Daily Share-a-Prayer w/e 23/03/2025
Derek Mill
Worship Leader, All Saints Church, Belton
Sunday 23rd March
Heavenly Father, thank You for two people in the Bible who show the depth of Your love, forgiveness, and compassion. (I am sure there are many others) The two I am thinking of are David and Saul, who became Paul. Both of these men were guilty of crimes against You and their fellow men
David committed adultery with Bathsheba. At that time he could have many wives, but he could not have the wife of another man. The other man, Uriah, was a faithful servant, but David arranged to have him killed
Saul, was completely set to destroy Christianity, opposed to Jesus. He stood by looking after the coats of the men as they stoned Stephen. The Bible tells us: "And Saul approved of their killing him"
In both cases You confronted them with their sin. You sent Nathan the prophet to help David see the gravity of his sin, catching him with a parable about a rich man stealing a poor man's lamb
Lord Jesus, You, Yourself, helped Saul on the road to Damascus, by blinding him and asking: "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute Me?" Saul asked, "Who are You, Lord?" And You told him, "I AM Jesus, whom you are persecuting. Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do"
David became a great King, a man after Your own heart. Saul became Your apostle, spreading the Gospel, writing letters of admonition and encouragement, forming a large part of the New Testament, which still inspires us today. Both men repented of their sin and You gave them a second chance
Thank You for being the God of the second chance for all of us. Thank You Jesus for dying in my place. Even though I had rejected You, You opened the Way for my second chance
Amen
Songs for today:
God of the second chance
The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases
You laid aside Your majesty
I believe in Jesus
Saturday 22nd March
Heavenly Father, I made a note a little while ago that life is amazing, but I wrote it down as, 'Life is a maze ing!' I think this was prompted by seeing a picture of a maze. It struck me how easy it is to become lost in a maze and how easy it is to become lost in the maze of life. Wondering which way to turn, thinking, "I've been here before!" Running into a dead end, and having to backtrack
Becoming more confused as time progresses, wondering if I will ever escape. The hedges around me are higher than I can see over. I can hear voices, but they are as lost as I am, voices I don't recognise
I remember being with the family in a kind of maze called 'Puzzlewood' in the Forest of Dean in Gloucestershire and having all of these feelings. I looked up to see the sun shining above, so I started to have an idea of the direction we were heading; but what if the sun disappeared behind a cloud!? I thought then how good it would be to have someone to guide us, someone above who could see us and guide us to the exit
Thank You that in this confusing maze called 'life,' we have You to guide us. You tell us: "Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, 'This is the Way, walk in it'". I can look up to the Son for guidance, to know where I really am
Lord Jesus, because I follow You, I know I will not come to a dead end. Following You will bring me to eternal life. Even though I may be surrounded, unable to the see way ahead, You will show me the Way, for You are the Way. Thank You
Amen
Songs for today:
All my days (Beautiful Saviour)
Show me Your ways - Thrive Worship
Christ's is the world (A touching place)
Friday 21st March
Heavenly Father, when we were praying the other day the thought came up about commands and consequences, and how far reaching the effect would be if we kept just one of them. I thought about this and rather than look at the first command I thought I would look at the last command, perhaps the least important?
Perhaps Jesus implied there was an order? "Therefore anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands and teaches others accordingly will be called least in the Kingdom of Heaven..." Anyway, the last of the Ten Commandments is: "You shall not covet your neighbour's house. You shall not covet your neighbour's wife, or his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbour."
So what 'knock-on' effects spring to mind. We can't want anything that belongs to our neighbour? Perhaps Putin can no longer want Ukraine so the war never happens. A man can no longer covet another man's wife, so adultery never takes place. I can't want a chocolate bar that doesn't belong to me, or the crown jewels, so thieving comes to an end. I cannot take another man's life; it is not mine to take, so murder is no longer possible
I realise I am stretching this a bit, but perhaps the frustration that comes from not having my neighbour's stuff means I don't swear so much, both in terms of promises and bad language. Perhaps being satisfied with what I've got makes it much easier to take a day off; I no longer worry if someone earns more than I do, so I no longer need to 'keep up with the Joneses!’ Perhaps, from the first to the last the commandments are interdependent on each other; keep one keep them all?
Lord, all I know is that if we stuck to the makers instructions, life would be so much simpler, so much safer, so much happier. Help me to do my bit, starting by loving you with everything I am and not coveting
Amen
Songs for today:
Nothing else + the heart of worship
God You're so good
You are my all in all
Thursday 20th March
Heavenly Father, help me to keep You central to my relationships. I had a picture yesterday of You walking with me and Jane, with You in the middle, an arm around each of our shoulders. It was a lovely picture, You talking to us both
I could see how easily the picture would change if anyone else tried to squeeze in the picture. Another person. Family members. Even though we love our children they would stop the intimacy of the three of us walking together. Our close conversations come on a one-to-one basis, heart-to-heart, or in our marriage relationship with You, a two-to-one basis
We have a lovely picture on the wall of all our family, all thirteen of us, but that is not where our close conversations take place. When we have an intimate conversation, like Jane and I do when we pray, it stops if someone else enters the room. Of course, sometimes the person is invited into the conversation
There can be small groups, like when you took Peter, James, and John with You up a high mountain and they saw Your glory revealed. Generally though intimacy is in small numbers, one-to-one basis, or two-to-one. It is so easy to let other people or other things come between us. How could we walk with You, arm in arm, if there was a safe full of money between us, or a tool kit for work, or the equipment for a hobby
Those things can wait, must wait, if we are to draw close to You. "Love the Lord Your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength" says "all" not with the left-overs or when I get a minute
Help me to keep You central to all my relationships, with my wife, with each of my friends; even strangers I meet today. Be with me in them all. Thank You
Amen
Songs for today:
Draw me close to You
Walk with me
One thing
Only one thing I ask
Wednesday 19th March
Heavenly Father, 'Reality TV'! What a lie we have been fed. There are so many so called reality TV programmes, I could spend all my time praying just writing a list! I don't watch any, but I see adverts. Are our lives so empty that we have to fill them watching others act out fantasy lives, usually for a financial reward?
Adverts fill our minds with dreams we often can't fulfill, products we can't afford and that we don't need, although we are told they are essential. Apparently people can find true love on a 'Love Island'. People get married at first sight in Australia and the UK. People can have their problems sorted by a celebrity judge. When the line between fantasy and reality becomes blurred, reality can take some strange turns. From what we see in news items there seem to be occasions when individuals lose sight of reality and there are disastrous consequences
Lord Jesus, You are central to reality. If I want to see the world as it really is, I need to see it as You do. If I want to understand what life is all about, I need to know You and Your Way of living. Thank You for this reminder: "You will know how people ought to conduct themselves in God's household, which is the church of the Living God, the pillar and foundation of Truth"
This follows a number of instructions to husbands and wives. And this: "Here is a trustworthy saying: Whoever aspires to be an overseer desires a noble task. Now the overseer is to be above reproach, faithful to his wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him, and he must do so in a manner worthy of full respect"
If I seek reality in this world, I must seek You in Your Word to find the Truth and how to live. Thank You
Amen
Song for today:
Perfect wisdom of our God
Tuesday 18th March
Heavenly Father, thank You that I can come near You this morning. Thank You that I can submit to You. Thank You that when I do this I can resist the devil and he will flee
Your Word tells me to do this: "Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and He will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom... Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will lift you up"
King David knew how to resist the enemy, recognising that even the praise of children and infants was powerful against him. "Lord, our Lord, how majestic is Your name in all the earth. You have set Your glory in the heavens. Through the praise of children and infants You have established a stronghold against Your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger"
Thank You that I am here in Your presence, protected by Your name: "The name of the Lord is a fortified tower; the righteous run to it and are safe." Thank You that there is nothing else I want other than to be here with You
I echo the sentiment, the desire, of King David: "One thing I ask from the Lord, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the Lord and to seek Him in His temple. For in the day of trouble He will keep me safe in His dwelling; He will hide me in the shelter of His sacred tent and set me high upon a rock." Thank You Lord Jesus, that You are enough for me
Amen
Songs for today:
Purify my heart
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Fill me Holy Spirit
Holy overshadowing
As the deer pants for the water
Lord I'm grateful - Grace
Salvation (Here I stand)
Monday 17th March
Heavenly Father, thank You for Jesus, who is there with You and is interceding for us. His prayers are powerful because He is a righteous man. Your Word tells me this: "The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective." Thank You that Jesus prays in accordance with Your will, so His prayers are always powerful and effective
Thank You that the Holy Spirit also prays for us: "In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And He who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God's people in accordance with the will of God". Praying in accordance with Your will is vital if our prayers are to be of any worth, powerful and effective. Thank You that Your Spirit can guide our prayers thus making them powerful and effective too
I received a prayer from a friend this morning which included these words: "May every demonic destiny defeating assignment against you be crushed and destroyed." Thank You for these words! I know the invisible spirit world is just as real as the world I am living in right now, so this prayer is really important. I believe my friend to be a righteous man so I know there is power in his words and that they will be effective
I say "Amen" to his prayer and offer the same prayer for everyone who prays with me today, knowing the only righteousness I have is the righteousness of Christ. Lord Jesus, I know I can't trust in my own righteousness but I can trust in Yours! Guide my prayers today. Guide my life today so that I can live in freedom, set free from every evil spiritual force working against me
Thank You for all who pray in accordance with Your will today, especially the Spirit, Jesus and my friend in Barbados
Amen
Songs for today:
Holy forever
Way maker
There is power in the name of Jesus
Living hope
all songs (usually with lyrics) and talks courtesy of YouTube
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