Pastor How's service last sunday was powerful and impactful. Firstly, he talked about effective prayers. In order for a prayer to be effective, we must do 4 things. Firstly, PRAY SPECIFICALLY. Secondly, YOU MUST HAVE A STRONG DESIRE IN WHAT YOU ARE PRAYING FOR. Thirdly, YOU MUST HAVE FAITH! With reference to Hebrews 11:1 :Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. It is a substance, something that can be felt, even though it may not be seen.

To have effective prayers, we need to have faith in God, and to achieve breakthroughs in faith, let us refer to Philippians 4:6-7,"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanks giving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. "

Pastor How then further explained that even though we pray repeatedly, we must be able to feel a peace and an understanding that your request will be fulfilled, only then should we stop praying. Referring to Mark 11:24 : Therefore I tell you,whatever you ask for in prayer, believed that you have received it, and it will be yours.

Pastor How then went on to talk about the last and most important step. That is to MIND YOUR LANGUAGE! Just what does he mean by that you might ask? According to Proverbs 18: 21,"The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit."

That means that the tongue has the power to speak life and death to people. For example, it can be used to praise or say positive things about the people around you, or it can be used by the devil to hurt those around you through vulgarties and gossiping. As christians, we should speak the words of LIFE as much as possible, and not death.

I know its hard, especially in Singapore, where our culture is mostly a dead one. For example, "Aiya, i didn't study for my exams! DIE LA! I forgot to bring my calculator for my A.math test! DIE LA! SIAN LA! DIE LA! SIAN LA!" Our culture is mostly made up of the words DIE and SIAN, therefore we must try hard to speak life. Referring to Proverbs 13:3," He who guards his lips guards his life, but he who speaks rashly will come to ruin." This means that if we don't have anything positive to say, then don't say it!

Everyday, we are surrounded by our friends. Some good, some bad. Some say good things, others don't. But how do we tell the good from the bad? Simple. According to Proverbs 15: 4," The tongue that brings healing is a tree of life, but a deceitful tongue crushes the spirit."

For example, when you are down or depressed, you should turn to a friend who can comfort you and share your burden, not one who rubs salt in your wounds and goes around telling everyone how pathetic you are right now.

Therefore we must learn to tame the tongue. Referring to James 3: 5-8," Likewise the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The tongue is also a fire, a world of evil among the parts of a body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell. All kinds of animals,birds,reptiles and creatures of the sea are being tamed and have been tamed by man, but NO MAN CAN TAME THE TONGUE. IT IS A RESTLESS EVIL, FULL OF DEADLY POISON."

Finally, Pastor How told us how we can counter death with life. For example, if someone were to say," Oh! you look absolutely ugly today, and i feel like a bean pole next to you!" You can tell the person this," Its alright. What matters is that you're beautiful and that you look good being thin. I just eat well, thats all." Then everyone around you will know who the real bad person is. Or, by speaking life, God will break the other party's spirit and will to say bad things about you. Therefore God, I hope that you will bless us to speak life all the time, and put a stop to the words of death. Amen.