I Will Make This Day My Prayer

I will make this day my prayer
I will give you everything that I am and do today
I will give you all my cares, all my joys and sufferings
I will make this day my prayer

And when I work may my work usher in your reign
And as I go may I go with you
And when I speak may my lips sing your praise again
May my words be light and truth

And when I see my friends may they see you in me
And may I see your face in them
And may our conversation lead us to the freedom
That your presence beckons in

And when I ask forgiveness may my heart be true
And may I offer forgiveness too
And when we reconcile may we be one in you
May forgiveness make our hearts new

The few songs that comes to our mind when we hear Don Moen’s name is “God is good all the time…” or “Give thanks…” but Bangalore oops Bengaluru was different. This was Don’s first trip to India after 10 years of Prayer and Planning. For people who don’t know, Don Moen’s bassist is an Indian yahoo. He made a statement that “I never knew that Indians can sing, if not good…but much better than western singer” got a big applaud from 8000 strong audience. Proud moment for me J but this man is as passionate and committed that ask him about his achievements and he would say it’s not me.

Ask Don Moen what he does, and the answer might surprise you. He won’t say he’s a songwriter even though he’s written more than 100 songs. He won’t say he’s a worship leader even though he’s led worship on every continent except Antarctica and recorded numerous albums. He won’t say he’s a businessman or producer even though he has produced and directed hundreds of successful projects.

If you ask Don Moen why God put him on this planet, he’ll tell you, "To be an architect who designs products and events that help people experience God’s presence in a new and fresh way." And in more than three decades of ministry, he’s had lots of opportunity to fulfil that purpose.

I did my planning for the trip well in advance but few things went out of control. Like losing blocked tickets for the concert just an hour before concert but God’s plans are amazing as I got the best seat in the house behind VVIP seating. All Glory to God because “God is good all the time and all the time God is good”

Don Moen – I Believe There is More – The Greatness of You

“John Schlitt,” lead singer of “Petra” and internationally known recording artist, will be performing with his band in BANGALORE. The concert is to be held at St. Aloysius School ground [Cox town].

Petra was founded in 1972, and is one of the world’s best known and most successful Christian rock bands, with sales of over 7 million records. Schlitt, a native of Illinois, has been their lead vocalist since 1986. During his time with Petra, he has recorded 16 albums, earning four Grammy and numerous Dove awards, with many #1 and Top Ten hits on the Contemporary Christian Charts. His travels and performances with the group have reached all 50 states and 18 countries.

Prior to his time with Petra, Schlitt was lead singer for the rock band “Head East,” a Midwest-based group which toured the United States in the 1970′s and was best known for their classic hit “Never Been Any Reason”.

Schlitt’s concerts are a mixture of classic Petra tunes in rock, pop, and praise & worship style, such as “Beyond Belief,” “No Doubt,” and “We Need Jesus,” plus hits off his solo albums, such as “Show
Me the Way,” “One by One” and “Inside of You.”

“As a Christian artist, I’m one of the most blessed people in the business, because I have an avenue to go out and do what I love,” says Schlitt. “This music is a form – it’s a way to be heard. I see so much need out there; I’ve been given the opportunity to have a platform where people will listen.”

In addition to his work with Petra, Schlitt started performing solo in the mid-’90s. He has recorded one pop/rock album and has released another project that includes modern rock styles along with slower, acoustic-based melodies. He is currently working on a third project.

Inherent with Schlitt’s music is a message: “Our God designed each one of us to be winners. We are special – every one of us – every human being that’s made in the image of God – all of us – have a special plan that God has for us, that if we chose to follow it, we would win. We were built with that,” says Schlitt.

The event is produced by GenX Entertainment.

DAY 1 :: Gospel Rock bands from Bangalore performs
Featuring bands:: TRANSIT POINT, CRUCIFIX GUIDE, CROSS LEGACY, ZION, ARUN (the Petra kid), KEN HENSON, SLAIN YWAM and NAGA CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP
Date: Sat 17th May @ 5pm onwards
Venue: St. Aloysius School ground [Cox town]
ENTRY FREE

DAY 2 :: John Schlitt of PETRA performs
Date: Sun 18th May 2008 @ 7:00pm
Venue: St. Aloysius School ground [Cox town]
Entry with donor passes only/-

For any information please call 9901767575 or email at ramnaththakur@gmail.com To download recent pictures of John Schlit please visit the site www.johnschlitt.net

Prayer
Words and music by Bob Hartman and John Elefante
Based on 1 Thessalonians 5:17-18, Ephesians 6:18-19, Matthew 6:9-13

First I want to thank You Lord for being who You are
For coming to the rescue of a man who’s drifted far
For calling me to be Your son and calling me to serve
Lord the way You’ve blessed my life is more than I deserve

Keep the ones I love so dearly
Fill their emptiness while I am gone
And fill the loneliness in me

(Chorus)
This is my prayer
Lifted to You
Knowing You care even more than I do
This is my prayer
Lifted in Your name
Your will be done I humbly pray

Let me be the evidence of what Your grace can do
To a generations struggling to find themselves in You
May they come to know the love of God
May their eyes be made to see
Give me the opportunity to share the truth that sets them free
And may unity in all things
Be the banner of Your church
And let revival’s fire begin to burn

As we face the last and final hours
Turn a wayward country back to You
And keep us from the evil that devours
Keep us on the path and lead us through
Keep us in Your light until Your kingdom comes
And our work is done

This is my prayer
Lifted to You
Knowing You care so much more than I do
This is my prayer
In Jesus’ name
Your will be done I humbly pray
This is my prayer

Play Song Prayer

Vertical Expressions- the new worship CD by Bob and John from Petra, aka II Guys From Petra, featuring 10 popular worship songs and a bonus live track.

1. Come, Now Is The Time
2. Trading My Sorrows
3. God of Wonders
4. Draw Me Close
5. Here I Am To Worship
6. My Redeemer Lives
7. Lord Reign In Me
8. We Fall Down
9. Blessed Be Your Name
10 Lord I Lift Your Name On High (live)
11.Judas Kiss (live)

Petra got started in 1972 and helped define the genre of Christian rock. They were the first rock band I ever liked — I still remember listening in awe to “Somebody’s Gonna Praise His Name” from the On Fire! album. And they are still my favorite band! Hopefully this article will provoke, or renew, your interest in them.

Over the last several years, Petra’s popularity has plummeted. Music tastes have changed, and Petra themselves experimented with different music styles with their last several albums. Throughout all this turbulence, which would have caused most bands to simply break up, Petra knew they had a calling to keep preaching the Gospel through music, and they kept at it. A core group of fans remained, and they kept asking for the band to get back to rock!

Check out there video: click play

Jekyll & Hyde

Those pleas have finally been answered. In August, Petra released its first real rock album in about ten years: Jekyll & Hyde. It did not disappoint. This album easily compares to what they did during their heyday in the late 80s. Here is my brief review of the songs, followed by the Scripture that inspired them.

Jekyll & Hyde — The title track starts the album off right. It is a rocker about the internal struggle between our spiritual nature and our fleshly nature. Only God, of course, can rescue us from this conflict.

For I don’t know what I am doing. For I don’t practice what I desire to do; but what I hate, that I do. (Romans 7:15)

It’s All About Who You Know — Another solid rocker. I feel this song will be useful for evangelism. No matter what we have accomplished in life and no matter how many important people we know or important things we have done, our eternal state is also “all about who you know”. In this case, Jesus! The chorus is a tad repetitive, but not bad.

We know that the Son of God has come, and has given us an understanding, that we know him who is true, and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life. (1 John 5:20)

Stand — This one is clearly for people who know their Bible, with lyrics like Stand, having done all this. Still, it’s a good reminder that God has already given us the power we need to stand up for Him.

Therefore, put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and, having done all, to stand. (Ephesians 6:13)

Would’a, Should’a, Could’a — Although this is probably my least favorite song on the album, that’s not much of a knock because every song is great! It talks about the regrets we have about things we should have done but didn’t. Lots of truth there.

Brothers, I don’t regard myself as yet having taken hold, but one thing I do. Forgetting the things which are behind, and stretching forward to the things which are before, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3:13-14)

Perfect World — This is my favorite song on the album! The music starts off mellow, then bursts into rock when you least expect it. The message is that even though the world is full of problems today, God knows how to fix them all. He is above nature and everything else. I love the way John Schlitt (the lead singer) nails the lines This is my Father’s world, and he can fix it / Our hopeless band-aids are all counterfiet and The old will pass away and bring a new birth / A whole new heaven, and a new earth!

For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; and the former things shall not be remembered, nor come into mind. (Isaiah 65:17)

Test of Time — This is the favorite of many people. It has roughly the same theme as “Would’a, Should’a, Could’a”. Our “test of time” is if we’re making the most of every moment God gives us. The chorus is really cool but it’s only sung twice.

Do this, knowing the time, that it is already time for you to awaken out of sleep, for salvation is now nearer to us than when we first believed. (Romans 13:11)

I Will Seek You — This is the worship song on the album, and I’ve already heard a report or two of it being sung in church. It is a fairly simple song, but the music is hard hitting and the chorus has a nice sound.

that they should seek the Lord, if perhaps they might reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. (Acts 17:27)

Life As We Know It — Wow! This song is very useful for reminding us of the life we have in Christ. It uses words like Never perfect, but perfectly forgiven and This is life as we know it / forgiven and free / Life as we know it / more abundantly and Bent but not broken / Tempted not shaken / Kept in the shadow of His wing.

The testimony is this, that God gave to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. (1 John 5:11)

Till Everything I Do — Here’s the adult contemporary (AC) single. It should be played on CCM stations, but I think they are too afraid of Petra to try it, for some reason. As an AC/CCM song, it is certainly good, but I doubt it will top the charts. It talks about the process of God continually making us more like Him through tests and our obedience to Him. As a Petra ballad, it’s good but I still prefer their classics from the 80s like “First Love” and “Don’t Let Your Heart Be Hardened”. Maybe that’s because keyboards had an important part of those songs, and they are phasing them out now. Bob Hartman is awesome on guitar, but some of these songs just sound best with keyboards. Still, make no mistake, I like the song.

Whatever you do, in word or in deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father, through him. (Colossians 3:17)

Sacred Trust — At first I thought this was going to be my favorite song on the album because the lyrics are so missions-oriented. I do love the song, but I just like some of the others better now. The shouting in the bridge of this song detracts from the musical quality in my opinion. The message is about how bold Jesus was in telling people the truth. He commissioned us to do what He did, and that is to take His truth and love into all the world. The lyrics are great: You never shied away from critical debate / Or beat around the bushes when discussing human fate. We also need to speak the truth in love.

He said to them, “Go into all the world, and preach the Good News to the whole creation.” (Mark 16:15)

In summary, this is a really great album. It is one of those rare albums where every single song is great, at least in my opinion. It is a little on the short side, clocking in at 31 minutes. But think about it: would you rather have 31 minutes of great music, or 45 minutes of music, of which 20 are mediocre at best?

You can listen to the whole album online at PetraBand.com. You can also read the entire lyrics and interviews with the band and other Jekyll and Hyde related material at Petra Rocks My World J&H HQ. Like it?

If you are new to Petra and like Jekyll & Hyde, please consider acquiring some of their older albums. I recommand all the albums released between 1986 and 1990 as a start: Back to the Street, This Means War!, On Fire!, and Beyond Belief.

Praise and worship is also a large part of what Petra does. They helped pioneer the modern rock worship genre with the release of Petra Praise: The Rock Cries Out in 1989. It includes classics like “The Battle Belongs to the Lord”, “I Will Call Upon the Lord” and “I Exalt Thee”. It remains one of my favorite praise albums. Petra Praise 2: We Need Jesus followed in 1997, containing well known songs like “Ancient of Days” and “Lord I Lift Your Name on High”, as well as some great Bob Hartman originals. The band’s third praise album, Revival, was released in 2001, the predecessor to Jekyll & Hyde. It has some great songs, but nothing original by Bob Hartman, which I feel was a big mistake. Without Bob’s songwriting, it just doesn’t feel like a Petra album.

Why did I put this in my “articles” section?

Because Petra is still committed to ministry, they still have a message that people need to hear, and their decline in popularity is really unjustified. I want people to know about them, so they will pray for the band and support them by buying CDs and going to concerts, so that their ministry can continue for many years!

Petra: A Tribute – 33 Years of Christian Rock