Cliff Richard - Millenium Prayer

When we did a series on the Lord's Prayer I wanted to use Cliff Richard's Millenium Prayer but took a long time to track down what I thought was the best version. This is on YouTube, however it is available on a VHS video (maybe now on DVD) called The Lord's Prayer in the series Open House Open Bible from Trinity Vision

The Lords Prayer - Talley Trio

I used this during our series on The Lord's Prayer and it worked very well with what I was saying.

God help the outcasts

Esmeralda's prayer in song from the Disney film The Hunchback of Notre Dame

I don't know if You can hear me Or if You're even there I don't know if You would listen To a gypsy's prayer Yes, I know I'm just an outcast I shouldn't speak to you Still I see Your face and wonder Were You once an outcast too? God help the outcasts Hungry from birth Show them the mercy They don't find on earth The lost and forgotten They look to you still God help the outcasts Or nobody will I ask for weath, i ask for fame I ask for glory to shine on my name I ask for love, i can posess I ask for god and his angels to bless me.. I ask for nothing I can get by But I know so many Less lucky than I Please help my people The poor and downtrod I thought we all were all were The children of god God help the outcasts, Children of God

That's My King

The first video is from Ignite Media www.ignitermedia.com

The second is another version of the same audio with different images. Higher quality copies of this one are available here: http://www.4-14.org.uk/thats-my-king-s-m-lockridge

Great to use during a Sunday service or within a small group.

The late S.M. Lockridge once presented an incredible message, describing our God and who He is. Though God can't be described with just words, this is as close as you can get this side of Heaven.

Some kneeling form

Every work of God can be traced to some kneeling form.

J. John - in UK Focus, Aug 97 (HTB)

Lord, is this a sign?

Norman Cates shared the humorous story of a guy who prayed this prayer every morning: "Lord, if you want me to witness to someone today, please give me a sign to show me who it is." One day he found himself on a bus when a big, burly man sat next to him. The bus was nearly empty but this guy sat next to our praying friend.

The timid Christian anxiously waited for his stop so he could exit the bus. But before he could get very nervous about the man next to him, the big guy burst into tears and began to weep. He then cried out with a loud voice, "I need to be saved. I'm a lost sinner and I need the Lord. Won't somebody tell me how to be saved?" He turned to the Christian and pleaded, "Can you show me how to be saved?" The believer immediately bowed his head and prayed, "Lord, is this a sign?"

Are you looking for a "sign" to start witnessing? It can be found in Matthew 28:19-20 and Acts 1:8.

(Deacon, Jan.-March 1995, p. 34) By way of the Gospel Radio Group

I wish we could all go like that

A man's daughter had asked the local minister to come and pray with her father. When the minister arrived, he found the man lying in bed with his head propped up on two pillows. An empty chair sat beside his bed.

The minister assumed that the old fellow had been informed of his visit. "I guess you were expecting me, he said. 'No, who are you?" said the father.

The minister told him his name and then remarked, "I saw the empty chair and I figured you knew I was going to show up," "Oh yeah, the chair," said the bedridden man. Would you mind closing the door?" Puzzled, the minister shut the door.

"I have never told anyone this, not even my daughter," said the man. "But all of my life I have never known how to pray. At church I used to hear the pastor talk about prayer, but it went right over my head."

I abandoned any attempt at prayer," the old man continued, "until one day four years ago, my best friend said to me, "Johnny, prayer is just a simple matter of having a conversation with Jesus. Here is what I suggest."

"Sit down in a chair; place an empty chair in front of you, and in faith see Jesus on the chair. It's not spooky because he promised, 'I will be with you always'. "Then just speak to him in the same way you're doing with me right now."

"So, I tried it and I've liked it so much that I do it a couple of hours every day. I'm careful though. If my daughter saw me talking to an empty chair, she'd either have a nervous breakdown or send me off to the funny farm."

The minister was deeply moved by the story and encouraged the old man to continue on the journey. Then he prayed with him, anointed him with oil, and returned to the church.

Two nights later the daughter called to tell the minister that her daddy had died that afternoon.

Did he die in peace?" he asked.

Yes, when I left the house about two o'clock, he called me over to his bedside, told me he loved me and kissed me on the cheek. When I got back from the store an hour later, I found him dead. But there was something strange about his death. Apparently, just before Daddy died, he leaned over and rested his head on the chair beside the bed. What do you make of that?"

The minister wiped a tear from his eye and said, "I wish we could all go like that."

Spare Tyre Prayer?

"Is prayer your steering wheel or your spare tire ? "

Corrie Ten Boom - Quoted from the Sermon Fodder email list

What troubles God?

Some people think God does not like to be troubled with our constant asking. The way to trouble God is not to ask at all.

Dwight L. Moody Quoted from the Sermon Fodder Email list

Never mind Jesus

Much of our prayer life is like that of the little boy who found himself losing his balance in a tree that he had climbed. He cried, "Help me Jesus;" but when his pant leg became caught on a branch, He said, "Never mind Jesus. My jeans caught me."

Quoted from net153.com email list

Flying Cats!

A pastor had a little kitten stuck up in a tree, and the kitty would not come down. The tree was not sturdy enough to climb so the pastor decided that if he tied a rope to his car and drove until the tree bent down, he could then reach up and get the kitten. But as he moved just a little too far, the rope broke. The tree snapped upright and the kitten instantly sailed through the air and out of sight.

He felt just terrible and walked all over the neighborhood asking people if they had seen a little kitten. Nobody had and finally he prayed, "Lord, I commit this kitten to Your keeping," and then went about his business. A few days later he was at the grocery store and met one of his church members. In her shopping cart he was amazed to see cat food. Now this woman was a cat hater and everyone knew it, so he asked her why she was buying cat food when she hated cats so much.

She replied, "You won't believe this but I have been refusing to buy my little girl a cat even though she has been begging for one. Finally I told her that if God gives you a cat, I'll let you keep it.

"I watched my child go out into the yard, get on her knees and ask God for a cat. And really, Pastor, you won't believe this but I saw it with my own eyes. A kitten suddenly came flying out of the blue sky with its paws spread out and landed right in front of her. Of course I had to let her keep the kitten since it came from God. . . ."

From The Daily Dilly Quoted from PreachingNow Email list

God respecteth not...

Remember, God respecteth not the arithmetic of our prayers, how many they are; nor the rhetoric of our prayers, how long they are; nor the music of our prayers, how methodical they are; but the divinity of our prayers, how heart-sprung they are. Not gifts, but graces, prevail in prayer.

Trapp - Quoted from http://www.net153.com email list

I asked God ...

I asked God to take away my habit.
God said, "No. It is not for me to take away, but for you to give it up."

I asked God to make my handicapped child whole.
God said, "No. His spirit is whole, his body is only temporary."

I asked God to grant me patience."
God said, "No. Patience is a by product of tribulations; it isn't granted, it is learned."

I asked God to give me happiness.
God said, "No. I give you blessings; Happiness is up to you."

I asked God to spare me pain.
God said, "No. Suffering draws you apart from worldly cares and brings
you closer to me."

I asked God to make my spirit grow.
God said, "No. You must grow on your own! , but I will prune you to make you fruitful."

I asked God for all things that I might enjoy life.
God said, "No. I will give you life, so that you may enjoy all things."

I ask God to help me LOVE others, as much as He loves me.
God said, "Ahhhh, finally you have the idea."

Quoted from www.cybersalt.org email list

Snowflakes

If a snowflake lands on your face it melts very quickly, but hundreds/thousands of snowflakes will stop traffic.

J John - New Wine 1995

Who believes in prayer?

A tale is told about a small town that had historically been "dry," but then a local businessman decided to build a tavern. A group of Christians from a local church were concerned and planned an all-night prayer meeting to ask God to intervene. It just so happened that shortly thereafter lightning struck the bar and it burned to the ground. The owner of the bar sued the church, claiming that the prayers of the congregation were responsible, but the church hired a lawyer to argue in court that they were not responsible. The presiding judge, after his initial review of the case, stated that "no matter how this case comes out, one thing is clear. The tavern owner believes in prayer and the Christians do not."

J.K. Johnston, Why Christians Sin, Discovery House, 1992, p. 129.

The first job each morning

The moment you wake up each morning, all your wishes and hopes for the day rush at you like wild animals. And the first job each morning consists in shoving it all back; in listening to that other voice, taking that other point of view, letting that other, larger, stronger, quieter life come flowing in.

C.S. Lewis

The roots of works of God

Every work of God can be traced to some kneeling form.

J. John - in UK Focus, Aug 97 (HTB)

Lived prayers

The prayers a man lives on his feet are just as important as those he says on his knees.

Disaster on an oil rig

On Sunday afternoon, June 1st 1975, Darrel Dore was on an oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico.

Suddenly it wobbled, tipped to one side, and crashed into the sea. Darrell was trapped inside a room on the rig. As the rig sank deeper and deeper into the sea the lights went out and the room began to fill with water.

Thrashing about in the darkness, Darrel accidentally found a huge air bubble that was forming in the corner of the room. He thrust his head inside it.

Then a horrifying thought sent a shiver down his spine. "I'm buried alive". Darrell began to pray - out loud - and as he did, something remarkable happened. He said later:

"I found myself actually talking to Someone. Jesus was there with me. There was no illumination, nothing physical, but I sensed him, a comforting presence. He was real, he was there."

For the next 22 hours that Presence continued to comfort Darrel. But now the oxygen supply inside the bubble was giving out. Death was inevitable. It was just a matter of time.

Then a remarkable thing happened. Darrel saw a tiny star of light shimmering in the pitch-black water. Was it real? or after 22 hours was he beginning to hallucinate? Darrel squinted his eyes. The light seemed to grow brighter. He squinted again.

He wasn't hallucinating. The light was real. It was coming from a diver's helmet. Someone had found him. His 22 hour nightmare was over. Rescue had come. He was saved.

That true story is a remarkable illustration

God's answers

God's answers are wiser than our prayers.

Unknown

The Christian life is not a constant high

The Christian life is not a constant high. I have my moments of deep discouragement. I have to go to God in prayer with tears in my eyes, and say, 'O God, forgive me,' or 'Help me.'

Billy Graham

ABC's of Prayer

A grandfather was walking past his young granddaughter's room one night when he saw her kneeling beside her bed, with head bowed and hands folded, repeating the alphabet.

"What are you doing?" he asked her.

She explained, "I'm saying my prayers, but I couldn't think of just what I wanted to say. So I'm just saying all the letters of the alphabet, and God can put them together however he thinks best."

Maybe some of the rest of us should have that kind of faith.
As "His Prayer" puts it, "THY will be done."

From The Sermon Fodder Email List

Pray at all times

A group of ministers had met together to study Ephesians 6, and they had just come to the verse "Pray at all times." A maid brought in coffee for the men, and one of them turned to her. He asked her what she thought this verse meant.

She said, "Why, that's exactly what I do each day. When I wash, I think of my sins being washed away. When I light the fire, I think of the bright light that I should be for the Lord Jesus. When I wash the dishes, I think of the kind of utensil I should be for the Lord."

No amount of academic knowledge or theological training could have taught those ministers the beautiful truth they learned from her that day.

From The Sermon Fodder Internet List

Vespers

Little Boy kneels at the foot of the bed,
Droops on the little hands little gold head.
Hush! Hush! Whisper who dares!
Christopher Robin is saying his prayers.

God bless Mummy. I know that's right.
Wasn't it fun in the bath tonight?
The cold's so cold, and the hot's so hot.
Oh! God bless Daddy - I quite forgot.

If I open my fingers a little bit more,
I can see Nanny's dressing-gown on the door.
It's a beautiful blue, but it hasn't a hood.
Oh! God bless Nanny and make her good.

Mine has a hood, and I lie in bed,
And pull the hood right over my head,
And I shut my eyes and I curl up small,
And nobody knows that I'm there at all.

Oh! Thank you, God, for a lovely day.
And what was the other I had to say?
I said 'Bless Daddy,' so what can it be?
Oh! Now I remember it. God bless me.

Little Boy kneels at the foot of the bed,
Droops on the little hands little gold head.
Hush! Hush! Whisper who dares!
Christopher Robin is saying his prayers.

('Vespers' by A.A. Milne, written around 1923)

Cyrus Brown's Prayer

"The proper way for man to pray,"
Said Deacon Lemuel Keyes,
"And the only proper attitude,
Is down upon his knees."

"No, I should say the way to pray,"
Said Reverend Dr. Wise,
"Is standing straight with outstretched arms,
And rapt and upturned eyes."

"Oh, no, no, no!" said Elder Slow,
"Such posture is too proud;
A man should pray with eyes fast closed,
And head contritely bowed."

"It seems to me his hands should be
Austerely clasped in front.
With both thumbs pointing toward the ground,"
Said Reverend Dr. Blunt.

"Las' year I fell in Hodgkin's well
Head first," said Cyrus Brown.
"With both my heels a-stickin' up,
My head a-pointin' down;

"An' I made a prayer right then and there;
best prayer I ever said.
The prayin'est prayer I ever prayed,
a standin' on my head."

"Cyrus Brown's Prayer" by Sam Walter Foss

I knelt to pray when day was done

I knelt to pray when day was done
And prayed, "O Lord, bless everyone,
Lift from each saddened heart the pain
And let the sick be well again."

And then I woke another day
And carelessly went on my way,
The whole day long I did not try
To wipe a tear from any eye.

I did not try to share the load
Of any brother on the road.
I did not even go to see
The sick man just next door to me.

Yet once again when day was done
I prayed, "O Lord, bless everyone."
But as I prayed, into my ear
there came a voice that whispered clear,

"Pause now, my son, before you pray.
Whom have you tried to bless today?
Gods sweetest blessing always go
by hands that serve him here below."

And then I hid my face and cried,
"Forgive me, God, I have not tried,
But let me live another day
and I will live the way I pray."

- Author unknown

He humbly bowed his balding head and sent aloft a prayer

Jake, the rancher, went one day to fix a distant fence.
The wind was cold and gusty and the clouds rolled gray and dense.
As he pounded the last staples in and gathered tools to go,
the temperature had fallen and the snow began to blow.

When he finally reached his pickup, he felt a heavy heart.
From the sound of that ignition, he knew it wouldn't start.
So Jake did what most of us do if we'd have been there.
He humbly bowed his balding head and sent aloft a prayer.

As he turned the key for the last time, he softly cursed his luck.
They found him three days later, frozen stiff in that old truck.
Now Jake had been around in life and done his share of roamin.
But when he saw Heaven, he was shocked - it looked just like Wyomin.

Of all the saints in Heaven, his favorite was St. Peter.
Now, this line, it ain't needed but it helps with rhyme and meter.
So they set and talked a minute or two, or maybe it was three.
Nobody was keepin' score - in Heaven time is free.

"I've always heard," Jake said to Pete, "that God will answer prayers. But
one time I asked for help, well, He, just plain wasn't there. Does God
answer prayers of some, and ignore the prayers of others? That don't seem
exactly square - I know all men are brothers.

Or does he randomly reply, without good rhyme or reason?
Maybe, it's the time of day, the weather or the season.
Now I ain't trying to act smart, it's just the way I feel.
And I was wonderin', could you tell me what the heck's the deal?"

Peter listened very patiently and when Jake was done,
There were smiles of recognition, and he said, "So, you're the one!
That day your truck, it wouldn't start, and you sent your prayer a flying.
You gave us all a real bad time, with hundreds of us a trying.

A thousand angels rushed to check the status of your file.'
But you know, Jake, we hadn't heard from you in quite a while.
And though all prayers are answered, and God ain't got no quota.
He didn't recognize your voice, and started a truck in North Dakota.

Practice makes perfect

Rubenstein, the great musician, once said, "If I omit practice one day, I notice it; if two days, my friends notice it' if three days, the public notice it." It is the old doctrine, "Practice makes perfect." We must continue believing, continue praying, continue doing His will. Suppose along any line of art, one should cease practicing, we know what the result will be. If we would only use the same quality of common sense in our religion that we use in our everyday life, we should go on to perfection.

Have a nice day

As you got up this morning, I watched you, and hoped you would talk to me, even if it was just a few words, asking my opinion or thanking me for something good that happened in your life yesterday. But I noticed you were too busy, trying to find the right outfit to wear.

When you ran around the house getting ready, I knew there would be a few minutes for you to stop and say hello, but you were to busy. At one point you had to wait, fifteen minutes with nothing to do except sit in a chair. Then I saw you spring to your feet. I thought you wanted to talk to me but you ran to the phone and called a friend to get the latest gossip instead. I watched patiently all day long.

With all your activities I guess you were too busy to say anything to me. I noticed that before lunch you looked around, maybe you felt embarrassed to talk to me, that is why you didn't bow your head. You glanced three or four tables over and you noticed some of your friends talking to me briefly before they ate, but you didn't. That's okay.

There is still more time left, and I hope that you will talk to me yet. You went home and it seems as if you had lots of things to do. After a few of them were done, you turned on the TV. I don't know if you like TV or not, just about anything goes there and you spend a lot of time each day in front of it not thinking about anything, just enjoying the show. I waited patiently again as you watched the TV and ate your meal, but again you didn't talk to me.

Bedtime - I guess you felt too tired. After you said goodnight to your family you plopped into bed and fell asleep in no time. That's okay because you may not realize that I am always there for you. I've got patience, more than you will ever know. I even want to teach you how to be patient with others as well.

I love you so much that I wait everyday for a nod, prayer or thought or a thankful part of your heart. It is hard to have a one-sided conversation.

Well, you are getting up once again. And once again I will wait, with nothing but love for you. Hoping that today you will give me some time.

Have a nice day! Your friend, GOD

The job of the teacher

The following illustration may be American but the same sentiments apply to the UK!

Let me see if I've got this right. You want me to go into that room with all those kids and fill their every waking moment with a love for learning. Not only that, I'm supposed to instil a sense of pride in their ethnicity, behaviourally modify disruptive behaviour, observe them for signs of abuse and T-shirt messages.

I am to fight the war on drugs and sexually transmitted diseases, check their backpacks for guns and raise their self-esteem. I'm to teach them patriotism, good citizenship, sportsmanship and fair play, how and where to register to vote, how to balance a check book and how to apply for a job.

I am to check their heads occasionally for lice, maintain a safe environment, recognize signs of potential antisocial behaviour, offer advice, write letters of recommendation for student employment and scholarships, encourage respect for the cultural diversity of others, and, oh yeah, always make sure that I give the girls in my class 50 percent of my attention.

I'm required by my contract to be working on my own time summer and evenings at my own expense toward advance certification and a master's degree; and after school, I am to attend committee and faculty meetings and participate in staff development training to maintain my employment status.

I am to be a paragon of virtue larger than life, such that my very presence will awe my students into being obedient and respectful of authority. I am to pledge allegiance to supporting family values, a return to the basics, and to my current administration. I am to incorporate technology into the learning, and monitor all Web sites while providing a personal relationship with each student. I am to decide who might be potentially dangerous and/or liable to commit crimes in school or who is possibly being abused, and I can be sent to jail for not mentioning these suspicions.

I am to make sure all students pass the state and federally mandated testing and all classes, whether or not they attend school on a regular basis or complete any of the work assigned. Plus, I am expected to make sure that all of the students with handicaps are guaranteed a free and equal education, regardless of their mental or physical handicap. I am to communicate frequently with each student's parent by letter, phone, newsletter and grade card.

I'm to do all of this with just a piece of chalk, a computer, a few books, a bulletin board, a 45 minute more-or-less plan time and a big smile, all on a starting salary that qualifies my family for food stamps in many states. Is that all?

And you want me to do all of this and expect me NOT TO PRAY?

Quoted from http://www.cybersalt.org Illustrations email list

Worry & Prayer

If we prayed as much as we worry, we'd have a lot less to worry about.

J John - New Wine 1995