Intensified Prayer 1

Introduction with Integration of Values

In one of the seminars that I and my wife attended, I noticed a latecomer

who wore an elegant tight fitting blue jeans and jacket, and a black leather
Chuck Taylor basketball shoes. When the seminar started, the liturgist of the
morning worship called him “Father, please give the opening prayer.” He
reacted and said, “Why do you always ask a priest to lead in prayer? You lead
the prayer.” The worship leader sheepishly said, “Yes Father.” As she made the
sign of the cross with the sentence “In the name of the Father …”, she led the
prayer.

The priest who is head of a large school of a big Catholic Church was right!
Why ask the pastors or priests to always lead the prayer when all children of
God can share the Word of God and start a Group Prayer of their own? By
doing this, we revive one of the most neglected doctrines: The Priesthood of All
Believers! This is what all Christians must do in this time of crises i.e., The Big
One, unpredictable Ring of Fire, New Normal 1: Haiyan, New Normal 2: Covid
19 and its new virulent biotype strain.

The Holy Scriptures says it in a collective way: “But you are a chosen
people, a ROYAL PRIESTHOOD, a holy nation, a people belonging to GOD, that
you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His
wonderful light.” (I Peter 2:9, see also Exodus 19:6, Isaiah 61:6, Revelation
5:10).

Learning Outcome: To exercise from now on the priesthood of all believers by

a) Participating in intensified prayer.
b) Seeking God’s message in this time of crisis/crises.
c) Interceding for the healing of Covid patients, the awakening of Philippine
president and government dignitaries, and in the revival of faith among
believers.
d) Promoting awareness of World’s problems to wit, “global warming,
excessive population growth, water shortages, destruction of life in the
ocean, mass famine, ill-organized countries, the spread of deserts, the
spread of the pandemic, extreme poverty, the growth of shanty cities,
unstoppable migration, non-state actors with extreme weapons of mass
destruction, violent religious extremism, runaway computer intelligence
and a war that could end civilization.”1
e) Reading and meditating on all the suggested texts of this module.

Learning Activity and Resources:

WATCH in YouTube:
1. “War with China, Are We Closer Than We Think?” Sept. 21,2021
1
Message of Justice Reynato Puno in a recent Wesleyan Virtual Prayer Breakfast Fellowship.
 2. The US Should Apologize to the Marshall Islands for Nuclear Tests: The
United States tested 67 nuclear weapons from 1946 to 1958 in what is
now the Republic of the Marshall Islands.

Real Life Experience 2: John Wesley’s Prayer Room

Said Warren W. Wiersbe, pastor of Moody Church: “One of the most
moving experiences of my life came when I stepped from John Wesley’s bedroom
in his London home into the little adjacent prayer room. Outside the house was
the traffic noise of City Road, but inside that prayer chamber was the holy hush
of GOD.”
“Its only furnishings were a Walnut table which held a Greek New
Testament and a candlestick, a small stool and a chair. When he was in London,
Wesley entered the room early each morning to read God’s Word and pray.”
The guide in Wesley’s home told me: “This little room was the
POWERHOUSE of Methodism.”2

1. Text for Bible Study: Mark 14:32-42

2. Memory Verse: Christ said, “… are you asleep? Could you not keep
watch for an hour? Watch and PRAY … The spirit is willing but the flesh
is weak.” (Mark 14:37-38).

3. Questions (from NIV Serendipity Bible)

OPEN: Where do you go (or what do you do) when you are facing difficult
situations? Do you prefer to be alone at these times, or in the company of
close friends?

DIG:
1. Why did Jesus take Peter, James and John with him to pray (verse
33)? What did Jesus ask of the disciples?
2. When Jesus came to Gethsemane, why was he so sad? What did he
ask God when he prayed? What do you learn about Jesus from this
passage?
3. Jesus told Peter, “Watch and pray” because “the spirit is willing but
the body is weak” (verse 38). How do these words apply to you?

REFLECT:
1. When was your last “Gethsemane”? How did you cope with that
situation?
2. What determines for whom and what you pray? How will the
Gethsemane story change the way you pray this week?

2
Paul Lee Tan, Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations: Signs of the Times (Hong Kong: Nordica International,
Ltd.: 1991) 1039.
Performance Task
Real Life Application: Start/Initiate a Group Bible Study and Prayer of your
own (not necessarily members of your department or management). Anyone
can start this Group Prayer Chain and Bible Study in his/her own family or
friends.

Summary

The Southeast Asia is living in danger! It may be the “worst of times” but it
may turn to be the “best of times!” We may consider the pandemic and other
calamities as “crises” but we can turn it into “opportunities.” Let us turn the
tide of panic, disillusion, and our hopelessness into a spirit of equanimity, firm
resolve and resilience. Lastly, through moments of thinking furiously about
what is the best thing to do, our intensified prayer must be back up by action –
that being is accompanied by doing.

REMINDER: IN YOUR VIDEO OF THE BIBLE STUDY, RECORD ONLY THE

REFLECT QUESTION 1. SUBMIT IT TO YOUR MENTOR EITHER IN
CANVAX OR IN HIS GMAIL.