Charisma Life Church - Prayer Ministry

We’re continuing on with the topic for this month which is The Lord’s Prayer. Today I was guest on the teleministry as Pastor James Reyes is attending Pastor Jim Cymbala’s seminar.

It is a reflective moment as I share with you all the goals of this ministry, a bit of what transpired in my life, and where we are heading with Our Prayer Life. You could listen to the conference here in WMA and MP3.

I would like everyone to pray for the victims of the fires that devastated several areas in Southern California. People were evacuated and some lost their homes. Pray that the victims of this fire find peace and comfort in their heart in what could be a difficult time in their lives right now.

Filed under: Prayer on October 28th, 2007 | No Comments »

Tonight we have a pilot run of a new ministry, a teleconference ministry - Our Prayer Life. We had Pastor James Reyes, our youth pastor way back when Charisma is still in West Covina. He is now Senior Pastor of Charisma Christian Church in Seattle, Washington. Sis. Jojo Jose is the main host of the conference. As you very well know, she like acronyms. (Maybe she dreamt of working in the electronic or telecom industry before). Anyway, she used the acronym C-A-L-L.

C - Come to the Lord.
A - Acknowledge who He is
L - Let go and Let God.
L - Lean on Him and learn

If you want to listen to the call, you can listen here (WMA / MP3).
Our Prayer Life

Filed under: Prayer on October 5th, 2007 | No Comments »

Your Kingdom Come,
Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

It is very interesting to note that right after acknowledging the authority of Our Father and whom we should direct our prayers to, Jesus taught us to allow God’s Kingdom to come to us. Not just in another fashion but like it is in heaven.

It suggest a shift of focus. In time of need, at certain times, our minds are clouded by misconceptions that because of our sins, it is hard for us to come into reconciliation with Him. And God knows that. That’s why during this period, we ought to remember that God loves us so dearly that He is willing to bring His Kingdom into our hearts.

I believe it also teaches us to surrender to His authority. Kingdom suggest a King who reigns. Allowing His Kingdom to come to us simply means surrendering and subjecting ourselves to His authority, as it is in heaven. Which means, to obey Him.

Lord Heavenly Father, teach our hearts to be obedient to Your Word. Help us to know You more. We acknowledge your kingship in our lives and in troubled times, allow your child to rest in the comfort of Your presence as it is in heaven.

Filed under: Prayer on September 29th, 2007 | No Comments »

I was at the church office last week and I chanced upon a material on the Lord’s prayer. As I went home that day, I felt writing about it. As I attempt to figure out what to write on this blog, in my heart, I felt a deep burden to talk about The Lord’s Prayer here.

In Matthew 6:9-13, Jesus taught us how we should pray. It started with “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name“. It is a very explicit statement as to who we should direct our prayers. To our Father in heaven. Not to a person, a mortal, or another being or object. When trials comes, most people at most times, tend to look into a lot of sources to bail them out. Searching for answers to a seemingly never ending twist of circumstance. We get beaten emotionally and spiritually, and fail to recognize that there is a loving Father that is just waiting for us to call on to Him. It is noteworthy to understand that by calling Him ‘Our Father’, it establishes that we are a child of His and thereby acknowledging a relationship. We can’t just call anyone our father without tying in a relation.

‘Hallowed be your name’. His name is separated above all else. There is power on that name. Yes. Call on His name and He listens. He is just right beside you, watching you, eager to call on to Him. As I have written in past posts, Our Father hurts more when we are hurting. I believe there is no father or mother, that will not feel the pain of a child. His grace is always sufficient for every situation that He allows us to be in.

Lord, I pray that as readers read this post, that their relationship with you may be renewed. As your child, teach us to have an obedient heart. Help us to open up our eyes to see that at all times, You are always there. In spite of what we think otherwise. At times, when we fail to seek upon Your holiness, forgive us.

Call on to Him, Our Father in Heaven.

George Manlangit
For the Prayer Team

Filed under: Reflections, Prayer on September 25th, 2007 | No Comments »

I know it’s been a while since my last post. Several things are happening ‘behind the scenes’ that’s been keeping me from writing here.

I thank all the readers who have been giving me the inspiration to keep this going. There are a lot of things that I need to share with all of you.

Daily Devotions
I have decided to create a Daily Devotions by email. It is on an experimental stage right now and hopefully, I will be able to create the links before the end of the month.

Prayer Partners
This is in early adoption stage. I would like to create a prayer community. I’ve been researching a great deal lately and I have observed that there is definitely a needed ministry and I need to address this right away. Watch out for the links and announcement when I have the basic setup in place.

Additional Blogs Coming Soon
I will be adding 3 more blogs next week - Men’s, Women’s, Children’s Ministry blogs. I have just added the bible/sermon study blog. It should give you the sermon outline of the week and a basis for bible study discussion.

Church Forum
I started this forum as a means for our worship team to communicate with the media ministry. I decided to promote it now as our church forum for most of our ministries. It is still in early stage so don’t be surprised if there is nothing there at all. I am going to start promoting this area as it could also serve as a communication spot for our ministries.

Lastly, I would like to refer you to a site that I recently visited. It is an interview by Paul Bradshaw with Rick Warren. It has touched and inspired me. And I quote…

Happy moments, PRAISE GOD.
Difficult moments, SEEK GOD.
Quiet moments, WORSHIP GOD.
Painful moments, TRUST GOD.
Every moment, THANK GOD - Rick Warren

I seldom do this, but I am asking the readers of this blog to pray for me as the Good Lord is now transitioning my ministry to serve not only our church, Charisma Life Church, but to help other churches in their ministries as well. As technology specialist for our church, the Lord has given me the grace and vision to start reaching out to other churches as well. I will be focusing on internet ministry in particular and I am trying to develop a system for other churches to adopt in their internet ministry. I would also be involved in showing other churches how to use media ministry effectively.

I am ‘threading on new waters’ in my life right now, and the Good Lord have been prompting me to take the step. He has shown me a glimpse of His purpose, now He has been shedding more light more than ever.

Thank you for all your prayers.

George Manlangit
For the Prayer Team

Filed under: Prayer on September 5th, 2007 | No Comments »

I’ll probably stir up a lot of emotions with the title of this blog. Yes, there are blessings from our sufferings. Are you in a lot of trouble and suffering right now? First question that comes to mind is ‘Why me?’ But why not you?

Last Sunday’s message was based on the letter of Paul to the Corinthians - 2 Corinthians 1:1-11. This chapter describes our God, the God of all comfort. I will not attempt to dissect this text but rather shed a light of hope, to lighten up the load or burden that maybe in your heart today. Each and everyone of us will encounter and undergo trials and sufferings. If you don’t, you’re probably dead by now and depending on your relationship with God, may even have your suffering extended after death.

From my personal experience, I would like to share with you how I was able to cope up with the trials that came my way.

First, we must acknowledge the source of our comfort. In the absence of God in our lives, it is easy to rely on other people or object for our comfort. However, when things gets tougher, when there are things that people or objects can’t help you with, you’ll find out that they can’t give you comfort. Then you’ll know that God is waiting for you. Longing, caring, compassionate.

Secondly, we must understand that there is a purpose for our trials. We were not given a breath of life for nothing. God created us for His purpose and, speaking for myself, I believe that the discovery of His purpose in our lives is one of the most revealing experience that one could ever experience. In a very simplistic way, God’s purpose for our lives is to serve Him and His children. That’s it. But the reality in life is that this simple truth is not that simple. Spend a quiet moment away from all the every day noise of life. Rewind your life and examine the events that you’ve experienced that you would consider your trials and sufferings. Examine those that you thought God was not there for you. Fast forward to today, was God really not there for you? You would realize that the events in your life at the time of your trial and suffering have given you the strength and endurance for things that you have to do today for His purpose.

Third, we must not rely on our own during trials. You are at the most vulnerable state when you are suffering either physically, emotionally, and spiritually. We should not act like we are superman/woman. We can’t. There are times when God will engage with us one on one, yet even then, go in fellowship with a brother or sister and ask them to pray with you and for you. Above everything else, prayer allows us to take that humble state with God and allow Him to takeover the trials that He allowed in our life. Prayer opens up our communication with God and acknowledge our reliance on Him. On the other side of the coin as fellow believers of God, we should be conscientious of the need of our brothers and sisters and pray with them and become an anchor of hope for them.

I’ll end this post with this prayer. Lord, for those people who are reading this post/article and are undergoing trials, I pray that You comfort them. Open up their minds to Your truth. On our own, we have nothing, but with You by our side, we are made strong in our weakness. It may not be the right time for us to see Your purpose, but lead us to Your path that we may become an instrument for Your glory. In Jesus name, we pray. Amen.

George Manlangit
:For the Prayer Team

Filed under: Prayer on August 23rd, 2007 | No Comments »

Yesterday, our pastor’s message is about the prodigal son. I am writing this early morning as my mind is wide awake with a sense of sharing what the Lord has impressed upon my mind. Luke 15:1-32 talks about the greatest story ever told, the story of the prodigal son.

The beauty of this parable is that there are several approaches to this story. Although this blog is not the study blog, I will attempt to share with you this message from the perspective of relationship and family.

I believe the story can be applied to Christian family of believers. The story clearly shows that the father has authority and wealth for the son to inherit. The father in this story is our heavenly Father. We, Christians, represents the prodigal son. The other brother is our Christian brothers.

There are times in our Christian walk of life, we get deceived into thinking that there are better things outside of God’s family and we should enjoy it NOW. We fall prey into the lure of the world and waste away the spiritual gifts that the Lord have given us. In due time, reality sets in and we experience the stage of Spirit poverty. It’s the stage of life where you experience emptiness and worthlessness, and realization sets in. The realization that nothing in the world can feed your hunger for His presence. Then you look back and attempt to work back into establishing back the relationship that you have with Him.

The wonderful thing about this story is that Jesus Christ have given us a glimpse of how much our Father in heaven yearns for us to be back in His arms. We have not even reach His throne and yet the angels were given instructions to start the restoration process. To show us that we are a royalty, we belong to God’s royal family. We are God’s children.

With all this attention being given to the prodigal son, the other brother who stayed with the father felt slighted. Emotions of jealousy creeps in the senses of the older brother. The older brother represents other Christian believers who could not find in their hearts to forgive the sins of their fallen brother who has decided to return to the Father. They were hurt by this brother and yet, he was given so much attention.

The father’s response to the older brother shows us how much God loves us. It shows how important it is for Him to have us in His arms once again. To restore back the relationship that He has with us. It shows the greatness of our Father’s love for us. It depicts that despite of our separation from Him, our sins, He watches and waits for us to come back to Him. Yet, He allows us to exercise our free will to restore our relationship with Him. He is always there waiting for us to come back, but it is up to us to take action to come back to Him and repent.

I pray that as Christian believers we don’t fall into the trap or deception that the prodigal son encountered. And on another light, if there are any brothers or sisters that have wronged us, I pray to the Lord that He gives us the grace to forgive, the strength to restore the relationship, and to become a vessel of His light for our fallen brothers.

After all, the ultimate reason for our salvation is the restoration of our relationship with our Father. We have been separated from Him by our sins, and true repentance requires not only our acknowledgment of our sins but total submission to His authority. And prayer allows us to commune with Him, to experience His loving presence, and strengthening us to face the every day trials of our life.

We celebrated Friendship Day in our church yesterday. It’s nice to be able to chat and fellowship with our church members. I was encouraged by Sis. Cecille Baesa’s on how she was blessed by this prayer blog. Although I mentioned before that Ptr. Jojo Jose has taken over this blog, I will still be writing here every now and then. I foresee more involvement from me in the internet ministry, not only for our church but for other churches too. Overall, this is just a part of God’s revelation of His purpose from me. It’s still a work in progress and I thank all of you who have been reading this blog. I hope that you are blessed by the sharing as I am.

As always, continue to bless the Lord.

George Manlangit
For the Prayer Team

Filed under: Study, Reflections on August 13th, 2007 | No Comments »

Yes, this is a very tragic event. Anytime, the life of a loved one is seemingly snatched away from your life is a tragic event.

Before anything else, I pray for all the families who have lost their family member. I pray for healing, not only physically but also emotionally. Most of all, I pray for peace. Peace for those who are grieving, and for those people who are searching for their missed love ones.

As I looked at the photos in the papers, news, and internet about this bridge, I am amazed at the force that must have taken place on this destruction. As an engineering major, I believed that there is no one person on the design team of this bridge, who designed this bridge to fail and collapse. A structure this huge requires several check and balance to ensure public safety and durability. And yet, it only required a weakened member on this structure to create this destruction.

“We were surprised that we didn’t have more people seriously injured and killed,” Minneapolis Fire Chief Jim Clack told The Associated Press. “I think it was something of a miracle.”

Yes, miracles do happen in modern times and believe it or not, every nanosecond. It could have been more devastating and worst. God’s hand moves everywhere, every time.

Tragic events reminds us of the frailty of life. I am reminded by the metaphor of a candle in my life. We could be the biggest candle that brings the brightest light in a room but it only takes a slight blow of air to take the light out.

As I said earllier, it took only one weak member on this structure to make this happen. In our life today, can we think of a weak ‘member’ that might be slowly weakening our life, our relationship with our family or friends, our relationship with God. Are we living a life for His purpose? If our life is taken away from us, will we be at peace? Will our family members be at peace?

The moment we were given life at conception, there is only one thing that is certain afterwards. Death.

If today is the last of all days, what will you change?

- George Manlangit
For the Prayer Team

Filed under: Prayer on August 4th, 2007 | 1 Comment »

Last week, I wrote about a prayer request for Courtney who was going to undergo surgery. Last night, upon checking my email, Kimi wrote to her Dad about the successful surgery.

Kimi:

so i got home from indiana and checked my e-mails. Courtney's surgery went better than expeceted!! they were able to do both surgeries in the same day and they did not have to cut through her mouth to reach the back of her neck!!! they completed the surgery and she is in recovery!! she is signing with her mother just fine! thank you so much for your prayers!! pray for a full recovery and that her pain mediaction will start talking effect. Her doctor said that she was being watched by guardian angels!! thank you for sending them to her!!

Kimi

We’re very thankful to our Lord for this news. All the praise is attributed to Him who heals.

I just felt to share this good news to all who have read the prayer request last week. Thank you very much.

George Manlangit
For the Prayer Team

Filed under: Prayer on July 30th, 2007 | No Comments »

Here’s an article I came across that I pray will encourage our faith when we pray ….

Everyday God sends us oppurtunities for spiritual growth-disguised as problems. Nowhere is this more evident than in the life of Job the patriarch. After losing his house, his children, his livestock and his health, the Bible says, “Job …fell to the ground and worshiped” That’s not the normal human response to tragedy, is it? Job didn’t react that way because he understood everything that was happening to him. No he rose up and did it in spite of his circumstances! He was able to respond that way because: (a)He looked up! In the midst of his troubles, Job saw the God who promised to direct each step we take. More importantly, he trusted God’s heart of love and recognized His sovereign right to decide all things. (b) He looked forward He reminded himself that in the final analysis God will make everything right for us. (c)He looked inside He knew that God was teaching him something valuable through his experience: “When He has tried me, I shall come forth as gold” (Job 23:10). Like clay in the hands of the Potter, Job decided to trust God.

That kind of thinking was no easier for him than it is for you. Our human nature always wants to cling to the familiar and return to the safety of yesterday, even though we know its not where God wants us. The fears, surprises and adversity that lie around the bend make us want to cut and run. But if you do you’ll short-circuit God’s plan for your life. So what should you do? “Stand….still, and see the salvation (deliverance) of the Lord” (2 Chronicles 20:17), because TRUST always leads to DELIVERANCE.

So as we think about the challenges that faces us from day to day … when we pray let us like Job learn to LOOK UP, LOOK FORWARD, LOOK INSIDE. Let us not just spend time telling God our petitions when we pray let us spend time encouraging our faith by focusing on the right thing…. Focus on God… trust Him and see the salvation of the Lord.

God bless you and touch the heart of God by putting your faith and trust in HIM!

Filed under: Reflections on July 26th, 2007 | No Comments »