SCRIPTURE:
"After Jesus had gone indoors, his disciples asked him privately, "Why couldn't we drive it out?" He replied, "This kind can come out only by prayer." (Mark 9:28-29, NIV)

Observations:
I asked myself what was the interaction between the disciples and Jesus?
The Disciples: "Why couldn't we drive it out (the demon)?"
Jesus: "This kind can come out only by prayer."

Interpretations:
I asked myself the significance of the interaction between Jesus and the disciples?
The significance lies in the fact that the disciples may have thought that they had faith to be able to heal the demon possessed boy and believed they could but it did not happen and the demon still stayed in the boy. This perplexed the disciples very much that they were troubled enough to ask Jesus privately why they could not drive it out if Jesus could. Jesus' answer is very profound because He does not tell them that they lacked faith to do the healing here but what they lacked was total dependence on the Lord to take His help that comes through prayer. Prayer shows our faith. By not praying, their faith did lack! Jesus was addressing all 12 as a community that none of them really prayed. Jesus was also emphasizing corporate prayer and intercession.

Implications:
I saw important implications for my own life here. I realized faith alone is not enough if I want to help people who are struggling against demonic possession that can come in many shapes and forms. Most of them are bondages people are held captive to and in today's society that bondage seems to hinge on sexual sins that are practiced such as pornography, homosexuality, masturbation, fornication, etc but is not limited to sexual sins alone. People can also be held bondage to alcoholism, pride, and so many other sins that are controlled and manifested by the evil one. I learned only through constant prayer to the Lord can I bring eventual deliverance in people's lives and even in my life in certain areas. The time of deliverance maybe painful and hard but Christ will not abandon. But more than individual prayer, I realized the importance of corporate and communal prayer of intercession for those who are struggling to see the Lord's deliverance. Jesus promises that there are situations that people can be healed and delivered through the power of prayer.

Sadly, many of us have faith that Jesus can do this and that and yet we do not see the full work of the Lord in our lives and in the lives of those we love because we all lack a crucial component and that is the component of prayer.  We don't pray as much as we should to see the Lord's deliverance at Hand. He offers His deliverance using us but He wants us to totally depend on Him through prayer. Jesus wants us to corporately pray in a community. As we continue to do that, we will have deeper faith, see stronger community, and have greater impact. This is the vision of Pittsburgh Chinese Church-Oakland and Oakland International Fellowship.

This promise alone from Jesus should excite us to pray because Jesus tells us through prayer we can even cast out demons of oppression that plague people's lives. Wow! I believe Jesus is emphasizing individual prayer times and communal prayer times to make us see the importance of prayer and the difference a  community of intercessors who are seeking the Lord makes. That is so exciting!

HOW GOSPEL GIVES ME TESTIMONY REGARDING P.R.A.Y.E.R:
One of my favorite times of Sunday worship at Oakland International Fellowship was when we as a congregation would raise our hands to share praises and prayer requests we had. Then, three people would pray, one from the left side and right side of the pew and then finally the one facilitating the intercession time would close out the prayer before the Lord Jesus Christ. I saw so many of my requests being answered and saw all kinds of deliverance happening not only in my own life but in the lives of others I loved. I started having deeper faith because I knew prayer requests were being answered. It also made me experience a stronger community because I knew and was blessed to be prayed for and to see the Lord answer the prayers of His intercessors. That was my favorite time of worship. Time after time, I would see how prayer to the Lord made a difference.

Even recently, members of my church were praying for me that I would get my Friday evenings off and my Sundays off and one day when I showed up at church, it was such a faith builder for many of them because they had just prayed that I could make it to service and after prayer I showed up. That day the Lord was working in my heart and nudging me to hurry up to get to church since I was already running late. I arrived exactly after they prayed. It was the Lord's doing. I also have been able to get my Friday evenings off. Praise the Lord!

You know when I needed prayer answered I would pray to the Lord individually but I would always tell myself that I need to let the congregation know about my prayer requests on Sundays too because when we pray, our prayers get answered. This will also motivate me to come to Sunday worship every morning knowing I could be prayed for and see the Lord's answers come in my life.

I have also witnessed that multiple times with my cell group Living Acts. Prayer is work but the work is finished by the Lord as I totally depend on Him and Him alone. It is only through prayer that I have had opportunities to have greater impact in the lives of others. There can be no deeper faith, stronger community, and greater impact without the component of prayer to the Lord.

Prayer for me is talking to our Heavenly Father daily and interceding on behalf of others remembering 'In nothing be anxious, but in everything by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, let your requests be known to God and the peace of God which surpasses all understanding will keep your hearts and minds quiet at peace as you rest in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:6-7)'

Jesus told the disciples it is through prayer that they could have healed the boy who was demon possessed and in bondage. We too can bring healing in people's lives through prayer no matter what they are going through for their struggles can be brought before the Father waiting upon Him for the answers. We can have deliverance in our own lives too for change is brought by the Lord in our lives. Praise the Lord.

If I knew I could get an answer to my requests when I pray, why lose that opportunity?

But more than that we pray because prayer is open communication with God who loves us so much and wants to have a personal relationship with us as we talk to Him and He talks to us through His Word, His Spirit, and His community. Everything God says will never contradict His Word when He gives us an answer.

It is prayer that makes a huge difference in our lives and the lives of others and we should be excited about that. But none of this will be possible until we know who we are, where we have been, and where we need to be.

We are all sinners held in bondage without the Lord's intervention. Just as Jesus came down the Mount of Transfiguration to heal the demon possessed boy, Jesus also comes to heal us from the sins that plague us and hold us bondage to Satan.

Jesus is able to do that because He paid the ransom to set us free from the oppression of Satan when Jesus went to the cross, died on the cross, and shed His precious cleansing blood to wash us clean and deliver us, coming back on the third day to save. It is His blood that has ransomed us when we have been kidnapped by Satan. Jesus wants to offer us freedom to escape the bondage of sin that we are in.

It is not for anything we have done but all because of His love for us showered upon our lives by His grace. It is His grace that will transform our lives no matter where we have been or what we have done. That is exciting to know that God did not decide to choose you based on how good you are or will be but God chose you because He loves you and wants you to experience His free gift of grace. It is free because you nor I cannot earn it because Salvation is not achieved by any good works we have done or will do. It is achieved on the sole merit of what Christ the Lord did at the cross of Calvary for you and me.

Does this mean I am automatically saved?

I need to accept the free gift of grace that the Lord Jesus has showered upon my life and then I am automatically saved forever. I accept that free gift of grace by praying to the Lord Jesus and asking Him to come into my life and make my heart His home cleaning out all the filth and sin with the solution of His precious cleansing blood to give me a new beginning. When I do that, He will dwell in me through faith. But that faith is manifested and shown through my prayer to the Lord Jesus acknowledging Him as my Lord and Personal Savior who came to save me for Eternity but also to help me escape the power of the evil one in this world as I live my life. This means it is through prayer that God helps me overcome the enemy. As I talk to the Lord, He will talk to me through His precious Word that has power to change lives as it did for me years ago too.

I had faith that Jesus could heal me of my asthma but for me faith alone did not heal my asthma but the time I spent in prayer lifting up my life to Jesus Christ to be my Lord and Personal Savior, that brought not only spiritual deliverance from a religion I was part of but also brought physical and mental deliverance in different areas. Prayer was the key and is still the key for people's deliverance. When I pray I show that I have faith no matter how small that faith maybe and it shows the Lord my total dependence on Him that He alone can deliver and heal. I based my prayer on 'Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow' so what Jesus did then, He can do now too.  You too can make prayer individually and communally part of your life. You don't have to wait but it can happen now!

When I was a small group leader of Living Acts for Pastor Ed, Kristen, Josh, Edwin, Marie, Susannah, Steve, Zela, Bryan, Lyd, Keng, Ling, Ryan, Vicki, and Rachel, it was so encouraging for me to see at least half of them coming to pray with me on Sunday mornings at 9:00 a.m. I was really encouraged by that. It was so encouraging to see so many brothers and sisters from other small groups too come there to pray too. Sundays were saturated with prayer in my life.

As I stepped down as cell group leader, my prayer life suffered too in different ways and I stopped going to the prayer meetings because I was not a leader anymore. What a mistake!!! Prayer time is not just for leaders and  I don't want that to happen anymore. I am so encouraged by this lesson I learned from the Lord as he interacted with the disciples that how important prayer is. Jesus told all of them that they did not pray and that's why the demon could not be released from the boy.

It is exciting to know that the Lord Jesus wants to use you and me to bring answers of deliverance in people's lives of what they are going through. It starts with going down on our knees before the Lord and interceding together for one another. You and I have the opportunity to do that when we come to the Sunday morning prayer meetings sacrificing an hour of sleep so we can be there at 9:00 a.m. You will be amazed with what the Lord can do and will do and the vision of DEEPER FAITH, STRONGER COMMUNITY, and GREATER IMPACT will become a reality so if you are looking for a place to pray on Sunday mornings, I invite you to come to our Sunday morning prayer meeting at 9:00 a.m. at Oakland International Fellowship to start of our Sunday worship in the Upper Room.

I am planning to go starting this Sunday again and I am excited to go knowing 'God hears our prayers, knows our needs, and He will never give us more than we can bear.  So because I believe God is listening..... I am praying for you. There is power and healing...." (Words from the song, I Am Praying For You by Dick and Mel Tunney

You too should join me please friend!

I ask you now dear friend, what place do you really give P.R.A.Y.E.R in your life?
Dear friend, the place you and I give prayer in our lives will determine our own faith and how deep it is, how strong our community will be, and how great of an impact we will make in the lives of others but more than it will impact what kind of relationship we have with the Lord Jesus Christ. Any good relationship is built on good communication, trust, and love. It is no different with the Lord Jesus Christ. When we pray we open the lines of communication with God and let Him know that we do trust Him and do love Him to spend time with Him. We also acknowledge that He alone can bring deliverance in our lives and in the lives of those we love.

Sadly, however we do not spend enough time in prayer but become so task oriented and expect God to bless those tasks because we think we are doing God's work. Hogwash! God's work starts with prayer. We do God's work when you and I pray and give Him the time of day.

This is not done as a ritual or routine because Jesus spoke out against that. It is also not done to show off because Jesus spoke against that too. It is done because we love the Lord and trust in Him knowing He wants us to have a deeper relationship with Him. We pray because He loves us and we love Him. When we pray, He reveals the answers and those answers usually come from His Word. When we pray, we incorporate God's Word and give God's Word back to Him.

For example, "Lord, you told the disciples that they could not cast out the demon because they lacked a time of prayer before the Father. Thank you Jesus that you remind me how important prayer is and that when we have faith and pray, you do answer. I thank you so much for teaching me the importance of prayer and exciting me about prayer. I praise you Lord for that. Please help me Jesus as I claim your promise regarding prayer"

Friend, if you can make it to Sunday morning worship, it starts at 9:00 a.m. and not 10:00 a.m. at Oakland International Fellowship, 134 North Dithridge St, Fifth Ave. I hope you can make it because you will be blessed and will begin a prayer journey with the Lord which will be exciting.

It is prayer that helped Nehemiah rebuild the walls of Jerusalem as he got ideas. It is prayer that built the Pitt-InterVarsity chapter when I was there because we would have daily prayer meetings everyday. It is prayer meetings that were the catalyst to hold the chapter through the years. We would even have a Concert of Prayer scheduled each semester.

The disciples knew the importance of prayer so they prayed daily around 3:00 p.m. at people's houses. We can do that too and pray daily as we schedule that time of community but for starters let us start with  Sunday morning worship at 9:00 a.m. with prayer.

It is an active and proactive response which will be work and it will be hard at times but I can assure you that the results would be worth it. Of course, they would be worth it because we are praying to the Lord of the Universe who loved us enough to die for our sins and came back to save us. How much more will He do now as we turn our hearts to Him in prayer. Let us pray for one another as we improve our lines of communication with God.

 A lot of times we can use different excuses not to make it to prayer meetings when they are available for us. I have been guilty of that such as 'I am not a leader anymore, so I don't have to go', 'I need my extra sleep and can pray on the bed' 'I have a bus to catch and can pray on the bus during that time', etc. I have made those excuses and did not come to prayer meetings giving prayer last place over other things. How sad!

I don't want that for you and me so I encourage and exhort you to recheck your priorities if prayer is not something you have taken seriously. I am so excited how the Lord spoke to me through this lesson and I want to act it out. Pray for me that I can live out this lesson and I pray for you that you can live out this lesson.

We don't pray as we should and then wonder why things are not going as we want them to even when we have faith. Friend faith alone without prayer is not really living out our faith. We live out our faith before others when we come together to pray in a community of intercessors before our Heavenly Father because by praying we show the Lord that we do have faith no matter how small that is. He will take care of our faith for He is our Comfort and Shelter. We can  use prayer time to ask the Lord to build up our own faith. That can happen for you and me friend right now!

We can daily talk to the Lord making prayer a part of our lives. It can happen through praying God's Word, praying the words of certain  worship songs, praying about our lives pouring it before the Lord without thinking He already knows everything about me. Imagine if we did that in our relationships, the relationship would eventually become strained.

I wrote this prayer worship song that I want to share with you:

Prayer Is Wonderful, Prayer is Powerful
By Ramesh C. Reddy (Based on Psalm 55:16-17)

Prayer to you Oh Lord is wonderful,
Prayer to you Oh Lord is powerful (2x)
More of prayer in my life

My Jesus, My Savior
In the morning time
I will pray to you

My Jesus, My Savior
In the noon time
I will pray to you

My Jesus, My Savior
In the evening time
I will pray to you

My Jesus, My Savior
In the night time
I will pray to you

For you Oh Lord
Hear and answer!

Prayer to you Oh Lord is wonderful,
Prayer to you Oh Lord is powerful (2x)
More of prayer in my life

Amen!

May you and I know how much prayer releases always Yeshua's Eternal response!

"Prayer Releases Always Yeshua's Eternal Response!" (P.R.A.Y.E.R)/"What place do you give P.R.A.Y.E.R in your life?"

Prayer:
Dear Lord Jesus, thank you that we can always talk to you and we don't even need special words. We thank you that when we needs words to pray, you have given us Your Word to use to make Scriptures into our prayers before you. Help us Oh Lord to always realize the importance of prayer. It is through prayer you work in our lives and in the lives of those you love. Thank you so much Jesus. Oh Lord, there are so many times that sleep, work, travel, etc interfere with us meeting you to worship you in a community time of prayer. Forgive us Oh Lord and help us not pray out of guilt but out of excitement knowing you answer. We thank you that prayer to you is wonderful, prayer to you is powerful Oh Lord my God. I thank you that we can pray to you in the morning time, in the noon time, in the evening time, in the night time, for you hear and answer. Thank you for hearing us and answering us! In Your Name I Pray Jesus! Amen!

Lord Jesus, You are my all in all. You are my Prince of Peace, Rock, Savior, and Friend. You are my Holy Father guiding me through to live a life of righteousness, holy righteousness. Oh God, I need you more than ever. I need to feel your hands around me holding me tight. I need your love to surround me so that you can glow in my life. Help me please Jesus. I desire in your presence. Thank you for guiding me to live a life of righteousness. Oh God you love me more than ever. You hear my voice when I cry out to you. When I seek your face, you fill me up. You are my all in all. Thank you Jesus so much for your help no matter what I face, your grace is available and you take my case. Thank you for hearing us and answering us. In Your Name I Pray Jesus! AMEN! (Most of the prayer is from a vineyard song called “All in All”)

You don't have to be locked away anymore for Christ is here to free you and give you peace to LIVE out your actions.

How do you look at GODISNOWHERE?

One of my pastors, Pastor Hugo SHARED this example one Sunday at the RESURRECTION DAY SERVICE in the combined worship service of Pittsburgh Chinese Church-Oakland & Oakland International Fellowship:

If you look at it as GOD IS NO WHERE, you will still be lost in your sin and be in bondage locked away in your sins and problems finding no peace.

But  as my pastor spoke to the congregation and spoke to me, I am here to tell you that GOD IS NOW HERE.

Yes, friend God is aLIVE and wants to bring a transformation in your life through the GRACE of our Lord Jesus Christ for He paid the penalty on the cross to rescue you and me and came back to life to save us and LIVE with us.

Yes, friend that is exciting to know that we can experience HIS SAVING GRACE & LIVING GRACE.

When we mess up, we can go to Jesus with our shortcomings and He will forgive us and RESTORE us to Him and we will find peace in Him.

^"For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 6:23, NIV)

"But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." (1 John 1:7-9, NIV)

Friend, we need Jesus because we have been separated from God due to our sin. Because of our sin, Jesus had to pay the price to become our bridge so we can reach God now not of our own good works but because of the finished work of Christ, the Lord on the cross.

"For it is by GRACE you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast." (Ephesians 2:8-9, NIV)

Come to Jesus as you are and pray this prayer to accept Jesus as your Lord and Personal Savior. He will transform your life around! Praise the Lord! You don't have to have all the answers! You can come as you are!

If you want to be a soldier in the Lord's army, you can become it right now. Now is the time of Salvation! You do not have to wait but can pray this prayer and give your life to Christ to serve Him daily! There is no draft but coming to Christ is voluntary. He loves you so much and wants you to come to Him! He will take care of you, guiding you and leading you!

PRAYER:
Dear Jesus, I love you. Thank you for loving me so much and thank you for choosing the cross to die for me. You became the Son of Man and lived here on earth. Then you humbled yourself and became obedient to death-even death on the cross. Thank you for dying on the cross for my sin. You died on the cross so that I can be covered in your blood and cleansed by your blood as I acknowledge that I need you and cannot enter Heaven without you being my pathway. So, Jesus I confess all my sins to you and all the ways I have tried to get into Heaven when you already provided the means and the Way. Thank you for all that you have done for me. "The cross is the place, a wonderful place where accused and condemned find mercy and grace. Thank you Jesus, it is at the cross where the wrongs we have done and the wrongs done to us were nailed at the cross. Thank you Jesus, at the cross you died for our sins and at the cross you gave your life for us." I thank you for that and thank you for coming back to life to save us. Thank you Jesus for being there for me! Thank you for loving me. I love you Jesus! Please take me as I am and make my life into something that you will be proud of. I surrender my life to you and need your help to live for you. I am forever grateful for what you have done for me and I can never repay you. I want to live for you and need your help. Help me Jesus please. I thank you Jesus for saving me! Thank you for hearing my prayer and answering me. Whatever your will give me the willingness and strength to bear it. Thank you Jesus! I acknowledge you as my Lord and Personal Savior! In Your Name I Pray precious Jesus! Amen!