Category: Prayer

Silence Speaks

~ derrickjohnphillips ~ Leave a comment

I like music, especially when it’s worship with real passion. I don’t mind if its loud. It’s OK if it has a beat, because I enjoy a charismatic knees-up! Music has been a major part of my life and still matters to me. In the 60s I was in the popular Christian rock band, The Pilgrims [i] , who were once introduced at a big concert in central London as “not only the best but also the LOUDEST Christian group”. So, I know how to be loud for God. But the best thing I’ve learned since those days is to value silence – but now I’m talking about prayer.

Heartfelt Prayer

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We live in a world that expects us to project an image – and, for many people, their image comes out of the wardrobe.  We spend so much of our life trying to fulfil a role that we easily lose sight of who we really are.  Do you want to pray from your heart?  You’d best start by discovering what’s in your heart.

Still Digging

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Who needs another book about prayer when there’s already so many?  But this one’s got a chapter called, “Yellow Card”, and others called, “Lord, I can’t find you”, “Not about duty”, and “Let it all out”, so there’s something different about it. This book doesn’t tell you the right way to pray. Rather it describes lots of different ways, and deals with awkward questions

Prayer in hopelessness

~ derrickjohnphillips ~ 2 Comments

When people turn to prayer as a last resource, they are being logical. It’s as reasonable as gasping in a quick breath and swimming along a flooded passageway to find an uncertain escape route. It’s better than giving up. Prayer in hopelessness contains an improbable grain of hope.

Deliver us from Evil

~ derrickjohnphillips ~ 1 Comment

“Deliver us from evil” (a phrase from ‘the Lord’s Prayer’) doesn’t mean “make us nicer people”. Rather, it asks God to protect us from a force that can trap or imprison us (otherwise why would we need deliverance?) Yes. Evil is a force, and it’s not just the Bible that sees it that way. Science fiction often treats evil as a force – for instance, in the Star Wars films. In the Bible passage that introduces the Lord’s Prayer[1] the original Greek speaks of the evil and some English versions translate it as the evil one – in other words, the Devil. But does anyone still believe in the Devil, demons, or evil spirits?