Glory of God Prayer Group, St. Cecilia Parish, Wa Diocese, Ghana - Let Your Light Shine

Saint of the Day

Perfect moderation

To many, total abstinence is easier than perfect moderation. Saint Augustine

Men should wonder at themselves

Men go abroad to wonder at the heights of mountains, at the huge waves of the sea, at the long courses of the rivers, at the vast compass of the ocean, at the circular motions of the stars, and they pass by themselves without wondering. Saint Augustine

He will not save us without our consent

He who created us without our help will not save us without our consent. Saint Augustine

Fear vs reverence

Where there is reverence there is fear, but there is not reverence everywhere that there is fear, because fear presumably has a wider extension than reverence. Socrates

Destroyer of peace

The greatest destroyer of peace is abortion because if a mother can kill her own child, what is left for me to kill you and you to kill me? There is nothing between. Mother Teresa

Miracles

Miracles are a retelling in small letters of the very same story which is written across the whole world in letters too large for some of us to see. C. S. Lewis

We do it to God

There is always the danger that we may just do the work for the sake of the work. This is where the respect and the love and the devotion come in - that we do it to God, to Christ, and that's why we try to do it as beautifully as possible. Mother Teresa

Miracles are not contrary to nature

Miracles are not contrary to nature, but only contrary to what we know about nature. Saint Augustine

we belong to each other

If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other. Mother Teresa

Our walking is our preaching

It is no use walking anywhere to preach unless our walking is our preaching. Francis of Assisi

Charity and wisdom

Where there is charity and wisdom, there is neither fear nor ignorance. Francis of Assisi

The beginning of good works

The confession of evil works is the first beginning of good works. Saint Augustine

Seek to love, not to be loved

Lord, grant that I might not so much seek to be loved as to love. Francis of Assisi

Seeking without that wert within

I found thee not, O Lord, without, because I erred in seeking thee without that wert within. Saint Augustine

campaigning weather for the devil

The long, dull, monotonous years of middle-aged prosperity or middle-aged adversity are excellent campaigning weather for the devil. C. S. Lewis

Passion

Passion is the evil in adultery. If a man has no opportunity of living with another man's wife, but if it is obvious for some reason that he would like to do so, and would do so if he could, he is no less guilty than if he was caught in the act. Saint Augustine

Hear the other side

Hear the other side. Saint Augustine

Man cannot diminish God's glory

A man can no more diminish God's glory by refusing to worship Him than a lunatic can put out the sun by scribbling the word, 'darkness' on the walls of his cell. C. S. Lewis

The cause makes the martyr

It is not the punishment but the cause that makes the martyr. Saint Augustine

Aim at heaven

Aim at heaven and you will get earth thrown in. Aim at earth and you get neither. C. S. Lewis

Three days fasting and prayers -28th - 30th May, 2008
Teacher: Felix Dordaa Mahama
Text: Philippians 3:7-9

Background of St. Paul

St. Paul was a Pharisee. He was a scholar well respected. He had the right to be called a Jew and to be hailed by his own people and by other people.

Everyone loves uniqueness and the Israelites were unique; and St. Paul could choose to hold on to this uniqueness without caring about the rest of the world. 

He could choose to stick to the old laws which probably were easier to follow; e.g. Jesus said because of the hardness of the hearts of the Israelites Moses allowed them to divorce. Jesus also said the Israelites believed in dishonouring their parents provided they could give to God whatever they would have used to honour their parents.

The sacrifice St. Paul made

St. Paul left all these more attractive things and chose a more difficult path of righteousness. He considered all these things that he could have enjoyed as a loss. In other words these things, as pleasing as they were did not have any attachment in his heart anymore. He left these things for the sake of the knowledge of Jesus Christ, which is eternal life.

What should we do ourselves?

It is this very knowledge of Christ that we seek, and in order to obtain this knowledge of Christ, we also need to, like St. Paul, reckon all the past things which used to give us joy, and which we might consider as profit, but which hide from as the knowledge of Christ, as loss.

This is a call to depart from past indulgences and engage in a new life. We should not fantasize about the past joys that we derived from indulging in negative activities. In fact, this is one of the reasons why we find it difficult to break away from past habits.
We need to break away from the past habits such as

  • Idolatry
  • Drunkenness
  • Drugs
  • Quarrels (home, school, work place)
  • Embezzlement
  • Selfishness (material, mental, spiritual)
  • Laziness
  • Living in illusion of past glories that prevent us from humbling ourselves and making a fresh start. We have to live in the reality of the present.
  • Fashion in the Church which either tempt or divert the attention of brethren

Consequences of fantasizing

For example, if you should begin to relive and fantasize about the times you indulged in fornication or adultery with your boyfriend or girlfriend, or the drinking sprees you used to go on, or the highs you used to go on drugs, or the pains you used to inflict on your neighbours during quarrels, all the chicken you ate with embezzled money, etc, you begin to desire to relive those days. You may even begin to regret ever leaving those ways. This sets your mind as a fertile ground for the devil and his agents to play on, influencing you towards the evil past. It would mean we consider these past things as a valuable part of our lives and so we give Satan the right to tempt us into doing them.
If we used to sacrifice to idols, we now know that it is wrong and doing so will deprive us of the knowledge of Christ and the new life it brings. Even though we used to get quick results from such practices, we have to forsake them. We should remember that the knowledge of Christ brings a new life which is filled with peace, security, hope and comfort. Even though the past may seem very pleasant, let us remember that we seek something much more valuable.

Prayer points

Our prayer is to break away from (the fantasy of)

  1. Fornication and adultery
  2. Idolatry
  3. Drunkenness and drugs
  4. Quarrels
  5. Insincerity
  6. Selfishness
  7. Laziness
  8. Illusion of past glories
  9. Immoral fashion

    We also pray for the following areas
  10. All those people who indulge in any of the above
  11. Church and renewal leaders
  12. Revival of the Renewal and the Church
  13. Revival and strengthening of ministries
  14. Successful youth congress
  15. Wars and disasters
  16. Successful campaigns and election

 

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