Hymn: Sweet Hour of Prayer Bible Passage: Philippians 4:6-7 6 Don't worry about anything, but pray about everything. With thankful hearts offer up your prayers and requests to God. 7 Then, because you belong to Christ Jesus, God will bless you with peace that no one can completely understand. And this peace will control the way you think and feel. (CEV) 6 何事も心配してはなりません。 むしろ、どんなことでも祈りなさい。 神様にお願いしなさい。 そして、祈りに答えてくださる神様に感謝するのを、忘れてはなりません。 7 そうすれば、人間の理解をはるかに超えた、すばらしい神様の平安を経験できます。 キリスト・イエスに頼る時、その平安は、あなたがたの心と思いとを静め、安らかにしてくれるのです。(JLB) Introduction: It's so nice to be back here at Hokusei for this new school year. And welcome to English chapel today. For those of you that don't know me, my name is Don Frank. I'm the English Bible teacher and I also teach Oral English here at the junior college. Throughout our chapel times this week, we've been observing the anniversary of the Tohoku earthquake and tidal wave. I remember that so very clearly and watched it on television every day. It was such a shock for me. During that time, so many people around the world were praying for Japan. In fact, many, many people are still praying for this country! And it's this topic of prayer that I'd like to talk about with you today. What do you think about prayer? What is prayer? Does it really have any effect? Often when we humans have problems, we try our best to find answers by our own power first. Then if that doesn't work, we just say, "Oh, I guess I'll pray about it." I'm going to suggest to you today that prayer should be your first choice - not your last choice! 1. Learn to Pray Often - Let's take another look at our Bible passage for today. It says in Philippians chapter 4, verse 6, "Don't worry about anything, but pray about everything. With thankful hearts offer up your prayers and requests to God." God truly wants us to pray about everything! We should take everything to God, not only the big things but the little things too. Every day as we go about our daily lives, we should carry on a non-stop conversation with God. We should enjoy talking to God about everything in our lives. We never know what is coming in the future, so we should talk to the God who made this whole universe - He knows! Let me give you an example. I had a personal experience about praying in my first year of university that I'd like to share with you today. One day, I was outside in the parking lot in front of my apartment building and I was changing the tires on my car. I had the car jacked up and I was taking off one of the back tires. I set the tire down on the ground and I was sitting with my legs under the car. All of a sudden the jack slipped and the car began to fall. I didn't have time to say anything else but "God help!" I felt my legs being pushed apart and the car fell right down between my legs! Crash! As an answer to my two-word prayer, I believe that God sent an angel and pushed my legs apart so that the car would not fall on me! That day I learned 3 very important lessons: 1. God is always watching out for us, 2. God uses angels to help us and, 3. We should pray in any situation! I not only prayed about my immediate problem, but after it was finished I took the time to thank God for his help and his protection. I can tell you for sure from this situation that God does indeed answer prayer! 2. Know that Prayer Changes Your Life - Our Bible passage for today goes on to say in verse 7, "Then, because you belong to Christ Jesus, God will bless you with peace that no one can completely understand. And this peace will control the way you think and feel." Did you know that prayer can change your life? That's what God's Word says! The more we pray, the more God will change our lives and give us a really deep sense of peace. Let me share another very well-known Christian story with you this afternoon. The famous American preacher, Billy Graham, wrote this story in his 1975 book, Angels: God's Secret Agents: John Paton was an early missionary to the New Hebrides Islands (the country we call today, Vanuatu, off the northeast coast of Australia). He told a thrilling story about angels and the power of prayer. Angry natives came to attack his home one night. They were going to burn down the house and kill the missionary and his family. John and his family prayed all during that terrible night that God would save them. When daylight came, they were amazed to see that the attackers had left. They thanked God so much for saving them. A year later, the chief of the tribe became a Christian and Mr. Paton remembered what had happened that one night. He asked the chief what had stopped him and his men from burning down the house and killing them. The chief replied in surprise, "Who were all those men you had with you there?" The missionary answered, "There were no men there; just my family and I." The chief argued that they had seen many men standing guard - hundreds of big men in shining clothes with bright swords in their hands. They stood in a circle around the missionary's home so that the natives were afraid to attack. Only then did Mr. Paton realize that God had sent His angels to protect them. The chief agreed that there was no other explanation. As an answer to the missionary's prayer, God had sent many angels that night to protect them! And because of this one missionary's prayer, many lives were changed completely! The missionary's life was strengthened! The chief of the village was saved! Plus all the people who have heard this story over the years have found wonderful power in prayer! Conclusion: So now, where do you stand on the topic of prayer? Do you still think it's only a last resort? I hope you will join me today in believing that God answers prayer. Let's pray often about all things in our lives. And then when God brings his answer to us, let's be sure to thank God from the bottom of our hearts for the wonderful power source of prayer! Closing Prayer: Dear Heavenly Father, I want to thank you so very much for this English chapel time today. Thank you for all of our teachers, workers and our students here at Hokusei. God bless them today as they work in their offices and as they go to their classes to teach and to learn. Dear Lord, walk with each of us, hold us close to Yourself and always remind us of the wonderful chance we have to talk to you anytime we want. I pray all these things now in the precious name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen. God bless you today in everything you do! ✞ I hope you enjoy talking to God often!
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About This PageThis is my personal space to share my messages and thoughts about Hokusei English Chapel and the things that God brings in to my life. Archives
October 2015
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