A New Beginning in Life Matthew 3:13-17, NIV Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. But John tried to deter him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” Jesus replied, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John consented. As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” I would like to share the grace of God under the title, “A New Beginning in Life,” which is based on Matthew 3:13-17. Please repeat after me, A New Beginning in Life! A New Beginning in Life! A new beginning is very important because it is a turning point when we begin to challenge a new future, shutting the doors of our past behind. So God allows us to have a new day, a new month, and a new year so that we may turn around and live for His glory. I pray that you will accomplish God’s precious will for you by pondering on how to please God, how to give glory to God, and how to fulfill His will in your lives. I pray that you will always pray and do God’s will in the name of the Lord. Let us not live aimlessly. Let us not drift away, being blown by the wind or carried by streams of water. We should live each single day meaningfully, worthily, joyfully, and happily. What was the starting point of pubic ministry for Jesus like? According to the Bible, He started His public ministry by being baptized. First, I would like to speak about Jesus and His Baptism. Before Jesus came, John the Baptist went to the desert and baptized people, preparing the way for the Lord. John baptized people with water for repentance. Matthew 3:11 says, “I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me will come one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.” Mark 1:4 speaks about John’s baptism for repentance. Mark 1:4 says, “And so John came, baptizing in the desert region and preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.” The word baptism comes from “baptizo” in Greek which means going under the water. Baptism is performed as a ceremony of cleansing. A sinner goes under the water and is fully forgiven of his sins. He comes out of the water after being changed and cleansed. Baptism is a ceremony which symbolizes cleansing. When Jesus started His public ministry, He was baptized by John. Matthew 3:13 says, “Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John.” By being baptized, we publicly announce that we are forgiven for all our sins and we are freed and renewed. Therefore baptism announces a new beginning for a Christian. Jesus was about 30 when He started His public ministry. He was baptized to announce the beginning of His ministry. Numbers 4:3 says, “Count all the men from thirty to fifty years of age who come to serve in the work in the Tent of Meeting.” The Levites were allowed to serve in the Tent of Meeting when they reached 30. Jesus waited, with many prayers and preparations, until He was 30 years of age, to begin His work of salvation for mankind. Luke 3:23 says, “Now Jesus himself was about thirty years old when he began his ministry.” As Jesus proclaimed that He was the Messiah and started His ministry by being baptized, we also are to live as a new person after being baptized. We must make a resolution before God after being baptized, “I am a new person now. I want to give my whole life for the glory of God.” Hallelujah! Galatians 3:27 says, “…for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.” We must clothe ourselves with Christ after we are baptized. We must be renewed. The first thing that we should do after being saved by believing in Jesus is to be baptized. Through baptism we publicly announce that we have become a people of God, that we have become a member of the church, and that we have begun a new start. Be baptized and live as a new person in the Lord. By any chance are you still living in your old pattern of life, even five, ten, or twenty years after you were baptized? If so it is time for you to make a resolution, saying, “I will live as a new person, being clothed in a new self. I want to give glory to the Lord through my life. I am a new person. I will have a new start. The old has gone. I give my life for God.” Hallelujah! Jesus was baptized to announce His ministry and to fulfill all righteousness. Matthew 3:15 says, “Jesus replied, ‘Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.’ Then John consented.” Jesus was not baptized because He was a sinner. He came to earth in the flesh and experienced all the sufferings of man. The Lord Jesus was baptized by John to pronounce that He would begin and fulfill His ministry. Hebrews 2:17 says, “For this reason he had to be made like his brothers in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people.” Jesus knows all things about us. He knows our deepest pain, joy, and sorrow. He knows the problems we face. He knows what worries and troubles us. The Lord died on the Cross, taking all the sin and heavy load of humankind. This is the grace of salvation. How wonderful His grace is! Jesus resolved the problem of sin once and for all on the Cross, which we could not possibly handle. 2 Corinthians 5:17 says, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” The old has gone. It will never come back. We are new creations now. We have been renewed. We should never live with the old and shameful self image again. Instead, we should live as a renewed creation. People may have closed their eyes to our mistakes before we became Christians. However, if we make the same mistakes after believing in Jesus, they usually say, “How can a Christian do something like this? You say you are a Christian but why do you lose your temper? Why do you yell? How can you lie? A Christian is not supposed to lie or deceive others.” Because they think Christians should be more ethical, people blame Christians for their mistakes or faults. To avoid such reprimands, we must live like a new creation, remembering the Scripture saying, “The New has come!” We must excel in everything we do. We must be blameless ethically or morally. We must live righteously. We must please God through our lives. Only then God will receive glory from us, accomplishing His precious work in our lives. We need to change after being baptized. When we are baptized, we are confessing, “I am changed. I am a new person now.” When we go under the water, we are confessing, “My old self is dead.” When we come out of the water, we are confessing, “As a new and changed person, I want to live with the Lord, giving glory to Him.” Romans 6:4 says: “We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.” Now that we are made anew after being baptized, we must become faithful servants of God, walking in a new life in the Lord. We need to change after believing in Jesus. If we do not change, what else can we show people? How can we prove that we believe in Jesus? Our life should change. Our acts should be different. Our language should be different. Our personality as well should change. All things must change. If you speak bad words and say negative things, blaming and gossiping about others, you still remain at the lowest level of faith. You should be ashamed. We must take steps up from this low level. I pray that you will shake off all the things from your old self in the New Year. The old has gone. Let us not speak negatively any more. Let us not complain, gossip about others, or slander people. Let us not lie or deceive others. Let us speak positively, giving thanks and praises to the Lord. I pray that we will be so blessed by the Lord that we will give our personal testimonies throughout this year. Please repeat after me, “I am changed! I am a new person!” Hallelujah! We are new creations. Now that we are changed, we should not live like our old self. We are renewed. Since we are renewed, we must live like renewed people and beautify this world. If all Korean Christians would stand and do righteously before the Lord, our country would receive unprecedented grace and blessings from God. Even though we have had so many problems and hardships, God has heard the prayers of His people and allowed such marvelous revival. When our politicians and leaders do their jobs righteously before the Lord, Korea will be greatly blessed by God and the whole world will be amazed by it. Hallelujah! When Jesus was baptized, heaven was opened. Second, heaven was opened. Matthew 3:16 says, “As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him.” Hallelujah! When was heaven closed? After Adam and Eve sinned, their relationship with God was severed. Heaven was closed. They were put under the judgment of God. They were doomed to live in pain, suffering from poverty, curses, and diseases. Originally there were no thorns and thistles in the Garden of Eden. After Adam and Eve sinned, the ground was cursed and produced thorns and thistles. If Adam and Eve would have praised God instead of sinned; given glory to Him; they could have lived joyfully, without having to toil or suffer. However because of their sin, Adam and Eve were expelled from the garden of blessings to eat their food by the sweat of their brow. Jesus Christ came and opened the gate of heaven. The gate of heaven is the gate to eternal life. It is the gate of miracles. It is the gate to blessings and hope. It is the gate of righteousness. Hallelujah! The gate to salvation is opened for us now. Even though we used to live in sin and despair in the past, when we say that we believe in Jesus; heaven will be opened and we will receive the grace and blessings from God. Who is the gate? It is Jesus. Jesus Himself becomes the gate, leading us to salvation. John 10:9 says, “I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture.” After believing in Jesus, we must open our spiritual eyes and see the open heaven. Instead of being depressed and worried by looking at earthly things, we must look up to heaven, praising and thanking the Lord, and living for the glory of God. It saddens and makes us feel shame and frustration when we look at earthly things. It is like a fresh snow in the wintertime. Everything initially looks beautiful, all covered with snow. However when the snow melts all things become dirty because the snow is mixed with mud and dirt. When we look at the sky we see beautiful snowflakes but the ground will get dirty when piled snow melts. In the same way, when we open our spiritual eyes and look at heaven, we find grace and joy. However, when we look down at the world, we see sin, greed, hatred, lies, lewdness, and debauchedness. Even though we live in this world of sin and filth, we need to open our spiritual eyes and look up to heaven. Fanny Jane Crosby lost her sight when she was an infant. She lived 95 years and wrote more than 9,000 hymns. The third verse of one of her hymns, Hymn Number 204 in our Korean hymnal, is as follows: Perfect submission, all is at rest, I in my Savior am happy and blest; Watching and waiting, looking above, Filled with His goodness, lost in His love, This is my story; this is my song, praising my Savior all the day long; This is my story; this is my song, praising my Savior all the day long. Hallelujah! Fanny Jane Crosby was blind but her spiritual eyes were open. She sang, “Watching and waiting, looking above, Filled with His goodness, lost in His love.” Hallelujah! She gave enormous thanks to God. Let us live the same way. Even when there are problems, pain, and sorrow, let us live like her. “Watching and waiting, looking above, Filled with His goodness, lost in His love.” Then we do not have to feel deprived. We do not need to suffer from insomnia due to deep troubles of our hearts. We do not need sleeping pills. When we have peace in our hearts, we can sleep well, eat well, and enjoy our lives in the Lord. We will receive such a blessing when we remain in the Lord and when heaven is opened for us. Rev. Ik-doo Kim, a former superintendent of Korean Presbyterian Churches, was a famous healing preacher. He was born in 1874 as an only son to a rich and noble family in Hwanghae Province. He took a government service examination but did not pass. His father was so shocked, he died. Ik-doo Kim lost his entire fortune by co-signing a loan for somebody. He started a business but it did not work. He very quickly turned into a poverty-stricken boy from a noble heritage. In frustration Ik-doo Kim became a drunken ruffian. He was always drunk, picking fights with every person he ran into. He would often snatch money from people who passed by him. He was so ruthless that people wanted to avoid him, making their wishes every morning, “Do not let me run into the horrid Ik-Doo.” Then one day this horrid Ik-doo Kim, the hopeless ruffian, met a missionary and changed. He came to believe in Jesus. But unfortunately even after he became a Christian, Ik-doo Kim could not cut off his old self completely. One day he became drunk and felt pangs of shame stirring in his conscience. His conscience said, “You are a Christian. Why are you drunk?” Since he could not go home, he went to the mountains and prayed with tears of repentance. He prayed, “Heavenly Father, I want to live righteously. I want to cut off my old self. I want to change.” He prayed through the night, then went home at dawn and went to sleep. In a dream-like state, between sleeping and waking, a fire ball rushed into his heart. He though he was struck by a thunderbolt, and shouted: “It is a thunderbolt,” and then he awoke. Startled by her son’s shout, his mother rushed to him, thinking there was an accident. Kim, Ik-doo received the fire of the Holy Spirit. Later he went to a seminary and became a pastor. I pray that you will receive the fire of the Holy Spirit. We cannot change a thing with our own might or strength. However when we receive the fire of the Spirit things will change. One day Ik-doo Kim, filled with the Holy Spirit, saw a crippled man on a road. He remembered Peter raising the crippled in the Book of Acts and thought, “I will try to raise this crippled man up.” So he took the man to the stone wall of a nearby orchard. He said to the man, “Rise in the name of Jesus of Nazareth,” and pulled him up. There was a cracking sound and the crippled man said, “He is killing me! Somebody, help me!” Kim left the man by the stone wall and ran away. He went back to the mountain. He fasted and prayed some more. He was filled with the Spirit again and received holy fire. We need to be filled with the Spirit again and again. It should not be a one-time experience. Ik-doo Kim came down from the mountain, being filled with the Spirit. He met the crippled man again. This time he had more confidence and pulled the crippled man up, saying, “Rise and walk in the name of Jesus of Nazareth.” After another cracking sound, the crippled man rose up. Hallelujah! Since that incident Ik-doo Kim healed more than 20,000 people. He built 280 churches. He supported more than 200 seminary students. Then during the Korean Civil War, he was martyred by the communists. Even though one is a hopeless ruffian, when one believes in Jesus and heaven is opened, such miracles can take place. Heaven must be opened to us. Unless heaven is opened we cannot expect any miracles in our lives. When is heaven opened? It is opened when we repent of our sins. We must cry out to the Lord, saying, “Heavenly Father, forgive me.” When we completely repent of our sins, we can experience the grace of God. 2 Chronicles 7:14 says, “…if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” I urge you to start this New Year with repentance. We must repent of our sins whenever we come to the Lord. Why? As long as we live in the flesh, sin stays with us, never going away. This is why we must wash away our sins with the blood of Jesus again and again. We must ask the Lord to forgive our arrogance, our unbelief, our greed, and our wrong thoughts. We must ask the Lord to wash us with the precious blood of Jesus. Heaven will be opened when we repent of our sins. Next heaven will be opened when we pray. Luke 3:21 says, “When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too. And as he was praying, heaven was opened.” When was heaven opened according to Luke? It was opened as Jesus was praying. Heaven will be opened when we pray. We are opening heaven through our twelve basket early morning prayers at the beginning of this New Year. Even though we have had a heavy snowfall of 27 centimeters, the heaviest in a hundred years, our church was packed with people in the early Morning Prayer meetings. Heaven is being opened. The Lord is with us. I want you to put your first priority on meeting the Lord. It should come before meeting people or doing any other things. I want you to ask for help from the Lord through prayer first thing in the morning. The end of things will be different for those who pray from the end for those who do not pray. The Lord is with those who pray showing His power and manifesting His glory in their lives. “Heavenly Father, make me a valiant warrior of prayer. Make me Your faithful servant of prayer. Perform Your great works through my prayer.” The following Scripture speaks about Elijah. James 5:17-18 says, “Elijah was a man just like us. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops.” Elijah was a man of prayer. When he prayed earnestly that it would not rain, it indeed did not rain on the land for three and a half years. Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain. A prayer of faith opens the gate of heaven. It opens the gate of miracles and blessings. Therefore we must always bow down before God and pray. We must cry out to the Lord earnestly. Since the Lord told us to cry out to Him we must cry out to Him in prayer over and over again. Our church grew explosively when it was located in Seodaemun area. Some people made fun of us, saying, “Is God deaf? Why do the Full Gospel Church members shout at the top of their voices?” Of course God knows the desires of our hearts. However suppose you are sinking under the water. If you whispered, “Somebody, help me,” you will definitely drown. Instead, you must shout, “Somebody, help me!” We must shout like that. Then the Lord will hear our cries and say, “I know you have a problem and I will solve it for you.” Mockers laughed at us because they did not know they were in a life-death situation. They did not even know they were in trouble. We cannot help shouting when we realize we are hopeless. We must shout to the Lord. When we shout to the Lord, God’s marvelous power comes upon us. Cry out before the Lord in prayer. Cry out to the Lord without feeling awkward or being afraid of losing face. We pray to the Lord not to people. We cry out to the Lord in prayer whether the guy sitting next to us hears or not. When we make requests to the Lord, He will answer our prayers. I urge you to go to our prayer mountain when you have unspeakable agony or pain. There are many private prayer units in Osanri Prayer Mountain. When we pray there we experience enormous grace and blessings of God. Moreover heaven will be opened when we obey the Lord. Heaven will be opened to those who obey the Word of God. 1 Samuel 15:22 says, “But Samuel replied: ‘Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the LORD? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams.” The Lord Jesus was completely obedient to God. In obedience to the will of God, Jesus was crucified. His body was torn. He shed His blood. He opened heaven for us through His death. Obedience is the channel for blessings. When we accept the Word of God with “Amen;” God opens the gate of heaven for us. Third, after heaven was opened, the Holy Spirit descended on Jesus. Matthew 3:16 says, “He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him.” When Jesus preached, being filled with the Holy Spirit, demons were cast out; diseases were healed; problems were resolved; and miracles took place. Acts 10:38 describes it in detail, “…how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him.” When we believe in Jesus, the Holy Spirit descends upon us. God will be with us. When we become God’s people of prayer and of the Spirit, there is no problem that we cannot solve. What did Jesus tell His disciples to do before He was taken up to heaven? He told them to be filled with the Holy Spirit. He commanded them to be baptized with the Holy Spirit. Acts 1:5 says, “For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” The following is what happened ten days later. Acts 2:4 says, “All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.” When we receive the Holy Spirit, we will receive power. We will receive power and become the witnesses of the gospel. When the apostle preached, three thousands and five thousands people repented of their sins and came to the Lord on a single day. Acts 1:8 says, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” When the Holy Spirit comes, we will receive power. This power is so strong and marvelous that, even when we are surrounded by problems as high as a mountain, our problems will dissolve like a mountain bursting by the power of the Holy Spirit. We will receive such strong power that we will become witnesses of the gospel. “Heavenly Father, we want to receive power and become witnesses of the gospel.” When we are filled with the Holy Spirit, we will have God’s blessings and miracles. Yoido Full Gospel Church’s 52 year history is a history of the fullness of the Holy Spirit in Korea. The Holy Spirit filled our church, starting from Bulkwangdong to Seodaemun, and then to Yoido. The work of the Holy Spirit has made our church the world’s largest church. As of January 1, 2010, our 20 branch churches have become independent; but we are still with 430,000 members here in Yoido. God has blessed our church so much. Our church started with only five members. Now we still have 430,000 members even after 360,000 members have branched off. Church growth, throughout history, is the work of the Holy Spirit. There has not been any preacher in Korea who has emphasized the fullness of the Holy Spirit as much as Pastor Cho. He has emphasized the fullness of the Holy Spirit again and again and again over the fifty years of his ministry. God has received glory from our church and blessed us with great revival. “Lord, fill us with the Holy Spirit. Fill us with the Holy Spirit. Help us to live victoriously in this blessed New Year by being filled with the Holy Spirit. Help us to walk with the Holy Spirit. We want the fire of the Spirit. We want to be filled with the Spirit and speak in tongues. Pour Your marvelous blessings and miracles upon us when we pray to You. Scatter the power of darkness. Bless all of us so that our spirits and bodies will go well and all may go well with us under all circumstances.” We must anticipate the fullness of the Spirit and pray for it. The history of the Korean Church is indeed the history of the Holy Spirit movement. In 1903, a Great Revival in Wonsan took place. It was initiated by Missionary Hardy when he received the Holy Spirit and repented of his sin. Missionary Hardy was a medical missionary in Korea sent by the American Methodist Mission Headquarter. He ministered in Kangwon Province for three years without gaining many souls. Because he was a well educated medical doctor, to some degree, he despised Koreans. Actually he was spiritually arrogant. In 1903, there was a conference for missionaries in Wonsan. During a time of prayer, Missionary Hardy received the Holy Spirit. The Spirit of repentance compelled him to confess his sins. He said, “During my ministry so far, I thought we did not have revival because of the Koreans. Now I came to realize that it is my fault. I have been too proud.” As he confessed his sins, the Holy Spirit descended in their midst. In 1907 the great revival that started in Wonsan widely spread, causing a great revival at Pyungyang Jangdaehyun Church. This Great Revival in Pyungyang was actually a milestone for the revival of the Korean Church as a whole. This is why Pyungyang was called the Jerusalem of the East. “Lord, open the door to North Korea so that many churches will be rebuilt. Restart the fire of another great revival in Pyungyang.” When I went to Pyungyang, North Korea, I looked around and found a subway station named Buheung, which literally means revival. I think the North Korean communists left the name unchanged because they do not know what it meant. And so the Buheung (Revival) station remains to this date ‘The Revival station!’ We do not have anything like ‘Revival Station’ in Seoul. I felt very grateful that Pyungyang, North Korea has ‘The Revival’ station. The street name on which Misionary Thomas was martyred is “Mission River Road.” The name of the district is Mission District as in East Gate District or Mapo District in Seoul. My guess is that the communists do not know what Mission means and have left the name unchanged. I hope that even if they know what it means they will not change it. So I thanked God for leaving traces of Christianity in North Korea. I sometimes look at the map of Pyungyang and pray, “Heavenly Father, here is Mission District. Let them hear the gospel again and bring great revival to North Korea. Here is Buheung Station. Let buheung (revival) come to North Korea.” We need to pray for it. We must pray for North Korea. There is no other way other than the power of the Holy Spirit that can make North Korea open its gates. The Holy Spirit will do it. Next the Holy Spirit descended like a dove. The Spirit’s descending like a dove means that we need to change our character in the Lord. Galatians 5:22-23 says, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.” When we receive the Holy Spirit, we must become like Jesus, bearing the fruit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. When we are truly filled with the Holy Spirit, we must change in the likeness of Jesus. We fail to do this because we are not fully controlled by the Spirit. That is why we still lose our temper, yell, and fight. If we are truly filled with the Holy Spirit, we would not lose our temper, yell, or fight because the Spirit fully controls us. So I pray that you will always be filled with the Holy Spirit. Fourth, I want to speak about God’s words that came upon Jesus. When Jesus was baptized, God’s words came upon Jesus. Matthew 3:17 says, “And a voice from heaven said, ‘This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.’ ” We all are loved by God. There is a gospel song, “You are born to be loved.” When we believe in Jesus, we are loved by God. We receive His free gift and love. People are hungry for love. There are many wounded souls around us. I visit group homes where deserted children live together. The children in the group homes come near me. They are hungry for love. When I gently stroke their heads with my hands, they become overjoyed. It reminds me how lonely they are. Although they have parents, they are living in group homes without even seeing their parents. The Korean Civil War ended many decades ago. We do not have any more war orphans but still our orphanages are filled with children who have been deserted by their parents. Even though they have parents, they grow up in orphanages with loneliness. They need love. Let us practice love. The voice from heaven said, “This is my Son whom I love.” Jesus is the beloved Son of God. God loves Jesus very much and He loves us the same way. Hallelujah! Psalm 2:7 says, “I will proclaim the decree of the LORD: He said to me, "You are my Son; today I have become your Father.” Isaiah 42:1 says, “Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him and he will bring justice to the nations.” Moreover God delights in us. Children gain strength when they are encouraged and complimented by their parents or teachers. They are likely to do even better. Suppose there is a kid who is not well organized. If his mother says to him, “Wow you have organized your room very well! You did a good job! I am proud of you!” Then he will do better next time because he is thrilled by this compliment. The same is true in schools. Students who are complimented by their teachers will work better and harder. Scripture says that God delights in us. We are so thankful and proud that we will faithfully serve God with all our hearts. “I want to please God only throughout my life. I want to serve the Lord with thanks and love. Help me to set a fine example of serving so that I may glorify You through my service for You. Lord, come and stay with me. I thank You for loving me and saying, ‘I love you and delight in you,’ even though I am nothing. Being overwhelmed by the grace of the Lord, I want to faithfully dedicate my life to you, with devotion. I have been too busy so far, living for myself to care for something else. I am ashamed of myself. From now on, I want to do my best for the glory of God and to fulfill the wonderful will of God. Give me strength to do so. I want to make a new start. As heaven was opened when Jesus was baptized, I pray that heaven will be opened to me. May the Holy Spirit descend upon me! Help me to listen to Your voice all the time. Touch and control me with Your Word. Help me to live for Your glory throughout my life.” I pray that this prayer will be your prayer throughout your life. I earnestly pray for you in the name of the Lord. Let us pray. Our Father of infinite love, grace, and mercy, thank You for loving us, calling us, and making us Your children even though we are nothing. We thank You for recognizing us and praising us, saying, “This is my child, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.’ ” We want to serve You with thanks and enthusiasm throughout our lives. We want to be used to fulfill Your will. Be with us, Lord. Anoint us with the Holy Spirit. Make all of us Your servants of prayer, of the Holy Spirit, and of the Word so that we will participate in Your great work. I pray in the Name of Jesus. Amen. 2