Tag: Prayer for Today

Sunday 26th November 2023

“But joyful are those who have the God of Israel as their helper, whose hope is in the Lord their God. 6 He made heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them. He keeps every promise forever. 7 He gives justice to the oppressed and food to the hungry. The Lord frees the prisoners.
8 The Lord opens the eyes of the blind. The Lord lifts up those who are weighed down. The Lord loves the godly. 9 The Lord protects the foreigners among us. He cares for the orphans and widows but he frustrates the plans of the wicked. 10 The Lord will reign forever. He will be your God, O Jerusalem, throughout the generations. Praise the Lord” Psalm 146:5-10 NLT

Lord our God,

We step aside from travelling through Luke’s gospel to leap into Psalm 146. This is the last Sunday in November and we need a little joy. Dark nights, chilly weather and the hype and run up to Christmas is approaching! You remind us – Joyful are those of us who have You as our helper and who hope in You. Not in tinsel and light pretty as they are. Because our hope is anchored in You, who made heaven and earth, everything, and who will reign forever.

You are not a part time, seasonal God or one who will be usurped by the next fad or fashion. In some translations You are the God of Jacob (NIV) and in some the God of Israel. Jacob who You renamed Israel. In Genesis 32:22-32, we read how Jacob wrestled with You. Jacob said he had seen God and lived! (verse 30). Jacob then believed in You, the God of his own father Isaac. It points to the You, God who would come as a man, Jesus, and wrestle with evil and sin, and be victorious on our behalf. The one who would give us a change of name from sinner to saint and make us a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17) when we choose Jesus as our Lord.

We see You and Your Son all through the Old and the New Testament, and how You change lives. Thank You for being merciful and yet one who will judge rightly one day. Keep us joyful as we wrestle against sin, unbelief and selfishness. Forgiven much and joyfully kept safe in Your love.

In Jesus name we pray, Amen.

Lord our God,

We pray,
For all our family, friends, neighbours, and our church family. For their many individual needs and You would touch their lives with Your love and goodness today.
For ministers, pastors, congregations and all that is done by those belonging to churches. May You encourage all of them with a refreshing touch of Your gentle strength and inspiration.
For our Government, that You would lead it forward to become all it should be to govern well.
For our King and Queen and their family. Healing for relationships.
For those in Iceland where there is threat of volcanic eruption. For those who have had to leave their homes. Speak peace to the earth there.
For Gaza and the Middle East, Lord for the miraculous pause to continue. For help, provision and water and medical supplies to get through to where needed. To a way to peace.
For Putin and Ukraine. An end to this war, conflict and bloodshed. Thwart all the shelling and bombing distract Putin from war.
For all those who are considering Jesus, beginning to hear about Him to take that step from knowing about You to knowing You personally. May seeds be sown in all the Christmas services to be held this year in churches, schools, care homes. Carolling out on the streets, in towns and around housing estates.
For all those who need to know they are loved with an everlasting, unfailing love today.
For ourselves, thank You for a new day. Send us Your joy today and keep us joyful in Your loving care.

In Jesus name we pray, Amen.

Worship Sun 26th November 2023
I love this rendition of a familiar hymn.

Joyful, joyful, we adore You,
God of glory, Lord of love;
Hearts unfold like flowers before You,
Opening to the sun above.
Melt the clouds of sin and sadness;
Drive the dark of doubt away;
Giver of immortal gladness,
Fill us with the light of day!

All Thy works with joy surround You,
Earth and heav’n reflect Thy rays,
Stars and angels sing around Thee,
Centre of unbroken praise;
Field and forest, vale and mountain,
Flowery meadow, flashing sea,
Chanting bird and flowing fountain
Call us to rejoice in Thee.

Thou art giving and forgiving,
Ever blessing, ever blest,
Well-spring of the joy of living,
Ocean-depth of happy rest!
Thou our Father, Christ our Brother,
All who live in love are Thine;
Teach us how to love each other,
Lift us to the joy divine.

Lyrics by Henry van Dyke in 1907

Saturday 25th November 2023

 “After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go. 2 He told them, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field. Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves.” Luke 10:1-3 NIV

Lord and Father of Mankind,

Yesterday reading, just before this sending out the 72, Jesus chatted with those wanting to follow him but making excuses to put it off till later. Here we see there are the 12 disciples and others who are willing to following now. 72 or six dozen! They are nameless but Luke shows they are not just a random group but appointed and sent out two by two. Father thank You that we are not just a random group of followers but You know us by name (Isaiah 41:3). You appoint us and give us Your blessing. You know how much easier it is when a task is shared. We feel more confident, we can encourage each other and we are less intimidated. Thank You.

Thank You that just as You know us as your children, you know every single one of us personally and actions and even our thoughts (Matthew 9:4). You know where a heart is open to hear about Your love. You know where there is the desire to be forgiven and start again. And, at any one time there are people who don’t know You and are hungry to hear about Your love and heaven. Help us to be brave enough to risk talking about You and not be surprised when people listen. And not offended when they don’t want to. There are millions who have come to faith because someone simply told them God loved them. Help me start with one. Help me see the opportunities.

In Jesus name we pray, Amen.

Lord and Father of mankind,

We pray,
For all our family, friends, neighbours, and our church family. For their many individual needs and You would guide their steps today for good.
For ministers, pastors, congregations and all that is done by those belonging to churches. Make them beacons of hope in the darkness of winter and world conflict.
For our Government, that You would be in the midst of it leading, forming and directing.
For our King and Queen and their family and their work here and overseas.
For those in Iceland where there is threat of volcanic eruption. For those who have had to leave their homes. Speak peace to the earth there.
For Gaza and the Middle East, Lord a miracle now, a pause, leading to a new peace.
For Putin and Ukraine. An end to this war, conflict and bloodshed.
For those in the midst of conflict, to have hope and a future and hear of Your love.
For all those who are considering Jesus, beginning to hear about Him to take that step from knowing about You to knowing You personally. May seeds be sown in all the Christmas services to be held this year in churches, schools, care homes. Carolling out on the streets, in towns and around housing estates.
For all those who need to know they are loved with an everlasting, unfailing love today.
For ourselves, thank You for a new day. Thank You for Your everlasting arms of love which hold us gentle and strong.

In Jesus name we pray, Amen.

Worship Saturday 25th November 2023
Bellow the video and lyrics is the story of how the song came to be written.

How lovely on the mountains are the feet of Him
Who brings good news, good news;
Announcing peace, proclaiming news of happiness:
Our God reigns, our God reigns!

Our God reigns! Our God reigns!
Our God reigns! Our God reigns

You watchmen lift your voices joyfully as one 
Shout for your King, your King 
See eye to eye the Lord restoring Zion 
Your God reigns, your God reigns!  

Waste places of Jerusalem break forth with joy 
We are redeemed, redeemed 
The Lord has saved and comforted His people 
Your God reigns, your God reigns!   

Ends of the earth, see the salvation of your God 
Jesus is Lord, is Lord 
Before the nations He has bared His holy arm 
Your God reigns, your God reigns!  

Lyrics: Leonard E Smith

Sometimes you have to reach bottom before you look up to see God at work. Back in 1973, I was out of work again and depressed — actually very depressed. My wife and I had a son, an apartment, a car, and lots of bills to pay. I had also made myself unemployable as a high school teacher with just too much Jesus talk in class. I guess I was naive to think that talking about Jesus was more important than teaching Latin or English literature.

One morning I was reading the Bible and came to Isaiah 52:7: “How lovely on the mountains are the feet of Him Who brings good news, announcing peace, proclaiming news of happiness: your God reigns.” My heart began pounding in my chest because, through what I read, God spoke to me: “You’re going to get through this, and you will be fine. In fact, you’ll do very well.” I just felt the dark cloud lift off me. I picked up my guitar and, in a few minutes, Our God Reigns was born! I had one verse and the chorus. It wasn’t so much that I wrote it as I received it! . . .

Every one of us has experienced disappointment and failure and had our hearts broken. But we don’t need to be bitter about it. If we look closely, we’ll see how God worked it out for our good. Over time, we become more understanding, more patient, and kinder to others who have been overlooked and forgotten. We must not forget that suffering is the very thing God uses to refine and strengthen us. Jesus set the pattern that crucifixion comes before resurrection.

Monday 20th November 2023

 “And they were all amazed at the majesty of God. But while everyone marvelled at all the things which Jesus did, He said to His disciples, 44 “Let these words sink down into your ears, for the Son of Man is about to be betrayed into the hands of men.” 45 But they did not understand this saying, and it was hidden from them so that they did not perceive it; and they were afraid to ask Him about this saying.” Luke 9:43-45

God, Your Majesty,

We watch the news and we are bombarded by everything mankind is doing (mostly not good). We loose sight and forget to marvel at what You have done for us, what You are doing for us and what You will do for us when time is no more. Amidst the terrible state of the world, You are still on the throne. Even if mankind, or some of it, thinks they are – and is power hungry!

I love these little verses in the New King James version in Luke’s gospel and amid the very serious his worlds make me laugh! You are God, all powerful, all knowing, all seeing. We know that we can only approach You because of Jesus sacrifice on our behalf. But here Luke paints a picture of Jesus preparing the disciples ahead of the time of his sacrifice. He is reprimanding His 12 disciples. Nine had just messed up trying to heal a boy, three had seen Jesus glorified and not understood anything, 1 would betray Him. And Luke paints a picture of Jesus with a verbal syringe saying, “Let these words sink down into Your ears!”

But they did not understand and did not ask. Sometimes You must feel like saying the same to us when we don’t listen. Please help us, to get Your words so deep down in our ears they reach our brain, our thoughts and our understanding. So Your truth can lead us, feed us and set us free (John 8:32).

In Jesus name we pray, Amen.

God of majesty,

We pray,
For all our family, friends, neighbours, and our church family. For You to meet their needs for good and lead them beside quiet waters and restore them.
For ministers, pastors, congregations and all that is done by those belonging to churches to support, help and bless their local communities. Help them to make Jesus known by love.
For our Government, that You would be God of our democracy and enable truth and care.
For our King and Queen and their family and all those who work in positions where they can be a force for good..
For Gaza and the Middle East, Lord a miracle of Your peace and reconciliation is needed.
For Putin and Ukraine. A full stop, an end to war, conflict and bloodshed.
For those in the midst of conflict, to have hope and a future and hear of Your love.
For those with actual hearing difficulties and those who cannot hear at all. For medical break throughs in treatment. For those who cannot hear You, that You would open their spiritual ears.
For ourselves that we would know Your love, see You at work in our families and trust in Your guidance.

In Jesus name we pray, Amen.

Worship Monday 20th November 2023

Thank you for saving me, what can I say?
You are my everything, I will sing your praise.
You shed your blood for me, what can I say?
You took my sin and shame,
A sinner called by name.

Great is the Lord,
Great is the Lord,
For we know your truth has set us free,
You’ve set your hope in me.

Mercy and grace are mine, forgiven is my sin,
Jesus my only hope, the Saviour of the world.
“Great is the Lord” we cry,
God let your kingdom come,
Your word has let me see,
Thank you for saving me!

Lyrics: Martin Smith