“The Prayer Team” is a daily devotion written by Fr. Stavros N. Akrotirianakis, written every day since February 2015. Fr. Stavros is the Parish Priest at St. John the Baptist Greek Orthodox Church in Tampa, Florida. It began in February 2015 as an opportunity to write more on the subject of prayer and now has branched into other subjects.
I can do all things through Christ Who strengthens me. Philippians 4:13 I’m writing all of this week’s messages a few days early and in anticipation of losing power and not being able to write, so I won’t be writing in real time after Monday. My mind, and the minds Read more
Special Prayer Team Message Offer right sacrifices, and put your trust in the Lord. Psalm 4:5 For anyone who has ever wondered, I write the Prayer Team messages anywhere from a few days to a few weeks in advance of when they are scheduled. However, occasionally, I will write one right Read more
Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. Hebrews 13:2 At St. John the Baptist Greek Orthodox Church in Tampa, where I have served for the past twenty years, we have identified five core values—love, worship, community, learning and service. We make our decisions Read more
Soon afterward He went to a city called Nain, and His disciples and a great crowd went with Him. As He drew near to the gate of the city, behold, a man who had died was being carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow; Read more
For it is the God who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, to show that the transcendent power Read more
O Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to you. Avoid the godless chatter and contradictions of what is falsely called knowledge, for by professing it some have missed the mark as regards to faith. I Timothy 6:20-21 One challenge to faith is reconciling it with science. One of the first challenges Read more
Then He said to them, “Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” Matthew 22:21 I do not often use the word “politics” on the Prayer Team. I don’t endorse political candidates or tell people how to vote. That is a personal Read more
When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears, and delivers them out of all their troubles. The Lord is near to the brokenhearted, and saves the crushed in spirit. Psalm 34:17-18 Because we live in a fallen and broken world, everyone experiences this sense of brokenness in many ways. Read more
“If the world hates you, know that it has hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that Read more
“Beware of practicing your piety before men in order to be seen by them; for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven. Thus, when you give alms, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that Read more
And as you wish that men would do to you, do so to them. “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is Read more
One day He got into a boat with His disciples, and He said to them, “Let us go across to the other side of the lake.” So they set out, and as they sailed He fell asleep. And a storm of wind came down on the lake, and they were filling Read more