spirit-filled boldness.
After-Sermon Analysis
There is nothing to be surprised if you face depression after a sermon. The classic case of Elijah is enough to understand this. After the mighty demonstration of God’s power on Mount Carmel, he is discouraged.
In a similar way, after a sermon, it is quite natural to be discouraged. It can simply be a case of physical fatigue. Or it can be because you didn’t see God’s fireworks happening. The simplest thing you can do is to thank God that he gave you grace to preach. And leave the results with God. The messenger has only one duty: deliver the message faithfully. People might accept or reject it.
But there is one thing you can do and should do. Revisit your notes a few days later and try to find out where you can improve the presentation. Maybe the sermon might have been better if you had edited out a few sections. Might be you could have quoted a more appropriate verse. You could have improved your conclusion.
Such an evaluation is an attempt to improve on the best you did. Yes, being dissatisfied with your best is one sure way to improve. Learn from the past; but always look forward.
Today is different from yesterday because each one of us is growing up. I am fascinated by the change that is happening. And as you might have guessed by now I am going to talk to you about growing up.
First of all, growing up is an essential part of life. Not one of us can choose to remain a baby or a toddler. Our parents found joy in each stage of our growing up. When we turned over the first time, the first baby steps, the first words, our first day at school and so on.
But our joy came in a different sense. It came as new discoveries about ourselves and the world around us. It is this sense of awareness that makes growing up a joy.
Secondly, growing up is about freedom and responsibility. When we were young, we had to depend on our parents for everything. Slowly but surely as we started growing up, each one of us became independent in varying degrees. There is a tendency in our teens to rebel and look down on others as we exult in our new-found freedom.
But that is being short-sighted because there is a long journey ahead of each one of us and in a short time we will learn that we have to depend a lot on others to succeed in life.
So freedom is to be used with restraint and caution and also with a sense of responsibility. Let us remind us ourselves of Nehru’s words in his Tryst with Destiny speech that rang out in that midnight hour of freedom where he said: “Freedom and power bring responsibility.”
Thirdly, growing up is about leaving things behind. No one else said it more poetically than St. Paul who said, “When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me.”1
Yes, there is a lot of emotional and childish habits, reactions, and behaviour that we need to leave behind. That is a sure sign of growing up and becoming a man or woman in a true sense of what that means.
Fourthly, growing up is about coping with and adapting to changes. There are changes that affect our physical appearance, emotional make up and thinking patterns. These are needed to make us ready for our life ahead. Some of us might find these changes delightful, others may find it a bit uncomfortable especially when it comes to becoming self conscious in front of others.
Some of us shy away from the limelight; others are daring in their adventures. Yet the fun of it is learning to cope with change.
Finally, growing up is about looking ahead with hope. The future is uncertain. In spite of careful planning, things can go wrong. But even when darkness falls; you can trust God with your future. I cannot stress that thought enough: the antidote to fear of the future in an ever changing world is trust in an unchanging God.
Let me conclude. Growing up is an exciting part of life. Along with new discoveries can come new interests, hobbies, peer pressure, and new temptations. There can be the pressure of expectations of parents, teachers, and friends. There can be the challenge of making mistakes and facing criticism for our failures too. But none of these things need to discourage us.
For as the poet Robert Browning in his poem Rabbi Ben Ezra says,
Grow old along with me!
The best is yet to be,
The last of life, for which the first was made:
Our times are in His hand
Who saith “A whole I planned,
Youth shows but half; trust God: see all, nor be afraid!”
Therefore this is my call to you today my friends. Grow old along with me! The best is yet to be!
Ask! Seek! Knock!1 Here are three words that can change your life. Those words come to you from the One who changes lives and transforms the hearts of people.
Ask! Seek! Knock! Those three words invite you to approach God with freedom, boldness, and confidence. It is an invitation to come and know the Giver before you look at the gift.
Ask! Seek! Knock! These three words increase in intensity. Ask begins the search, seek intensifies it, and knock is desperation. Only those who have a real desire to connect with God get answers to prayer.
Ask! Seek! Knock!! But why should you ask? God already knows what you need; doesn’t he? Then why ask? Good question. You need to ask. Only then will you know whether you really need what you ask. Sometimes in the process of asking you realize the foolishness of what you started asking for. And that is a eureka moment! It is that moment when you come to your senses.
Ask! Seek! Knock! God has kept hurdles that you may develop character. He is more interested in putting boldness and courage in you by his delays and denials to your requests. But none of that is meant to hurt you.
Ask! Seek! Knock! You need to get your eyes opened wide. God has bigger plans for you. Often you limit him by going to him with a begging bowl. Let me ask you, do children beg at home? Those three words, Ask! Seeek! Knock! are meant for children. You are one of God’s children; aren’t you?
Ask! Seek! Knock! Jesus always prayed with the confidence that his Father in heaven heard him. There was no doubt; no uncertainty; and no confusion. Why? Because he always did what pleased his Father. And always sought to do his Father’s will. So when you Ask! Seek! Knock! it will be surely answered when you earnestly wish to do what God wants you to do.
Ask! Seek! Knock! Finally, when Jesus prayed, he had an utterance of thanks in his lips and in his heart. That is faith in action; when you thank God for the answer even when there is no possibility of an answer. For God “gives life to the dead and calls things that are not as though they were.”2
Therefore, Ask! Seek! Knock! Those three words can truly change your life!
“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.” — Jesus Christ in his Sermon on the Mount 1(Matthew 7:7, 8 Bible NIV).
Techniques and tips might help but those don’t bring success to you in interviews. You have to choose to have what it takes to succeed. Failures in interviews happen not by chance, but because you did not care enough to choose what helps you succeed. So what helps you succeed in interviews? Of course, the choices you make. Come on, let’s take a look at them:
One, have a grip of fundamentals. Brush up your knowledge of the basics of your subject before you attend interviews. It is the simple questions that are likely to trip you rather than questions that probe deep into the subject.
Two, if you have passion for what you do and what you have applied for it will show. So be genuinely interested in the profile and the organisation you are seeking an entry to. Make them know your skills set match what they are looking for.
Three, interviews are not decided only by the correct answers you give. It is more or less decided by the confidence about you you are able to inspire in the interview board. You can inspire confidence by your knowledge, your attitude, your past performances, your passion, the clarity of your answers, and the intensity or burning desire with which you are focused on getting through.
Four, past experiences can be assets if you can tell them convincingly to prove your leadership, communication, organising, or other skills. Be prepared with stories of how you exhibited your skills in the past. Even if it was a project or assignement which was done by a group make sure you highlight your role in the effort.
Five, good communication skills do help a lot. When combined with a positive attitude it is a winning duo. A little bit of being persuasive in communication is good; no need to be aggressive. Attending some training program just before the interview can help; but it cannot match with long-term preparation in developing communication skills. The least you can do is to listen to good English on a regular basis.
Six, you can only be who you are. The interview board will easily pick out whether you have fear, whether you are biased, whether your real ambition lies somewhere else, whether you harbour resentment or you have gratitude, whether you are responsible or someone who plays the blame game, whether you pursue excellence or chase wishful thinking and so on. So be yourself and build character right from school days; though it is never late to begin.
Finally, it is a personal thought. Sometimes you don’t make it in spite of your best effort. That doesn’t make you a failure. If you trust God, then know that he opens and closes doors. In the end a closed door can be the best thing to have happened. For failure in an interview is not the final word, if you can still believe, hope and trust for better days ahead.
Joy getting the better of fear is what public speaking can be to you. A right perspective about you the messenger, about the message, and about the audience will help you to get rid of stage fright and speak with joy.
One, joy is about the messenger. That is you. You might have thoughts of unworthiness and insignificance. Others might remind you of your smallness and that you are good for nothing. Let them do so. But when God values you as an individual and loves you;you can rise above the negative evaluation others make about you and deliver your speech with conviction, clarity, confidence, and impact.
Two, joy is about the message. You cannot speak well without a solid message. There is no style without substance and style can never compensate for lack of substance. So go for an all out preparation and get ready material for your speech. Let it be interesting, informative, and inspiring. In certain situations it has to be persuasive or entertaining. Unless you are convinced about what you speak, you cannot expect the audience to be moved by what you say.
Three, joy is about the audience. Many fear to look at the audience, be it big or small. Others worry about, “What will the audience think about me? You have to believe that the audience is for you and eager to listen to you. There will always be a few in any audience who are bored. Do not focus on that minority. And do not fear criticism. If you do anything worthwhile it will come. Remember, without the audience, there is no public speaking.
The messenger, the message, and the audience make public speaking happen. It can easily be, in the words of John Keats, a thing of beauty and joy for ever.
Many people are disappointed with prayer; maybe you too are! In this short speech you’ll discover four reasons why your prayers can go unanswered. Do keep in mind that your failure to wait to listen to God in prayer contributes to the problem of unanswered prayer as much as the four reasons that are going to be mentioned.
Prayers can go unanswered when your asking is not with right motives. God’s searchlights penetrate and light up every nook and corner of your heart. It shows up what you hide.
And when your lips say one thing and your heart means something else, that means you are asking with wrong motives and those prayers can go unanswered.
Faith looks more at the Giver than at the gift you expect to get. If this kind of faith is absent, then prayers can go unanswered.
Prayers can go unanswered when there is no persevering in prayer. God is not an ATM that delivers cash when you put in your card. He is more interested to see you grow in character. Therefore like a wise parent, he often delays answers to prayer. That will make some people quit praying. But those who are desperate for answers to prayer keep on praying.
This is not vain repetition but it is more of a “Do not give up” attitude Jesus taught about prayer. When this kind of perseverance is absent, prayers can go unanswered.
Prayers can go unanswered when they are not in tune with God’s will. This is very perplexing to many. We wish one thing to happen and we pray about it, and it does not happen. We become angry with God about it. Quite natural that we react like that. Yes, there are questions to which we don’t have any answers to.
Therefore Jesus taught us to pray to God, “Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” If our desire is in contradiction to God’s will, that prayer can go unanswered.
Finally, let me end by saying God is interested in answering your prayers. But he is more interested in changing you to be ready for the answers when he is pleased to give them to you.
So pray with right motives, pray in faith that God will answer prayer, pray with perseverance, and ask God for wisdom to pray according to his will.
“The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles. The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” — Psalm 34:17. 18 Bible NIV 1984.
All Sermonettes List In these speeches you’ll find hope in God to meet the challenges that you face in life!
