Skip to main content

Prayer Column - July 2020

Image
By

What is God saying? 

It is of course up to each one of us to listen to what God may be saying to us in our circumstances (as well as through the Bible), not least when things are altered radically, as by this coronavirus. What is he showing us, or calling us to do: repent; believe afresh; change our behaviour; or refocus our patterns of spending and giving, and our actions; or whatever? Listening is always important, but perhaps especially so now. 

But just as we don’t read other people’s letters, we must resist the temptation to peek into what God may be saying to others, unless of course they ask us to because they need help with reading, or understanding, or deciding. And in that case we must make very sure we don’t misread or mislead: our task would be to help the recipient hear clearly the message the sender intended – and that may require of us a careful listening attitude. 

However, as members of Christ’s body, the Church, we have another listening role: to hear what God is saying to us as a Church. How should the Church respond to the present call/crisis/opportunity? We may or may not be in a leadership role, but all of us have ears to hear and hearts and minds to pray. We can ask the Lord to make his message clear, and that we all (and leaders in particular) are directed aright. And we can ask for the boldness we all need to respond as we should: repent; believe afresh; change our behaviour; or refocus our patterns of spending and giving, and our actions; or whatever – and to worship the one true God in spirit and in truth, wherever we are, proclaiming Jesus as Lord. 

Roy Lorrain-Smith 

 A prayer for each week 

Dear Lord God, both merciful and mighty, please have compassion on our frailty in the face of this threat, and give us bold strength to endure, in faith, through Jesus. Amen. 

Great God of All, who speaks to your people is ways we can understand, please still our hears to listen and open our ears to hear all that you are saying to us at this time. Amen. 

Heavenly Father, calling us into families of faith, please unite us in your love and help us listen together to your words of comfort and discipline in our present plight. Amen. 

Mighty God, against whom no evil can prevail, please help us walk with Jesus, our Lord, hanging on in there, and doing his work his way, as he directs, for your glory. Amen. 

Your own prayers

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Soupermums! Wilsden Trinity Church

By
Do you have a young baby? Looking for something to do? If the answer is yes then Soupermums is for you. We're here from 11 until 1 every Monday, Mums (and dads) have a rest and the babies can play. Have a lovely sit down whilst you sip on a brew. Enjoy having someone else make lunch for you! Come along to Wilsden Church, meet the rest of the group. Lovely ladies cuddle the babies, whilst you eat your soup. Chat with the mums, new friends you will make. Swap tips and advice over a slice or two of cake. So what are you waiting for? come on along, For homemade treats, good company and if you're lucky a song. We're looking forward to meeting you, please come take a peek, 11-1 at Wilsden Trinity, we're here every week! Celine V  (a Soupermum!) Where can new mums go, to have lunch where it’s warm and safe and you get to eat fresh soup and homemade cakes, while someone holds your baby? Too big an ask? Not at Wilsden Trinity! Every Mond...
Post a Comment
Read more

Wrose Buddies - A wonderful success story at Wrose Methodist Church

By
Approached by the Halle Project in 2012 to see if we would be interested in setting up a Well Being Cafe, the church was excited at the prospect of setting up a monthly session for those who suffer from dementia or Alzheimer's, for their carers, for the lonely and housebound. Jean and John Watmough worked in conjunction with Carol at halle and put together a group who would provide once a month a haven for those with particular need. For various reasons it could not be called a Well Being Cafe, and so the name "Wrose buddies" was born. Carol organises taxis to bring people to the church hall once a month, lays on the entertainment, the music, a speaker, food. From the start a charge of £3 per person and a voluntary payment of £1 per strip for the raffle was asked for and willingly given. a group of volunteers was formed and meets once a month before the session to make preparations so that those attending have an afternoon to remember. At first numbers were reaching 20...
Post a Comment
Read more