Daily Share-a-Prayer w/e 08/06/2025
Derek Mill
Worship Leader, All Saints Church, Belton
Friday 6th June
Heavenly Father, help me to pray today. I have one word in my mind, 'grieving' but I'm not sure what to pray about it? I know people grieve over many things, lost opportunities, lost jobs, lost money, lost homes, all kinds of loss I suppose, but of course the most common cause of grief is the death of a loved one
I have known times of grief, not all because of death. I remember losing some important financing that meant I lost an orchestra, it really hurt and I tried hard to fight the decision, went through a period of anger and depression, but eventually had to accept that life would never be the same again. It still hurts today and occasionally those initial feelings reappear, and almost as intensely, but they soon fade, buried in the past
I lived a long way from my childhood home, having left at 18, so wasn't physically close to my parents for many years, so when they died there wasn't a big hole in my life, so my grieving was for my childhood and teenage years with them. I missed them, and still do, but not as much as my siblings who saw them far more regularly. I don't know whether I should have felt more, or should I feel more now! I didn't go through the stages of grief that are often quoted: "denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance”. I went home for the funeral and came back to where I then lived, to my family and work, and got on with life. When events happened I had a pull to ring my parents to tell them the news, but it soon passed
Lord, I'm not sure why I am telling You all this. There will be a time for really grieving, please prepare me for my own this and enable me to help others in their grief; I have no experience to rely on, only Your love and compassion. I know Jesus wept over Lazarus, even though He knew resurrection was imminent. Help me to remember this too, even when my time of grieving comes. Thank You for listening
Amen
Songs for today:
Jesus
Abundant life
Centre of it all
Thursday 5th June
Heavenly Father, I wonder if the prayer Paul prayed for the church in Philippi can be claimed as a prayer for all Christians? Even for me? I feel that Paul would want this for every church he planted, for every person, and for every person in every church since. He wrote: "This is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ - to the glory and praise of God"
I am certain that this is what You would want for every one of Your children, so I say "Amen" to Paul's prayer and look forward to You answering his prayer today! On this very day may my love abound more and more, and may this be manifested and evident as Your Spirit fills me with knowledge and depth of insight
This is knowledge about Your love, not trivia, like who won the FA Cup in 1949; this knowledge of Your love reminds me of all that Jesus has done for me in dying, in my place, on the cross. This knowledge reminds me that I start the day with a clean slate, because Your mercies are new every morning. This depth of insight helps me to see new things in Scripture every day so I am better equipped to preach the Gospel and answer any questions thrown at me. This depth of insight makes me aware of the devil's schemes and gives me strength to resist him as I submit myself to You. This depth of insight enables me to see the best course of action for each situation as it arises
Your love at work in me enables me to live a life worth living, pure and blameless through Christ, which points to Jesus as Saviour and brings fruit, the fruit of righteousness, to Yours and His glory. Thank You Paul for your prayer. Thank You Father for answering his prayer, millions of times over
Amen
Songs for today:
Oh the mercy of God
This battle is too much - Fight for me Lord
Deep prayer moments
Wednesday 4th June
Heavenly Father, my granddaughter, hates it when she does things wrong. When it is explained why it was wrong, she says, "I didn't know that was a rule". She lives her life by rules and is quick to point out, often quite loudly, if someone breaks a rule. "That man is parked on double yellow lines! What is the speed limit Grandad?" and so on
I suppose, in a way, the way she builds up her rules isn't unlike the way the Jewish leaders in the Old Testament built up their set of rules, and the way we have the law in the UK, and in most countries today. Each new case builds in a new set of parameters within a simple law. You gave us ten commandments, just ten, but we have law books that fill entire libraries!
I know I've prayed about this before, probably more than once, but Your commands were quite simple, in an abridged form: "No other gods and no idols. No swearing. Take a day off. Love and respect your mum and dad. No murder. No adultery. No stealing. No lying. No coveting"
I find myself saying two 'If onlys'. "If only we could keep these ten rules. If only it were that simple". Life should be simple; the commandments You gave us are simple. But we all know it has become very complex. Within us there are desires and ambitions that drive us to do things, and often those desires and ambitions lead us into sinful behaviours. Just eating an apple that we shouldn't is the prime example. Wanting to be something or someone we are not is another prime example; wanting to be God for instance
Father, I have no excuse because I know the 'rules'. I can't claim, "I didn't know that was a rule". I know Your commandments are the best Way to live
Lord Jesus, You show us the best Way to live, and even though it got You crucified, it is still the best Way
Help me, Lord, to keep life simple and live life the Way You did; loving God with all my heart, soul, mind and strength, and loving my neighbours as I love myself. Thank You
Amen
Songs for today:
Love Your neighbour
Lord I need You now
Hineni (Here I Am)
Tuesday 3rd June
Heavenly Father, it seems that You are a God who turns the world upside down; You do things back to front; You turn things inside out! Jesus said: "Whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for Me will find it". And: "The greatest among you will be your servant. For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted". And: "The last will be first, and the first shall be last"
St Paul writes in Your Word: "Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day... So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal". For those who are suffering Paul tells us: "For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all"
It seems as though You are doing Your best to discourage us from coming to You rather than encouraging us! But I wonder, if what You are really doing is just being totally honest? Your economy is different to ours. "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts"
The things You value are different to ours. You see life as most valuable, precious; while in so many ways we think life is cheap. Some see life as expendable, being lost every day through famine, warfare, gang violence and knife crime, mass shootings in shopping malls, schools and on the streets
Paul considered everything he thought important as mere refuse, garbage, or dung, compared to knowing Jesus. He accepted the exchange rate of Your Way. He gave You his earthly life to gain eternal life, he became a servant to become great in Your eyes, he was beaten and imprisoned so that he could gain freedom, he gave up everything he could see to gain that which is unseen. He worked to become like Jesus
Lord Jesus, rather than being discouraged; help me to see the unseen, to love the unloved, to lose my life to gain it, to be inwardly renewed as my body wastes away, and to value every person as You value them. Help me to be transformed by the renewing of my mind. Thank You
Amen
Songs for today:
That's What Faith Must Be
With You (Paradoxology)
Faithful
Monday 2nd June
Heavenly Father, we had a Bible Study as part of church yesterday. We were looking at the passage in Acts where Paul and Silas had been thrown in prison because they had upset some men who had a girl with a spirit in her that could tell the future, so they made a lot of money from her 'gift,' but the spirit had been cast out by Paul. He and Silas had been beaten with rods before being jailed, so I would have thought they would have been annoyed with You; but no!
Instead of being annoyed, angry or upset I read this: "About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everyone's chains came loose". The building didn't fall on them, no one was hurt or killed, amazingly the doors flew open and their chains fell off! What a weird and wonderful outcome from an earthquake
There are times when You Word speaks to us, as if they are lit up. It really hit me that this happened while they were "praying and singing hymns". I jotted down on my phone: "The power of praise and worship"
If You can respond with an earthquake, shake the earth, and set prisoners free during prayer and praise then, You can do it now! Jesus Christ is the same, yesterday, today and forever. You tell us: "I the Lord do not change"
Help me Lord to trust You in my prayer, praise and worship. There are many people, including myself, who are 'in chains' bound in some way, imprisoned within themselves, who needs an earthquake to set them free, just as I need to be set free! As I pray and worship now, send Your Spirit, to shake the foundations of someone's life so their chains fall off and the doors open so they are free. "It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery"
Thank You. May I carry on always praying and praising You and Jesus and then see what happens
Amen
Songs for today:
Rejoice rejoice Christ is in you
Power in the praise
There is power in the name of Jesus
Show Your power
all songs (usually with lyrics) and talks courtesy of YouTube
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