Category: Praise and Worship

Prisoner’s Prayer

by Anastasia Irene, posted in Literature, Praise and Worship, Prayer, Scripture, The Christian Walk, Theology

Recently, I read some writings by Dietrich Bonhoeffer, one of my personal heroes. If you do not know much about him, I hardly know where to begin in describing his life to you. Rather, I will have to refer you to one of my favorite books ever: Bonhoeffer by Eric Metaxas. Once you start digging into the life of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, you will find yourself challenged, inspired, and encouraged in your walk with Christ.

Bonhoeffer wrote a prayer to encourage his fellow prisoners at Christmastime in 1943. It ministered to me greatly, and I thought I’d share it with you. Enjoy!

MORNING PRAYERS

O God, early in the morning I cry to you.

Help me to pray

And to concentrate my thoughts on you;

I cannot do this alone.

In me there is darkness,

But with you there is light;

I am lonely, but you do not leave me;

I am feeble in heart, but with you there is help;

I am restless, but with you there is peace.

In me there is bitterness, but with you there is patience;

I do not understand your ways,

But you know the way for me.

O heavenly Father,

I praise and thank you

For the peace of the night;

I praise and thank you for this new day;

I paise and thank you for all your goodness

and faithfulness throughout my life.

You have granted me many blessings;

Now let me also accept what is hard

from your hand,

You will lay on me no more

than I can bear.

You make all things work together for good

for your children.

Lord Jesus Christ,

You were poor

and in distress, a captive and forsaken as I am.

You know all man’s troubles;

You abide with me

when all men fail me;

You remember and seek me;

It is your will that I should know you

and turn to you.

Lord, I hear your call and follow;

Help me.

O Holy Spirit,

Give me faith that will protect me

from despair, from passions, and from vice;

Give me such love for God and men

as will blot out all hatred and bitterness;

Give me the hope that will deliver me

from fear and faint-heartedness.

O holy and merciful God,

my Creator and Redeemer,

my Judge and Saviour,

You know me and all that I do.

You hate and punish evil without respect of persons

in this world and the next;

You forgive the sins of those

who sincerely pray for forgiveness;

You love goodness, and reward it on this earth

with a clear conscience,

and, in the world to come,

with a crown of righteousness.

I remember in your presence all my loved ones,

my fellow-prisoners, and all who in this house

perform their hard service;

Lord, have mercy.

Restore me to liberty,

and enable me so to live now

that I may answer before you and before men.

Lord, whatever this day may bring,

Your name be praised.

Amen.

Storms

by Anastasia Irene, posted in Praise and Worship, Prayer, Scripture, The Christian Walk

A comparison and a poem.

Psalm 107:23-32 and Mark 4:35-41

Psalm 107:23-32

23Those who go down to the sea in ships, Who do business on great waters,

24They see the works of the Lord, And His wonders in the deep. 25For He commands and raises the stormy wind, Which lifts up the waves of the sea. 26They mount up to the heavens, They go down again to the depths; Their soul melts because of trouble.

27They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, And are at their wits’ end. 28Then they cry out to the Lord in their trouble,

And He brings them out of their distresses. 29He calms the storm, So that its waves are still. 30Then they are glad because they are quiet; So He guides them to their desired haven.

31Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness, And for His wonderful works to the children of men! 32Let them exalt Him also in the assembly of the people, And praise Him in the company of the elders.

Here is a poem I wrote based on Matthew 14:22-33, which also talks about the storm, and in which Peter walks on the water.

Storms

The winds are howling, the waves arise

The clouds are dark and black

Why did You place me in this boat?

And when will You be back?

I struggle with the oars alone

Against the rising tide.

Despair grips my heart and soul

As I long to reach the other side.

The winds whip as I struggle

I perish; where are You, Lord?

My boat is about to capsize;

I need Your commanding word.

Then, I see a Figure

Walking on the raging sea;

I behold Your holy form

On the very thing that terrifies me.

“Come forth,” You say, and I obey,

Reaching for Your hand.

I look to You and then step out,

Longing to be taken to land.

But the storm is raging, oh, so hard,

And I don’t know what to do.

In absolute terror and fright,

I take my eyes off You.

The icy, dark waters engulf me

As I prepare for the end.

But then, Your hand delivers me

And praise to You I send.

You enter my struggling, tossing boat

And take me to my desired place.

You used the storm to bring me here–

Now I long only for Your face.

Mark 4:35-41

35On the same day, when evening had come, He said to them, “Let us cross over to the other side.” 36Now when they had left the multitude, they took Him along in the boat as He was. And other little boats were also with Him. 

37And a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filling. 

38But He was in the stern, asleep on a pillow. And they awoke Him and said to Him, “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?”

39Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace, be still!” And the wind ceased and there was a great calm. 40But He said to them, “Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?” 

41And they feared exceedingly, and said to one another, “Who can this be, that even the wind and the sea obey Him!”

He Satisfies Our Souls

by Anastasia Irene, posted in Praise and Worship, Scripture, The Christian Walk, Theology

Bless the Lord, O my soul; And all that is within me, bless His holy name! Bless the Lord, O my soul, And forget not all His benefits: Who forgives all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases, Who redeems your life from destruction, Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies, Who satisfies your mouth with good things, So that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

Psalm 103:1-5

I love Psalm 103. It is full of beautiful reminders of our Lord’s lovingkindness and compassion. The first five verses in particular have stood out to me recently.

We are reminded to bless the Lord and to “forget not all His benefits.” Too often, we tend to forget the many blessings our Lord showers upon us, pining over what we do not have. He has granted us so much, and we must tell ourselves over and over to remember all His blessings and His amazing goodness to us. He is always, entirely good! Everything He does is good and wonderous (Psalm 72:18).

The final verse of this section–verse 5–is so amazing. We learn that our Lord satisfies our mouth with good things! There are several things that come to mind as I think about this verse.

1. Our Lord fully satisfies! He is all-sufficient for us. If He were the only One we ever had on this earth, He would be enough. Psalm 107:9 says, “For He satisfies the longing soul,
And fills the hungry soul with goodness.”

2. Everything the Lord gives is good–even if it doesn’t seem like it! He withholds no good thing from those who walk uprightly (Psalm 84:10-11), and He works everything out for the good of those who love Him (Romans 8:28). Thus, we can trust that everything the Lord allows and gives is good.

3. In order to receive the fullest blessing from the Lord, we must empty ourselves. Psalm 81:10 says, “I am the LORD your God, Who brought you out of the land of Egypt; Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it.” In order to receive God’s blessings, we must open our mouths. And to get the fullest of what He has for us, our mouths must be emptied of trivial things so HE can fill them. For example, picture someone stuffing his mouth with candy. The Lord has a large slice of cheesecake to offer, but the person has filled his mouth with candy and cannot accept what is so much better from the hand of the Lord. This example may sound funny, but it is so true. What the Lord has for us is so much better than what we think we need!

All in all, our Lord satisfies us fully. He renews our youth and makes us as strong as eagles.

Over All

by Anastasia Irene, posted in Music, Praise and Worship, Scripture, The Christian Walk

I Chronicles 29:11 (NKJV)
Yours, O Lord , is the greatness, The power and the glory, The victory and the majesty; For all that is in heaven and in earth is Yours; Yours is the kingdom, O Lord , And You are exalted as head over all.

Matthew 6:13 (NKJV)
And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

Revelation 5:12 (NKJV)

saying with a loud voice:
“Worthy is the Lamb who was slain
To receive power and riches and wisdom,
And strength and honor and glory and blessing!”

As you may have noticed, there is a very exciting new addition to this website! With the Lord’s help and guidance, I have written a song for His glory and am thrilled to be able to share it with you! I decided to write a post about the inspiration, process, and goals for this song.

My song is mostly based on 1 Chronicles 29. What a beautiful psalm of praise to God! I have always loved the words of that chapter. As I put the words of Scripture to music, I realized I had combined David’s words of praise in 1 Chronicles 29 with the doxology to the Lord’s prayer, and praises from Revelation–a beautiful testimony to God’s people worshipping Him all across the ages!

Behind the song:

I wrote most of this song while I was sick with a cold. My family had gone to church, and I had stayed home, resting. (A quiet house always equals inspiration–in my experience, at least!) At the end of the day, I had the verses and the chorus, both words and music. Eventually, the Lord gave me the bridge as well. My mom helped me refine the song and polish it.

The Lord miraculously and quite unexpectedly connected me with a wonderful producer. I am so thankful for his help recording and producing my song, and for the amazing job he has done. When I arrived at the recording studio, the Lord had done another miracle–my producer had brought in a great local guitarist to play at the recording session!

My mom played the keyboard, my sisters did an astounding job on their violins, for which I am so grateful, and my brother played his congo drum. I was (and still am) totally in awe of what the Lord has done!

The Lord truly had His hand on the recording session, and for several months afterward, we went back and forth editing a few things. He also provided a really great distribution company.

Thoughts on worship:

In the beginning of this post, I put a few of the Scriptures that inspired this song. I love the thought of believers worshiping Christ across the ages–across time. All the words believers have ever used to praise God join to form an endless anthem of praise. Worship brings us into the very throne room of God and near to His heart! Worship unites us as well–unites us closer to God and fellow believers. I have been in places where there are thousands of people–different ages, backgrounds, races, histories–all raising a song of praise to God. It is truly remarkable how worship brings us closer to God and to each other.

When we worship, we gain perspective of GOD. We rise above earthly issues, remembering how great and amazing He is. Nothing else seems to matter when we praise and worship God in Spirit and truth!

Thoughts on Over All:

No matter what is going on in the world, God is on the throne! He is over all things–sovereign and almighty. He reigns over all things. We can take heart in knowing that He reigns from His throne. He is always worthy of our praises! What should our response be when we marvel at God’s majesty–His greatness, His power, and His glory? As the bridge says, We exalt/We adore/You are King/Over All. The only appropriate response is to exalt, adore, and worship God!

Why do we worship? God is good, great, majestic, holy…His alone is all the glory! There is no reason NOT to worship our amazing King. He owns all things–the earth is His in all its fullness. He is worthy of all our praise. He has a plan behind everything. He is sovereign on the throne, over all in the world and our personal lives as well.

PRAISE BE TO THE LORD! I pray He is glorified through this song. I look forward to seeing what the Lord does through it! My prayer is that this song will be a tool for believers to praise the Lord and worship together. Please share this song with everyone you would like to!

All glory be to Christ for the great things He has done!
~Anastasia

My goal for this song (and everything in my life):

Psalms 115:1 (NKJV)
Not unto us, O Lord , not unto us, But to Your name give glory, Because of Your mercy, Because of Your truth.

Desert Bloom

by Anastasia Irene, posted in Praise and Worship, Prayer, Scripture, The Christian Walk, Theology

Isaiah 35:1-2

1The wilderness and the wasteland shall be glad for them,
And the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose;
2It shall blossom abundantly and rejoice,
Even with joy and singing.
The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it,
The excellence of Carmel and Sharon.
They shall see the glory of the Lord,
The excellency of our God.

A few months ago, I had the not-so-pleasant experience of being on the road in the midst of a terrible dust storm in the desert. At times, clouds of dust were so thick that the visibility dropped nearly to zero. Tumbleweeds darted in front of the car. It took hours for the storm to finally let up.

Just a few days prior, however, I had seen the same desert in its full beauty. Sagebrush dotted the landscape. Joshua trees rose up majestically, stretching their branches toward heaven. Pronghorn antelope, wild horses, and other wildlife roamed the flat plains. What a stark contrast!

Isaiah 35 is always an encouragement to me. It speaks of the desert blooming and blossoming as a rose. What beautiful imagery! The Lord takes the horrible dust storm-filled deserts in our lives and transforms them into life-filled oasis. He causes stunning beauty to spring forth from the barren deserts in our hearts. He turns the ugly, dry dust and sand into the most gorgeous roses we could ever imagine.

I am reminded of the many desert-like areas in California that spring forth with the most stunning displays of wildflowers after the winter rains. What lavish beauty lay hidden beneath the dry, dead grasses of summer! However, even those lovely spring wildflowers die quickly, in contrast to the fragrant, lovely roses the Lord cultivates in our hearts.

Are you walking through a lifeless desert right now? If you love the Lord, He will use it for your good and will transform your barren plains into vibrant, life-filled, stunningly glorious rose gardens that testify to His grace!

Psalm 16 (part three: The Right Hand)

by Anastasia Irene, posted in Praise and Worship, Prayer, Scripture, The Christian Walk, Theology

Psalm 16:8-11

I have set the Lord always before me; Because He is at my right hand I shall not be moved. Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoices; My flesh also will rest in hope. For You will not leave my soul in Sheol, Nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption. You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy;
At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

Psalm 16:8 discusses how we should prioritize the Lord and set Him first in our lives. We ought to set the Lord always before us. He should be in the front of our lives at all times, and we must follow His lead. May it always be so!

The psalmist then mentions how the Lord is at his right hand. The right hand was thought of in ancient times as a place of prominence, blessing, honor, favor, and power. May the Lord forever occupy that position in our lives!

In verse 11, the psalmist speaks of how the Lord shows him the path of life and grants fullness of joy in His presence. However, I was particularly struck by the last line: “at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” This indicates that not only is God at the right hand of our lives, but also so are we at His right hand! To think that we occupy a place of prominence, blessing, honor, and favor in God’s heart! And what an intimate relationship develops when we walk with God–He is at our right hand, Christ is at His, and we are at Christ’s! We prioritize Him, honor Him, and bless Him, and He in turn does the same for us.

No wonder the psalmist declares in verse 9, “Therefore my heart is glad and my glory rejoices; my flesh also will rest in hope.” May we rejoice in knowing that God loves us with an incomprehensible love and He longs to have an intimate relationship with us! Praise the Lord!!

Life Out of Death

by Anastasia Irene, posted in Christian holidays, Holidays, Praise and Worship, Scripture, The Christian Walk

One crisp morning, as I was out for a walk, a barren tree caught my eye. Its branches looked dead, and it appeared lifeless, buried under winter’s gloom.

As I examined it more closely, however, I spotted three distinct species of colorful birds playing in it, one of which was a rare kind I had never seen before. Even as I glanced below, a bonus surprise awaited me: an adorable rabbit fed on the grass underneath.

The sight of this tree and the life hidden among its branches reminded me of Christ’s resurrection. He brings new life to the things that are dead in our lives. We might look at a painful or disastrous situation and only see dead, dry, barren sticks. But what encouragement to remember that God will cause new life to spring forth, and one day soon, we will see all the marvelous ways in which He will resurrect the things that have died.

Christ is risen! The grave could not keep our Savior. He arose in glory and power, and because He lives, we have hope in Him. Without His resurrection, our faith would be very empty indeed, as Paul asserts in 1 Corinthians 15.

As we celebrate Christ’s bodily resurrection, let us rejoice in the fact that He also brings resurrection to our everyday lives.

HE IS RISEN!!!

Isaiah 44: God’s Forgiveness and Power

by Anastasia Irene, posted in Praise and Worship, Scripture, The Christian Walk, Theology

Isaiah 44 is a beautiful chapter that displays numerous attributes of our God. In verses 1-4, we find the Lord promising to pour His Spirit on His children. In verses 6-20, God reminds us that He is God and that idolatry is useless.

One of the key aspects of God’s character that is shown in Isaiah 44 is His great forgiveness. In verses 21-23, God tells Israel that He has formed them, that they are His servant, and that they will not be forgotten by Him. Then the Lord says that He has blotted out, like a thick cloud, their transgressions! He has obliterated their sins! He begs His people to return to Him, for He has redeemed them! This is such amazing news that all of creation is told to sing and shout for praise and joy! The Lord’s forgiveness through Jesus Christ is so marvelous and glorious that all of creation is in awe! May we accept the gift of His incomprehensible grace and forgiveness and spend all our days in humble service to Him.

God’s power is also spoken of in verses 24-28. It is seen in creation, for He has stretched out the heavens and spread abroad the earth by Himself. It is shown when He frustrates the wicked and confirms the word of His messengers. It is evident in His care for His people and His city Jerusalem. It is displayed in His sovereignty over all. Our God is all powerful!

God’s Promises: Isaiah 43

by Anastasia Irene, posted in Praise and Worship, Prayer, Scripture, The Christian Walk, Theology

Isaiah 43 is such a beautiful chapter. It is packed with priceless promises to each of God’s children throughout all time.

Fear not, God says! He has redeemed you, and He calls you by your name. If you are a true believer, your name is in His book of life, and you are His. No one can ever take you away from God, separate you from His love, or snatch you out of His hand. The first promise God wants us to remember is that we are His.

The second promise written in this chapter is written in verse 2. God will always be with you. Whether you pass through overwhelming oceans, floods of blessing, or scorching fire, He will be by your side. He has a purpose behind all pain and suffering, and you will never be alone. He will never leave you nor forsake you!

There are many more precious truths in the following section, but the one that particularly stands out is in verses 15-17. In verse 15, since the Lord is called our Holy One, the Creator of Israel, and our King, we infer that He will never sin or change; He will never forsake His creation, and He reigns sovereign over us all. In verses 16-17, God promises to work miracles and part the sea to make a way for His children. He will also judge those who rise against us, and He will not let them stop Him from accomplishing His purposes.

One of my favorite promises in this chapter is hidden in verses 18-19. God is doing a new thing in our lives! He will make our wilderness of wandering into a road to glory, and He will make rivers of joy spring up from our deserts of pain! He is doing a new work of restoration! Thus we can leave our past, figuratively “burn our ships,” and step into the new day God is providing! It is a continual process of consciously and willingly leaving the past, but God is faithful, and He will help us.

The last promise of this chapter–but perhaps the greatest one–is that of forgiveness. (vv.22-28) Just like God’s people Israel, we have rebelled against God and wearied Him with our sins. But if we confess, He blots out our sins, and He will not remember them! Isn’t that amazing? He will purposefully forget our iniquities through the blood of His Son! Alleluia!!

For what reason does God do all this for us? The answer is found in verse 21. God formed us for Himself, that we may declare His praise and glorify His name!! May we do so today!!

Praise

by Anastasia Irene, posted in Literature, Praise and Worship, Scripture, The Christian Walk

Recently, a dear friend sent me a booklet called “Praising” by Watchman Nee, a famous Chinese Christian. Its message has given me new inspiration and a fresh perspective on praising Jesus. In this booklet, Watchman Nee talks about how essential praise is to our Christian walk. Here are a few of my favorite quotes from the booklet:

“Praise is the highest work carried out by God’s children.” (page 1)

“We should sing praises to our God.” (page 2)

“The nature of praise is an offering, a sacrifice…praise comes from pain and suffering.” (page 3)

“Prayer is a warfare, but praise is a victory.” (page 8)

“We need to learn to overcome Satan by our praise. We overcome Satan not only by prayer but also by praise.” (page 15)

Watchman Nee asserts many times that praise lifts us above our situation and drives the devil away. He also says that the most essential times for praise are the seasons of deepest darkness.

Sunrise on the Texas Gulf coast

A friend once said, “When it is hardest to pray, pray the hardest!” That is a wonderful statement, and I would create a similar one: “When it is hardest to praise, sing the loudest!”

Bridge in Kentucky

Watchman Nee is a wonderful example of praising in all circumstances. He was incarcerated for his faith in 1952 and went to be with the Lord after 20 years of imprisonment. How precious are the lessons from a man who experienced such trials!

Let us also be living witnesses to the power of praise! Whenever we go through various difficulties and are prone to fall into depression, we should turn on our praise, and it will drive our gloom away.

Let us all praise the Lord and lift His name on high more and more!

2 Chronicles 20:20-22

So they rose early in the morning and went out into the Wilderness of Tekoa; and as they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Hear me, O Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem: Believe in the Lord your God, and you shall be established; believe His prophets, and you shall prosper.” And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed those who should sing to the Lord, and who should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army and were saying: “Praise the Lord, For His mercy endures forever.” Now when they began to sing and to praise, the Lord set ambushes against the people of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah; and they were defeated.