DEIRDRE INAMDAR

Q2. (Luke 23:39-43) Why is the thief

Q1. (Luke 23:34) Who was most responsible for killing Jesus? What responsibility do you and I bear in this? In what sense was Jesus praying for us? I think we can see the crucifixion in two ways. 1. As an event that tok lace 2000 years ago 2. Spiritually as the Son of God dying for us. Now having said this then seeing it as an event I think the Chief priests and the scribes were the main culprits and the rest aided in the crime. I being a follower of Christ would like to look beyond this and look at it from a spiritual angle and see the reality and truth and then I see Jesus dying for all mankind and as being personally responsible myself for His death because of my sin. Jesus was praying for us because He knows if we have a true revelation of who He is we will never sin against Him. He also knows our Spirits are willing but our flesh is weak.He knows without the Holy Spirit we are powerless over sin.

God knows us and what we are made of and if we want a relationship with the lord we need to know Him and when we seek Him with all of our hearts we will find Him and we will know that He loves us. Experiencing the love of God drives out all fear and gives us that tremendous confidence in God our Father.We will long for His presence and will stive to grow our relationship with the God who loves us.

The Psalmist is experiencing deep anguish and a seperation from God. He longs for the presence of God. He combats his spiritual depression by 1: Self Talk He questions his anguish and faces his fears and then based on his past experiences he reassures himself. 2: Remembers God's goodness to him in the past. He recalls the times God has seen him through and this encourages him. 3: He sings praises to God. I have felt this way many times and I know there will be more times in the future that I will feel this way.I have always involved God in my life and have called out to Him in my troubled and anguish ridden times. HE has never failed me Praise Him always. He in His time has answered me and brought me through every single time and I know He will continue to do so He is my Redeemer.There were times I fasted and cried out to Him there have been times when I have asked others to join me in calling out to Him, I remind God of His many promises and I dont give up when it comes to God I know He will answer.

David knows the goodness of the Lord, for he has tasted it and here we see him reflecting on the faithfulness and goodness of God and he expresses a desire to dwell,live, abide in the presence of the Lord the house of the Lord is the place where God dwells. In David's time it was the temple but today we know that we can be in God's presence anywhere and any time for we are His children. Seeking God's face is to seek His attention, wanting Him to hear us. David is convinced that when we wait on the Lord He will provide us the courage to go through the difficult times and we have the assurance that if we do we will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living that is in this life.

In this psalm I se the Psalmist seeing God as his Creator and realises that God has made him wonderfully well Each one of us has been fearfully and wonderfully mad knitted together in our mothers womb by God and our days are numbered before even one of them comes into existence.Gods thoughts towards each of us is more than the grains of sand how precious we are to God. Knowing this is humbling. Knowing this he makes the prayer of surrender asking God to search him and find out his thoughts and to see if there are any offencive ways in him he wants to be cleansed by God for the Glory of God.How awesome to know God loves us so much.What a great and mighty God we have.

In verses 1-6 we see the Glory of God through His works. Creation hhas no voice nor words but yet it displays the glory of the Creator. The Wor on the other hand is written and can be read and it is the Word of God which enlightens our eyes rejoices the heart makes us wise and restores our soul.The written Word can affect our lives and change us it has the Power of the Writer.The works of God and the Word of God arepowerful and show us His love for He has us in mind as benficiaries.The Psalmist is so caught up with God's Word God's Word brings us into an intimacy with Him where we want to be pleasing to Him after we realise who we are.The Psalmist realises that he would like to be close to the God of creation and follow His Word. He implores and one can sense the desperation where he desires that his words -that which can be heard and the meditations 0that which cannot be heard both will be pleasing in God's sight .Our gola in what we do say or think and feel should be pleasing to our God.

I learnt that God is Glorious and Majestic over His creation the earth and the heavens.Human beings are miniscule and finite in comparison. Christ being God humbled Himself and became lower than the angels by becoming man and came down to earth to suffer and die so we could be restored to a right relationship with the Glorious and Majestic God.The God who created the infinite universe gave man charge over it and we can only do this if we bend our knee to God our Father He will give us His children the ability to care for the universe.

Q4. (22:43) Did Jesus get "special treatment" because he was the Son of God to have angels help and strengthen him in his spiritual struggle? Do we get that help, too? I dont think Jesus got special treatment being the Son of God,The angels were sent to strengthen Him as He went through the agony in the garden. Yes we do and it is a pity many of us miss out on Heb 1:14 God has commissioned Angels to help all those who are heirs to Salvation.I ask God every day to send His angels to protect us.

Q3. (22:42) When Jesus prayed "not my will, but yours be done," was the Father pleased? Why is the Father not pleased when we are passive and uncaring and dispassionate in our prayers that his will be done? What is required for us to pray the prayer of submission with authenticity? Yes I do believe that the Father was pleased. The Father is not pleased with passive uncaring and dispassionate prayers.Our Father wants an active relationship with us He has given us a free will and a mind to think with and He would like us to use them and be involved.We are not asked to be puppets or slaves,but we are called the Sons of the Father and what concerns God should concern us so we cannot have a daont care attitude.we need to be excited with the things of God. We need to understand that God is a loving God.He also knows what is best for us,we need to know that our primary purpose is to do the will of the Father.Knowing all this we should submit to His will.

Q2. (22:42) Why did Jesus pray that the Father take the cup from him? According to Mark and Matthew, Jesus repeated this prayer three times. Why was he so intense about it? What did this mean? Why was Jesus resisting the Father's will? Or was he? The agony that Jesus went through is inexplicable,the weight of the sin of all humanity ,the very thought could kill can one imagine going through with it,besides I believe the seperation from the Father was agony,for One so pure and holy as Our Lord. The very fact that Jesus prayed so often shows us what He went through I dont think we can even feel an iota of the pain He went through I dont know if eternity will reveal it to us.It only makes me cry with gratitude to my God for what he has done for me and for humanity in general. Jesus was not resisting the will of God.The Word says that He had come to do the Will of Him who sent Him.I am sure that the Triune God were in this together.I think that this prayer of Jesus was a prayer for help to the only One who could help Him.The agony that He experienced His sweat was like drops of blood who could He call out to at a time like this.When we look at His sacrifice as we see it today in His own words'It is Finished' Oh how we must love Jesus.

Q1. (22:40-41, 45-46) Why did he ask his disciples to pray? What temptation did Jesus know they would be facing? What was the content of their prayer to be? Did they actually pray this prayer diligently? How does the Lord's Prayer word this kind of prayer? Why do you think Jesus wanted to be alone during his own prayer? Jesus knew the time had come for Him to face what He had come to earth for,He also knew that when His disciples faced this time they wolud be distraught and overcome by fear.He had warned them on various occassions that He had to die however they did not fully comprehend what He was saying.Jesus asked them to pray for the help they needed at the time of this crisis as help cold only could only come from the Father. They were to pray that they would not succumb to temptation.They did not pray this prayer diligently ,for they were tired and fell asleep.The Lord had taught His disciplies to pray to the Father asking Him not to lead them into temptation.We very often misunderstand this prayer ,thinking that it is the Father that leads us into temptation.We live in a fallen world and we dont have to go looking out for temptations,they are around us all the time.What Jesus ment was that we should pray and ask the Father to give us the strength to say no to temptation. I do believe that our relationship with the Lord is a one on one,There are paths that we have to walk alonewith God.It is in these intimate moments that God is able to minister to our specific needs.The alone times with God are the most profound times in our life,and it is in these times He reveals His will and equips us for our tasks.There can be no substitute.

Q4. (2:4) What danger is Nehemiah in? Why does he pray quickly and silently before he answers the king? How does this quick "arrow prayer" relate to the four months of prayer he has just finished? Nehemiah goes in to serve the King with a sad countenence and this could back fire on him and he could have been dismissed from service as a servant is not supposed to betray any emotion. Nehemiah needed God's wisdom and favor when he answered the king and so he prayed a quick prayer. Nehemiah had been praying for four months for his land.His arrow prayer was his final effort of getting what God wanted for him through the king.

Q3. (1:11) In what way does Daniel's situation compared to Esther's. Why does God place his people in strategic positions today in the community, in business, in the military, in government? What responsibilities do we have to God that can cause danger to our positions and our lives? Has this ever happened to you? How do you pray in situations like this? Daniel and Esther were both in positions of influence.Both of them had to act on behalf of their people. I believe God has all things worked out and He has His people in strategic positions.I do believe that we are in the positions we are to further His Kingdom and His Righteousness. In the positions that we hold we at times have to go against the grain inorder to obey the Lord.We may need to take a stand and there could be some sort of fall out.This has happened to me and my family many times.I have had to deal with situations in school at my work place and in our social set up.We have been ridiculed and called fanatics.My husband is a politician and has held high office many atime and we have to be very conscious of our behavior as we are in the public eye,we are aware that at all times no matter what position we hold we are first and foremost the children of the Living God and we need to obey Him.It is not easy but when you know God and the plan He has for His people it makes it worthwhile.

Q2. (1:7-11) What is the basis of Nehemiah's appeal? How does he argue his case before God? What do we learn from this about intercession? Nehemiah appealed to God on the basis of His Word.God had scattered His people and only He could gather them.God promises to do that and Nehemiah puts God into rememberance of His Word. He goes to God humbly asking for forgiveness and then He reminds God of His promise and appeals to His mercy. We must know God and His will and His promises then we can and should stand on the promises of God.

Q1. (1:1-6) Why does Nehemiah pray day and night for four months? Why does he fast and weep? Isn't that excessive? Nehemiah has a great burden for his land and his people.He was desperate and He wanted God to intervene and have mercy.I believe his desperation over the state of his land led him to pray day and night. He fasted and wept asking God to forgive him, his people and even their ancestors of their sin and wicked ways.He wanted God to intevene and have mercy. No,when you are desperate and you know that only God can help,then it is time to seek God in humility and with a contrite heart.

Q3. (9:5) Since Daniel is such a righteous man in his generation, why does he identify himself with the sins of his people? He didn't commitment them. How does this compare to how Jesus sought forgiveness for his people? Daniel wants his people to come into a relationship with the Living God and he knows their sin keeps them away He is willing to stand in the gap for his people and identify with the sins of his people so that God forgives and has mercy. Jesus our Lord died on our behalf.He was the perfect Lamb of God that was slain for our sins.He was sinless but He took our sins on Himself.Daniel identified with the sins of his people, Jesus took the sin of all mankind and died so that we might live.

Q2. (9:3-4a) What is Daniel's demeanor as he prays? How does he prepare? Why is this so important in this case? In what ways might you and I prepare for intercession? Daniel goes to pray with a humble and contrite heart.He fasts and clothes himself in sackcloth and ashes as if in mourning. He takes on the sins of His people and inteceeds on their behalf.He seeks a restoration of his people into a right relationship with God and he is desperate for it. When we go into intecessory prayer,we need to prepare our own hearts so that iniquity is not found in us,for if we harbour iniquity then our prayers become an abomination to the Lord.We should then identify with the sins of those we are praying for and ask for mecy.God so wants to forgive us and set us freeWe need to know the heart cry of our God.

Q1. (9:1-3) What encourages Daniel to seek God for the forgiveness and restoration of Israel to its homeland? What trait on Daniel's part brings this encouragement to pass? Daniel loved and obeyed God.He read the Scriptures and understood them.He knew from the Scriptures that the time to come out of exile was drawing close hence he prayed for the forgiveness and restoration of Israel Daniel stood in the gap for Israel he knew the heart of God and the will of God,so he identified with the sins of his people and asked for forgiveness He asked God to act for His Names sake.

Q4. (139:23-24) Why is this prayer of surrender to God so difficult to pray? When was the first time you prayed this kind of prayer to God? What was the result? Can a person be a genuine disciple without praying this kind of prayer? The prayer of surrender is difficult to pray in the beginning.You feel you are giving up control,You also feel vulnerable as you have to expose something you have tried to hide.It churns up a riot of emotions and then one has to deal with it set it right and only then does one experience peace.So all in all it is a difficult prayer to pray at first. Many years ago .It was difficult, but I developed a holy hatred for sin and benifited greatly from pouring my heart out to God who could see me through and through any ways.It helped me grow closer to God, equiped me to be an overcomer and now being open to God and seeking His righteousness is my way of life. I would say no for then the relationship lacks intimacy.

Q3. (139:13-16) How is an awareness of God's involvement in your prenatal development meant to encourage you? What might this mean to a young woman carrying a child? A young father-to-be? Why is such knowledge overwhelming to us? I stand in awe of my God.Thinking of His involvement in my life from conception makes me feel so secure.I know I have a purpose and am excited about that.Life is full of meaning and I look forward to Eternity with my Lord. I know exactly what it means .When I was pregnant with my daughter,about four doctors told me that my pregnancy was not going well and that if I carried on with it my child would be severly deformed I was distressed and went to God and the word He gave me was "Those who trust in the Lord will not be put to shame" My daughter was born normal,today praise God she is healthy, brilliant and a firm believer in the Lord Jesus Christ.She is an excellent speaker, pianist,and was last week chosen to be the Head Girl of her school.She is my constant reminder of God's faithfulness and power to those who believe and trust in Him and I hope what I say right now will minister to someone. Gods love for man and His involvement with us amazes me.At times I find it so overwhelming it moves me to tears.I just Love Him.

Q2. (139:5, 10). In verses 5 and 10, how does God's hand touch the psalmist? Have you ever felt God's hand on you in a special way? Was it for your good? What was it like? The hand of God is His protection here.It is a wonderful experience to have God have His hand of protection comfort and guidance on you. Many a time,and it is such an awesome experience.His hand of protection guidance comfort healing oh pure joy Our God is an awesome God.I just Love Him.

Q1. (139:7) Why do people sometimes want to flee from God? Why do people imagine that God doesn't know what they do? Have you ever felt this way? I do believe that people want to flee from God when they are in willful sin.When one is comfortable in sin and that can happen ,then one would want to run away from God even if it is for a time, for when we are in a relationship with God we will have to give up our sin and at times that is difficult. It is convenient to imagine that God does not know what we are doing specially if we are in sin,however I find it is more often that we take God's forgiveness for granted. Yes I did in my backsliding days ,but when you are in a deep relationship with the Lord and you mature as a believer then these games really have no place in your life.

Q4. (20:3) What is the basis on which Hezekiah asks for healing? Why is personal righteousness and holiness important in getting your prayers answered? How can unrighteousness prevent answered prayer if all gifts from God are by grace anyway? Hezekiah knows his standing before God,he was righteous holy and loved the Lord. Personal righteousness and holiness are a byproduct of a close relationship with God,and the prayer of one who lives life in a deep relationship with God gets answered. Sin and unrighteousness will hinder us from the best that God has for us.Our God is a forgiving father,but He does not wink at sin or overlook sin for He is a Holy God and He cannot do that,so it is quite likely that we dont recive our answers to prayer because of unconfessed sin.

Q3. Why is Hezekiah's healing important for his nation? How did it relate to God's promises to David? Hezekiah was not ready to die.The Nation was facing an enemy,there was a crisis situation and there was no one Hezekiah could hand the baton to. God promised David that his decendents would always be on the throne,however when Hezekiah faced death he did not have a son to take over.