“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.
For we walk by faith, not by sight. II Corinthians 5:7 We know that faith is believing without seeing. By its very definition, faith means putting trust in something we can’t see. For many people, this seems to be a very hard concept. How can we put trust in something we don’t Read more
While the people pressed upon Him to hear the word of God, He was standing by the lake of Gennesaret. And He saw two boats by the lake; but the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. Getting into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, Read more
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope. Romans 15:13 Every summer, millions of people try to achieve the perfect suntan. No one wants a sun burn. Those hurt. Read more
Cast all of your anxieties on Him, for He cares about you. I Peter 5:7 My dad passed away in June of 2014. I had visited him May 28-30. When I left, we had no idea how long he had to live. We knew the end was coming, we just didn’t Read more
Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, which you have from God? You are not your own. I Corinthians 6:19 Do you love ice cream? I do. Do you have a sweet tooth? I do. Do you sometimes eat too much? I do. Do you balance your Read more
Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; be not frightened, neither be dismayed; for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go. Joshua 1:9 Every year during December, we are reminded with a daily countdown how many shopping days are left until Christmas. I’m not Read more
Jesus said, “If any man would come after Me, let Him deny Himself and take up His cross and follow Me. For whoever would save his life will lose it; and whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it. For what does it profit a Read more
Brethren, knowing that a man is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ, and not by works of the law, because by works of the law shall no Read more
“By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” John 13:35 For this morning’s message, I want to share with you a reflection I read in a book entitled “Rediscover Jesus” by Matthew Kelly: It was the biggest meeting Read more
When the chief priests and the officers saw Him, they cried out, “Crucify Him, crucify Him!” Pilate said to them, “Take Him yourselves and crucify Him, for I find no crime in Him.” The Jews answered Him, “We have a law, and by that law He ought to die, because Read more
For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the cleverness of the clever I will thwart.” Where is the Read more
There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. I John 4:18 People of different personalities can successfully co-exist. So can people with different interests, different sports teams, and plenty of other differences. In Florida, where I live, it can be sunny and rainy at the same time. One Read more