Date: 20-07-25
Preacher: Sister Esther Chu
Title: Gaining Hope in Prayer

Gaining Hope in Prayer

The biblical reference for this morning’s message was taken from 1 Thes 5:16-18. In her lead-in, Sister Esther asked the congregation whose will the church’s annual theme belong to. From the various biblical references as evidence, Sister Esther established that the will belongs to God. She also highlighted that praise, worship, supplication, confession and giving thanks are all approaches to prayer and they all seek to express our reliance on God for His provision. 

Over the weeks it is interesting to see how different speakers analysed and expounded on the theme and I think it was interesting that Sister Esther brought up biblical events both from the Old and New Testaments in support of her message.

In the Old Testament she used the events from the Book of Esther, specifically those related to the characters of Mordecai, Esther and Haman. She narrated how Haman was so enraged that Mordecai would not bow to him except God, that he got the king to issue a decree to wipe out the entire Jewish population. 

Sister Esther shared that it was Mordecai’s public declaration of his concern over the impending doom of the Jewish people and the steadfast spirit and actions of Esther to fast for 3 days and nights with the Jewish community that led to a victorious outcome for them and the Jews. Haman, like the devil, was utterly destroyed.

Sister Esther then went on to the New Testament to quote Jesus in the Lord’s Prayer in Matt 6:9-11. She shared that it was a model prayer that Jesus left for His disciples, which included to honour the Father, the seeking of God’s will, the prayer for our daily needs, the seeking of forgiveness of our sins and the warning against temptation and the evil one. 

Then Sister Esther moved on to Jesus’s prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane. Here Jesus expressed His inner pain and struggle to the Father in the face of His impending suffering on the cross. The prayer reveals Jesus’ humanity and divinity and also expresses His responsibility for the salvation of mankind and His complete trust in God, the Father. Likewise when we are in pain, we express to God all that is in us to let Him lead us.

In conclusion, Sister Esther shared that prayer is a powerful weapon for it gives us the best answers and strengthens our faith. It also proves our humility and obedience to God while revealing God’s goodness and faithfulness to us.