To say that we have been on a roller coaster over the last week would be an understatement.  In final fits of agonised wondering, the prayers for Sunday were revealed on a train journey from Birmingham.  Perhaps they were inspired by the recent UCB reading notes focusing on Isaiah.

Heavenly Father,

How our plans have been foiled.  Over the last week, so many of your children have been on seemingly fruitless ventures.  Trains to nowhere, journeys impeded by snow and ice, children happy with glee at school closings, failed technology at every turn, and markets continuing their melt down to unknown levels.  It would seem that man’s hell bent path of folly has finally been called.  So God you have our attention now.  We’re listening.  Take off our blinders that we can see and open our ears that we can hear.  It’s clear that the world isn’t going to fall apart if we don’t make it to our destinations.  All praise and honour and glory and power are yours forever and ever.

Lord in your mercy, Hear our prayer.

Father God, we are fearfully and wonderfully made.  We are your salt and light.  So why is your house here on earth cold and dark?  Why is there dust in the corners?  Why are the walls of our hearts dingy?  Have we all been too busy to honour your true house with joy and praise?  Are we too uninspired to show others the path to your door?  All seeing, all knowing God, you will build your church and your kingdom with or without our help.  Make your home here in this beautiful village.  Come down and seat yourself in the cradle of the Old Man.  Blow the cob webs away from this place with your piercing and powerful light.  Let us rejoice in praise with your choirs of angels each and every day.

Lord in your mercy, Hear our prayer.

Heavenly Father,

You are shaking our foundations.  Throughout time civilisations have come and gone.  Is ours on the way out?  Capitalism, the great market that is worshipped around the world has been manipulated to the brink of destruction.  The world is bloated by too much debt backed by empty assets which were packaged and sold off by moneychangers whose only care was for the day.  Oh, we’ll survive.  We’ll get through the current mess.  But what will we learn and are we just setting ourselves up for the ultimate meltdown to come? Woe, said the angel.  Babylon has fallen.  Whether this is sooner or later depends on whether we have a change of heart.  Heal our hearts Help us to turn from our wayward ways.  Heal our land.  Walk with us.  We are your people.  You are our God.

Merciful loving Father, we pray for your children who are suffering at this minute.  There are many who have lost their jobs.  There are many who have lost their homes.  While our lives have been disrupted by record cold and snow others are suffering from record high temperatures, drought and forest fires.  In the middle of all this chaos, you are with us.  Take us by the hand and lead us to your green pastures.  We are your sheep.  You are our shepherd.  This morning we pray especially for Phyllis, Nancy, Eunice, Pat and Peter.  Pour your warm and precious healing balm on these your loving children.  Renew their strength so they will run and not grow weary, walk and not be faint.

Lord in your mercy, Hear our prayer.

Father God to each of us you have allotted a different time.  Though we each have our own time, our time overlaps with millions of other souls in your world.  We who are the living, in the here and now, have a tendency to think that the world will end if we don’t act.  We try to pack as much as possible into a day.  We think that time at rest is time lost.  On this your Sabboth Day, which you created for man, let us listen for you and move with you so we will only move when you say move and only act when you say act and only speak when you say speak.  Lead us together Father God.  One day, there will be no more time on this earth.  One day, we’ll join your great banquet with all time for all time.  What a joyous day that will be when we can hear, well done, good and faithful servant.  Lead us Good Shepherd in our time to your promised land.

Merciful Father, accept these prayers for the sake of your son, our saviour, Jesus Christ.  Amen.

Ezekiel 22:30  “I looked for a man among them who would build up a wall and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land so I would not have to destroy it, but I found none.”

The above passage is from yesterday’s UCB readings. Lately I have been reading the lessons from the NIV verson of the Women’s Devotional Bible published by Zondervan Press which also has 365 devotions for the year.  There was one specifically for the passage shown above and it is so powerful, I would like to share it with you here.

Author:  Kathi Mills

Looking back on my life prior to my conversion in 1974, I realize now there were many intercessors on my behalf.  In addition to my own dear family who prayed for me faithfully, I remember one instance in particular when God burdened the heart of a woman I hardly knew to pray for me.

I was in a hospital, far from home and family, drifting in and out of consciousness.  Several times I became aware of a woman’s voice praying for my salvation, as well as for my physical healing.  At one point I heard a doctor describing my condition as critical, warning that I might not survive.

It was then that I recognized the voice of my intercessor once again as she spoke out in faith, “Doctor, I respect what you say, but I cannot accept it.  I’ve been praying for Kathi and I believe she will not only recover, she will walk out of here and live for God someday!”

Before long, I did walk out of that hospital, returned to work, and learned that it was my boss’s wife (I had only met her twice) who had “stood in the gap” for me.  When I tried to thank her, she responded with a confident smile, “Don’t thank me – thank God!  He has great plans for your life.”

Soon after that I moved away, never to see her again; but five years later when I gave my life to Christ, I remembered her – this faithful woman of God who never saw the results of her prayers for my salvation, but who believed God to answer those prayers in his time.

We often give up too easily on God in our busy lives.  Peter, a few Sundays ago, talked about the bright sunshine that we see when we get high enough in an airplane regardless of how many clouds obscure it from below.  Like the sun, which is ever present, Jesus is always there for us.  It is only we who move away.  Keep on praying and keep on intercessing.  Go to Revelation 8: 1-4 and see how God responds to the prayers of the saints.  God is alive yesterday, today and tomorrow and we are part of his great kingdom not just in the here and now but from all ages to eternity.

Heavenly Father,

As I look to the hills, I see that every fiber of your creation is in preparation. Not a molecule is idle. The singular purpose of this exquisite scene has been hard wired into existence. Birds have been greeting the morning with their song for hours. Ripples roll across Coniston Water. A beam of light casts its eye down to a flowering tree. Spring is on the way and there is no time to waste. Does nature know a storm is brewing? There is no chaos of last minute planning, only joyful peace and harmony. You are the light of creation. It knows your love is steadfast. It worships you day and night each and every day. Turn our hearts to your light and set our hearts on fire for you. Let every man who looks to the hills find you. All praise and honour and glory and power are yours forever and ever. Amen!

Lord in your mercy, Hear our prayer.

Father God,

We pray for your church here and in the world. This spring, open our eyes to see you more clearly. Blow away the dust, pour your light in the dark corners, whisk away all the clutter and fill those clean, white spaces with your spirit. Let no empty promises fill them, let no wasteful acts tarnish them, but move us together in your perfect time to the glory of your name. Father God, make us fighting fit for the work you have prepared in advance for us to do. Let not one of us be left behind. Move us in your peace and love in perfect harmony.

Lord in your mercy, Hear our prayer.

Heavenly Father,

It is awesome to me that this earth, your creation, continues to provide for man thousands of years on from the birth of civilisation. With each day, there are more mouths to feed, there is more extraction of minerals and oil, there is more production, and there is more construction. The old is torn down, the new is replaced. Yet the earth renews itself. New seeds sprout through the death of the old, a spark of genius planted by you gives birth to a revolutionary idea that changes the way we live. We pray that your resources will be redeployed to that which helps from that which harms. Why do we need to waste your valuable resources on weapons of mass destruction when we can transform our way of living to the profit of all creation. Move the world towards a lasting peace, let us love one another, let us look for ways to help rather than ways to harm. We pray for your merciful intervention.

Lord in your mercy, Hear our prayer.

Father God,

The financial infrastructure of global markets is being tested in ways not seen for 80 years. I wonder again when I look out at your creation, when I see people coming and going as before, eating and drinking, travelling, marrying. It is like the days of Noah. We know that in the last days, these markets will be in ruin. We know that in the last days, there will not be any water fit to drink. We know that in the last days, the fish will be dead, and the waters will over flow with blood. Father God, wake up your people. Let us not fritter away the hours you have planned for us. The time to act is now. The time for leadership is now. If we don’t change the way we live, there will not be a future on this planet. Heal us and help us. Turn us to new life!

Lord in your mercy, Hear our prayer.

Lord God,

There are souls among us who need your merciful healing touch. You have shown us your divine plan. We see now through a glass darkly that which you choose to reveal of the past and the future. We live in the here and now. Sometimes we do not understand what is happening around us. Father God, we lift up to you this morning Chris, Joanna, Phyllis, Eunice, the children left behind in two very horrific car crashes in Gloucester and Lancashire. This morning Chris is very ill. His liver is giving out. His diabetes is a complication. He has travelled a long road of decline. We long for you to deliver him from this malaise. We long for him to be healed in body, mind and spirit. Awesome, all powerful God, we pray that your glory will be revealed in the lives of these souls that we bring to your throne. Have mercy upon them and deliver them from their infirmities.

Lord graciously hear us. Lord hear us.

Heavenly Father,

The news of the death of those souls in the Goucester and Lancashire car crashes makes us look anew at the world and our lives. We are here by your grace. This morning we pray for those who mourn. Thank you for the love that fills our hearts, for the life that fills our limbs, for the hope that lives within us and your lamp that lights the path before us. Move the mountains that impede our view. Walk beside us these earthly roads, take us by the hand and lead us to your heavenly throne.

Merciful Father, accept these prayers for the sake of your son, our saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.

Dear Lord,

Prepare our hearts for this week of mission.  

Let all we do be for your honour.

Deepen our love for you.

Draw many around us to Jesus Christ.

In Christ’s name.

Amen.

Out of the Blue takes place February 10-17, 2008, Please Pray

1. For the Bishop of Penrith as he plans to lead our Furness Deanery Mission.  Ask God to bless him.
2. That all our congregations will grasp this special opportunity.
3. For courage to ask family and friends to the various events planned.
4. Praise God for the wonder and relevance of the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.