Prayer I: The Arrow Prayer

We tend to get discourage when we see so much pain nowadays because we think: "What can I do? What can I do to help so many people damaged for the natural disasters, the ones running away with their families from wars and violence, sicknesses, human trafficking, etc., etc., etc.?!"

There is something you can do. YOU CAN PRAY!

We despise the power of prayer when we think: "The only thing I can do about it is to pray."

Don't pay attention to those that say: "I agree, we can pray, but if we are going to pray, let's do it right!" They mean that we have to pray in certain ways in order for the prayer to be effective. They're wrong. It's not necessary to pray a very long prayer at the top of your lungs, fasting and on our knees in order for the prayer to be effective. Jesus already did effective our prayer! Jesus made our prayers to avail much because He made you just! (James 5:16, Romans 5:1)

Sister Esthercita Lu, one member of Camino de Vida's intercessors team, taught me what she called the Arrow Prayer, based on the account of Nehemiah chapter one and two.

Nehemiah was the king's cupbearer on that time. It happened that, while he was serving wine to the king, the king noted that Nehemiah was sad, so he asked him if everything was ok. Nehemiah told him that his people was suffering, and then the king said to him: "What do you request?" The Bible says that "Nehemiah prayed to the God of heaven and answered" (Nehemiah 2:1-5).

Now, I want you to realize that Nehemiah didn't go aside to get on his knees and pray "properly", neither he told to the king that he'd answer him after a three days of fasting and whipping. Nehemiah was serving wine to the king, and that very moment, he prayed.

How would've Nehemiah prayed?! How do you imagined it? Well, it definitely wasn't more than a whisper. I am sure that it was a very silent and almost inaudible "God, help me!", "God, put words in my mouth!" But the Bible has it registered as to Nehemiah prayed.

Do not despise when you pray in the street, on the bus, walking, in the shower, or any other moment that you remember something and for which you say a: "Father, do something for it", "God, bless them", etc. My wife Cecilia, every time she hears an ambulance's or firefighter's siren, she prays for them for a few seconds. Don't think that because you don't do it with the "right gestures and positions" following the right liturgy, your prayer isn't effective. Remember that you don't make effective your prayer with your method you pray. Jesus made your prayer effective with his sacrifice!

So, pray more for what is going on in the world today. Prayer in every moment! Jesus said that we should ask the Father for His will to be done on earth as it is in heaven (Matthew 6:10). Pray with the confidence that the ears of the Father are attentive to your prayer (Psalms 34:!5), and with the confidence that EVERY WORD you say is heard and received!

Hope it helps!

New Year or New You?

Most people in this time of the year start to share what they wish for next year: more health, more opportunities, more family union, etc. The problem resides in that most of them wait for those improvements just to happen, and few are the ones that take responsibility for that to happen.

If you think that this year 2017 was equal to 2016, and this one was equal to 2015, and so on, I think that the problem doesn't reside in the years, but in you. And I can assure that, without fear to be wrong, that for you, if you don't change, 2018 will be equal too.

Instead of wishing for 2018 to be different, take responsibility of yourself so you can be different, and you will see that you'll have more authority and power to make the changes you need.

If you didn't like your 2017, don't blame 2017. Of course you didn't have control over the things that happened to you, but you did have control over your response. And it'll be so in 2018. As John Maxwell says: "You don't have control over the winds, but you do over the sail". 

The Bible teaches in Ecclesiastes 9:11 that opportunity come to all. That's means that in 2017 you did have opportunities, and that's means that in 2018 you'll still have them. So, will you be prepared for them? Will you have the right attitude? Will you expectant everyday for them to come or will you still be lamenting for the ones you lost?

I encourage you to have a more-than-a-conqueror attitude all 2018, knowing that your Heavenly Father will be with you all the time to help you in any situation you might go through. No more lamenting and no more complaints! Your Father has given you all what you need to see your dreams come true!

The Power that Jesus gave to my Son

When Juan Esteban was two years old often suffered from nightmares. My wife and I were so worried because we saw his little face full of fear when he cried and called us at nights.

One night, I run to his room because he was crying once again, and when he saw me, he hugged me, and then he was frightened as he pointed to one corner of the room. When my wife and I looked at that direction, we saw nothing, but it was obvious that he could see something.

We prayed for many weeks until one day we talked to him about the authority that Jesus has given to him. We could feel that Jesus was talking to him in that moment. We said to him: "Son, Jesus has defeated the devil, he has no power and no authority over you. You can kick him OUT of that place because you have the power of Jesus!"

To be honest, we didn't know how much he understood us until that night, because we didn't wake up anymore because was crying or because he called us, but because we heard him yelling: "Out! Out!" Our son, being only two years old, was kicking the devil out of that place.

(this picture is when he was two)

I am absolutely sure that the answer of our prayers for him was that we felt to talk to him about the authority and power that Jesus gave him. I would never thought to do that because by natural instinct I myself was to defend him, specially at that age, but I can see that my Heavenly Father, who loves him and takes care of him more than me, wanted to defend him Himself. Instead of Juan Esteban depends on me, my Heavenly Father wanted him to depend on Him.

Moral: Better than worrying to take care of your kids all the time, let's teach them that the Almighty One, the Creator of everything, is their Father and that He Himself defends them.

I really hope this may bless you!

Believe that you'll take it, and it'll come

Mark 11:24 says that all we ask in prayer, if we believe that we'll receive it, it will come to us. But the word that it's been translated "receive", in greek means "take". Then, Mark 11:24 should say: "Therefore, I tell you that everything you ask in prayer, believe that you will take it, and it will come."

What Jesus was teaching is when you pray, you must believe that you can take what you're asking for, and it will come to you, that's to say, you will have it.

1. "Everything you ask in prayer". In other words, you must pray! When you pray, when you are in the presence of your heavenly Father, your faith is lifted up. Your faith will not be lifted up if you just complain, worry, or think all the time about how impossible is to have that what you wish. Your faith will grow in the presence of your Father and feeding yourself with His Word!

2. "Believe." You decide to believe in God. Of course, it is easier if your faith just naturally grows because you are filling yourself with His Word and practicing His Presence all the time, but there will be times when you just have to BELIEVE NOW. In Mark 5, Jesus said to the principal of the synagogue when he received the bad news of his daughter's dead: "Fear not, just believe." His natural reaction was fearing, but Jesus told him, in other words: "Decide to believe".

3. "That you will take it." Does this imply a little of work from you? Yes, it does! But this work is not for you to be worthy of what you are asking for, but for taking what you already receive by faith when you prayed. Big difference!
The former is through the Law, the latter through faith.
The former would be thanks to your merits, the latter is thanks Jesus's merits.
With the former you'll be worried and stressed, with the latter you'll be in peace, because even though you will go to take what it's yours, you'll know that it is yours thanks to Jesus.
With the former you'll find yourself struggling for your victory, with the latter you'd fight from Jesus's victory.

Once I heard by the radio that a person won a car. The presenter called the winner, who lived outside Lima, to tell him to come the capital to receive his prize. The winner had to go to take what's his. He didn't come to fight for his prize, but just come to take it. His journey to Lima wasn't stressful and full of uncertainty, but full of expectation, excitement and peace. That's the way it should be when we take what we ask for believing we have already received it!

If you are asking for something in prayer to you heavenly Father who loves you, believe that He's already given it to you thanks to Jesus's sacrifice, and you'll see how that confidence of going and taking what's yours will increase inside of you, knowing, besides, that your Father is with you!