Hoping against hope?

The word 'hope' is used quite sarcastically in the world today.
For eg: If I say, "I hope to come tomorrow" - it may most probably mean, that i might not come (or) I wish not to come.
It doesn't give a certainty or an assurance which can be guaranteed.
It has a lot of negative connotations to it.
Whereas on the contrary, biblically speaking, HOPE is always the assurance of things to come!
It's something which brightens up our life.
It's something which we live for!

Luke 24:21 - "... but we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel. And what is more, it is the third day since all this took place".

Here the 2 disciples were on their way back to Emmaus from Jerusalem. It was a long walk (7 miles / 11.2 kms away), but they were willing to take that gruelling walk back, and what more - but with a sense of hopelessness & despair.
Their hope seems to have been dashed.

We see that these 2 disciples had come on a journey this far because of the hope they had. And their expectations were based on that hope - although it was a false 'hope'.
Jesus did not promise what they had hoped for!

On hindsight, these 2 were on the verge of experiencing even something spectacular, when they decided to take that long walk back.
Never mind, how far they had come .. but at the verge of experiencing a new thing, they had given up.

• Where are we today?
• Have we come on a journey expecting something from God?
• Are we disappointed that we are not experiencing that?
• Are we calling it quits, because our hopes are dashed?

Don't give up yet - you may just be on the verge of experiencing His newness in life.

Perhaps your hopes are based on something which is not quite right.
These 2 had a wrong perception of the Messiah - that He was going to literally redeem Israel from the Roman Empire.


The 3rd day after crucifixion was a significant day - it was the day of Resurrection - when the bondage was broken; when the curse over death was shattered.
They even got to hear about the witness from the ladies who had visited the tomb early that day - but because of the pre-conceived idea they had about the Messiah, they couldn't come to grips with what had happened.

Don't quit.
Keep hoping in God.
Keep trusting in His promises.

These 2 disciples had the privilege of having an encounter with the Lord, although they had turned back - but not many have that privilege.

Let's not give up! Let's hope against the hopelessness and despair which the world throws at us.
Let's trust in His promises - promises, based on His Word.

How to Pray?

I find praying boring at times, in fact most of the times :-)
And that's mainly due to the fact; my prayer turns out to be a monologue, without any interaction.

However, when I am talking with friends, I usually do less talking, unless the situation calls me to talk more :-) And that's the nature of my personality.
If such conversation with a friend is a monologue, it usually means the other person is speaking and not me -- and I am not interested in it for too long.
If I am the one who is doing the talking, I can't do it for too long anyway .. as some are in the habit of doing [all the time]!

I 'prefer' a dialogue than a monologue - but that doesn't happen too often in prayer.
When it comes to prayer, I am quick to show the 'one-way' traffic sign.

And the moment I am finished with saying what I wanted to, I sign off.

Usually such things happen because I don't follow any particular method in praying. It's ad hoc!

When such prayer times are finished, I feel like I have finished a 'job' for the day, so I can tick on one more task completed!


A while ago, when I preached on Prayer in a local church here, I was asked the question: "Ok, I know that I need to pray and all that; but how do I pray?"
And this question came from an elder in the church, and not a new believer.

Surprising isn't it?

But when I started to think about it - the question which I was faced with was: DID I KNOW HOW TO PRAY? Or did I just assume, I knew, because I had done it for over 2-3 decades now - albeit on & off :-(

So, I started to put some things together on what is prayer and how to pray - which would help us to get into a discipline of praying regularly.
I seriously feel that unless it's done regularly it doesn't form into a habit. We have to inculcate the value of prayer, by doing that often & experiencing the change it brings to our life.

I am not saying that this is the only way to pray, or is the only way to get started with praying - but it certainly helps us have a meaningful time of prayer.

I have used PRAYER as an acrostic and have expanded it to make it easily memorable, for those who don't have it as a 'bookmark' guide.
To view the bookmark, please click on it, to see an enlarged version.

PRAISE HIM - for who He is / use the Names of God to acknowledge His greatness / worship Him

READ THE WORD - have a regular pattern for reading, otherwise it doesn't happen (meditate on the Word / reflect on what you read and how you can apply it)

APPRECIATE HIS WORKS IN YOUR LIFE - thank Him for what He has done for you

YOUR NEEDS / PERSONAL PRAYER - bring your worries and concerns to God

EXTERNAL NEEDS / ENGAGING IN PRAYER FOR OTHERS - INTERCESSION - pray for your family / friends / church / unsaved neighbours / peers / nation - leaders

RE-COMMIT TO GOD / INVITE GOD TO BE WITH YOU - as Him for strength and ask Him to teach you His ways - invite Him to be with you and commit to walking with Him.

Obedience to God

John 2:7,8 - Jesus said to the servants, "Fill the jars with water"; so they filled them to the brim.
Then he told them, "Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet". They did so.

I sometimes wonder, if I am doing what God wants me to do!
It's a mixture of things which makes me wonder like that:
- am I hearing God right?
- if I did what I believe I heard, then will I see the desired result?

The questions can be unending.
And usually the questions come because I am thinking too much of the implications. And I am just reminded that all God wants me to do is 'come to Him with a child-like faith'.

Mary, the mother of Jesus, knew that Jesus had the potential to do something extra-ordinary (vs.3), even though He hadn't done anything spectacular up until then.
Though Jesus refused (vs.4); she told the servants to do whatever He tells them to do (vs.5).

In vs.7 - Jesus tells them to fill the jars with water .. and they quickly obey.
No questions asked.
And interestingly, the servants filled it to the 'brim'.
They took Jesus quite literally. Jesus said FILL, and they filled it :-)
Maybe, it could be as a mockery, but nonetheless they did what Jesus asked them to.
Notice, that they made sure that nothing else can be added to it. Even if Jesus had a magic potion, to mix ... it wasn't possible!

And at the very next breath, he says in vs.8 to take it to the master of the banquet.
I am sure the servants should have objected and raised a protest now!
But strangely they didn't!

And it's out of that obedience; we get to read about His first miracle.

Are we waiting for a miracle from God today?
Why not just obey Him as a child?
The more we resist, the difficult it is for us to experience His miraculous touch.

Maybe, you are waiting for a miracle which has never ever happened before - He can do it!
The question is: Are you willing?

Obey Him, doesn't matter how insignificant it may seem.
The miracle is close at hand.