Daily Share-a-Prayer w/e 22/09/2024
Derek Mill
Worship Leader, All Saints Church, Belton
Thursday 19th September
Heavenly Father, there are so many people who don't know Jesus, who don't believe in You, who don't believe You even exist. Their eyes and ears are closed to the Truth. Some have a belief of sorts, that there is 'something out there' but don't know it is You, God
I jotted down a few words a couple of days ago, 'real eyes' and 'realise'. When we come to understand something we realise it; we accept it and take it on board. Sometimes we are 'blown away' by a realization, perhaps saying, "Well, I never knew that!" I heard this the other day: "We see it when we want to see it. We hear it when we want to hear it". Somehow, people, a bit like the disciple Thomas, will only believe it when they see it with their own, 'real eyes'
Your Word tells us: "Without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him". It may be that 'seeing is believing' like it was for Thomas, but it is also true that 'believing is seeing'
Lord Jesus, when Thomas saw You resurrected, he said, "My Lord and my God!" And You said, "Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed". I believe, yet have not seen, so I am blessed. My heart's desire is that others may be blessed too
Help me Lord, to keep planting seeds in people’s hearts and minds that they may come to know You too. When they want to hear they will hear, and they will see when they want to see. Thank You
Amen
Songs for today:
I believe it (The Life of Jesus)
I believe in Jesus
I believe, I believe, I believe in the Son of God
Wednesday 18th September
Heavenly Father, a thought occurred to me; one that resonated. "What do I learn from practicing my guitar?" I made a list of things that sprang to mind very quickly:
There are no short cuts. I must listen very carefully, making sure the guitar, and I, are in tune
Play short sections from the whole piece
Repeat the process
Think ahead a little; not too far, 1 bar at a time
Repeat a finger change
Practice separate hands. Each hand is doing something different
Focus
Practice eyes open and closed. Get the feel
Practice slowly
Practice the chord shape, strum and separate fingers
Improvise
Change the rhythms
Change the time signature
Leave it for a while, think things through, visualise, come back to it
Take what I learnt from one piece into the next
What I learn applies to every piece
Practice may not make perfect but will bring about improvement
There may be days when everything goes well, others where I feel like I am useless! How do these things apply to prayer? Or to apply to life? There are no short cuts:
I must listen carefully
Think about what is said
Don't look too far ahead
Repeat what I read or hear so it sticks
Look at a whole passage of scripture, but also break it down
Pray eyes closed and eyes open
Think about how to express ideas in different ways, apply to different situations
Leave ideas for a while then come back to them
There may be days when everything goes well and others where I feel like I am useless! Take what I learn and apply it to life. Help me to learn in everything I do and persevere. Thank You
Amen
Songs for today:
Soul's desire
Lost and found
Lion of Judah
Tuesday 17th September
Heavenly Father, it occurred to me that every relationship starts with a "Hello" of some sort. When we are introduced to someone we might say "Hi" or "How do you do?" or "Nice to meet you". A conversation might then follow about family, work, interests etc
It would be interesting to introduce people to Jesus and see how that relationship develops. I was chatting to someone yesterday who is going through a very tough time with a loved one suffering from a life threatening illness. I spoke about our situation and how we have known Jesus' love, strength, and comfort over the last ten years. I explained how knowing You and Jesus makes such a difference
We can come to You knowing that we can give You all our cares and worries and that You take our anxieties and give us peace. Of course it is hard, impossible, to understand the peace that transcends understanding, until you have it!
I suppose it does sound a bit crazy; like the James Stewart film with the giant, invisible rabbit, 'Harvey'. "I'd like to introduce you to my invisible friend, Jesus. He's God". This is the Truth. You are the Truth. In a Way, this is what I am doing; what we all need to do. Knowing me, knowing any of us, Your children, offers an open invitation to meet with You and to experience Your love and Your power
There is no greater thing, no greater love, than Your life laid down. "Lord Jesus, please say, 'Hello' to my friends. Only You can help them". That's what I want to say. Thank You. I know You love them too
Amen
Songs for today:
Knowing You Jesus
Voice of the Lord
All is well
Only You Jesus
Monday 16th September
Heavenly Father, I have the great privilege of coming into Your presence every day to pray, to meet with You and write to You. It is also a privilege to send my prayer out to a number of people every day; some I know well and others I don't know at all; and I also send to Network Yarmouth, who faithfully publish every day
There will be some who read every day, some who read occasionally, and some who read rarely, if at all. But the important thing is, I know YOU hear or read every word
Amongst the people, some may be happy and others may be sad. Some will be carefree, some will be burdened. Some will be faithful, some will be wanderers. Some will be married and others single, separated, divorced, or widowed. Some will have children and be close, others may be estranged. Some will be honest, some may be dishonest. Some will speak kindly, others will have a barbed tongue. Some will have met me face-to-face, others will never have met me. Some may have murdered! And some would never hurt a fly. I may not know them, but You know them all. You know all about every one of them. And despite everything, You love and forgive every one of us
Lord Jesus, You gave Your life for us, every one of us. My prayer today is that every one of us is encouraged; every one of us knows You better; every one of us is filled with Your Spirit and emboldened to speak of Your great love and sacrifice to those who don't yet know, believe, and trust in, You. You said, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous but sinners." Lord, thank You for Your call
Amen
Songs for today:
Shadow of Your wings
Middle of my story
How great Your love
all songs (usually with lyrics) and talks courtesy of YouTube
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