Category: Prayer

Healing prayer by Padre Pio

June 4, 2025

Heavenly Father, I thank You for loving me. I thank You for sending Your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, to the world to save and to set me free. I trust in Your power and grace that sustain and restore me.

Loving Father, touch me now with Your healing hands, for I believe that Your will is for me to be well in mind, body, soul and spirit. Cover me with the Most Precious Blood of Your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, from the top of my head to the soles of my feet.

Cast out anything that should not be in me. Root out any unhealthy and abnormal cells. Open any blocked arteries or veins and rebuild and replenish any damaged areas. Remove all inflammation and cleanse any infection by the power of Jesus’ Precious Blood.

Let the fire of Your healing love pass through my entire body to heal and make new any diseased areas so that my body will function the way You created it to function.

Touch also my mind and my emotion, even the deepest recesses of my heart. Saturate my entire being with Your presence, love, joy, and peace and draw me ever closer to You every moment of my life.

And Father, fill me with Your Holy Spirit and empower me to do Your works so that my life will bring glory and honor to Your Holy Name. I ask this in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Photos from my prayer walk

June 4, 2025

I just went for a prayer walk up our town rock today. It was a windy and cloudy day, but it was still nice. We have had some rain lately so there are some nice pools of water on the rock. One image shows my walking stick and my prayer beads. This is the place I often sit and pray. When I came down I saw the word “finish” on the ground. I suspect that is the finish of our local park run. Nothing like a prayer walk and TAWG – Time Alone With God.

A Prayer to the Holy Spirit

May 18, 2025

Breathe in me, O Holy Spirit, that my thoughts may all be holy. Act in me, O Holy Spirit, that my work, too, may be holy. Draw my heart, O Holy Spirit, that I love but what is holy. Strengthen me, O Holy Spirit, to defend all that is holy. Guard me, then, O Holy Spirit, that I always may be holy. Amen.

Pointing people to Jesus, not a church

April 28, 2025

Over the years people have asked me what church I attend or what church do I point people to? Generally I do not say, especially online. But if someone asks to come along I will tell them.

My reason for this is that churches in different countries are not the same. If I say I belong to a particular denomination online, it may be very different in Australia to the USA, Asia, Africa or Europe.

My heart is to always point people to Jesus. Jesus is the way we find salvation. Jesus died on the cross for our sin. First and foremost we have to come to Him. Then I encourage people to read the Bible and learn to pray and find a local church.

I came to Jesus through some friends I worked with. They talked about Jesus and the Bible, prayed for me and gave me a tract to find salvation. Then they asked me to their church. I attended for about a year, but as it was a 30 minute drive, I found one closer to my home.

I have found in a smallish country town where I live this works best in my context. People will talk about God, the Bible, prayer and ask questions, but are reluctant to attend church at first. Walking in to a church in a small country town is a big statement. Everybody has a way of finding out.

So I do not really point people to a particular church, I point them to Jesus. I want people to be saved, discipled and to follow Him. Then I point them to the main church denominations in Australia. I encourage them to find a local one.

This is why I include an alphabetical list of denominations on my links page. I want people to find a church where Jesus is held up as Lord and Saviour, the Bible is preached, prayer happens and they can grow in their faith.

Another reason I do not recommend a particular church is one person might like a relaxed house church style and another might like a high church or liturgical style of worship. We are not all the same, we have different tastes, we have to find our own place in the church.

So this is why I do not talk about my church or push a particular denomination. My heart is to point people to Jesus, not a church.

Fasting and praying the Lord’s Prayer

April 27, 2025

I was reading the early church fathers recently and I saw two interesting things.

  1. They told followers of Jesus to fast twice a week.
  2. They told followers to pray the Lord’s Prayer three times a day.

I fast occasionally when I feel I have something on my heart to bring before the Lord. But I do not fast twice per week.

I do pray the Lord’s Prayer several times per day. It has become my practice over the last six months. Especially since I have been using prayer beads.

I do wonder how my life would change if I followed the prescription of the early church fathers and fasted and prayed as they suggested? How would your life change?

Prayer and Fasting

Do not have your fasts with the hypocrites. For they fast on Mondays and Thursdays; but you should fast on Wednesdays and Fridays. Neither are you to pray as the hypocrites, but as the Lord commanded in his gospel, “Pray in this way: Our Father who is in heaven, may your name be holy, may your kingdom come, may your will be done as in heaven, so also upon earth; give to us today our daily bread, and forgive us our debt as also we forgive our debtors, and do not lead us into temptation but deliver us from the evil one, because yours is the power and the glory forever.” Pray this way three times a day.

Brannan, R. (tran.) (2012) The Apostolic Fathers in English. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.