Category Archives: intercession

Praying in a broken world

Leave a reply

“Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love with those who love him and keep his commandments, we have sinned and done wrong. We have been wicked and have rebelled; we have turned away from your commands and laws. We have not listened to your servants the prophets.. Lord, you are righteous, but this day we are covered with shame.. the Lord our God is righteous in everything he does; yet we have not obeyed him.

Now, our God, hear the prayers and petitions of your servant. For your sake, Lord, look with favour on your desolate sanctuary. Give ear, our God, and hear; open your eyes and see.. We do not make requests of you because we are righteous, but because of your great mercy. Lord, listen! Lord, forgive! Lord, hear and act! For your sake, my God, do not delay, because your city and your people bear your Name.”

(Dan 9.4-7,14,17-19)

I was left alone, gazing at this great vision; I had no strength left, my face turned deathly pale and I was helpless. Then I heard him speaking, and as I listened to him, I fell into a deep sleep, my face to the ground. A hand touched me and set me trembling on my hands and knees. He said, “Daniel, you who are highly esteemed, consider carefully the words I am about to speak to you, and stand up, for I have now been sent to you.” And when he said this to me, I stood up trembling.
Then he continued, “Do not be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard.. While he was saying this to me, I bowed with my face toward the ground and was speechless. Then the one who looked like a man touched my lips, and I opened my mouth.. “I am overcome with anguish because of the vision my lord, and I feel very weak. How can I, your servant talk with you, my lord? My strength is gone and I can hardly breathe.”

Again the one who looked like a man touched me and gave me strength. “Do not be afraid, you who are highly esteemed,” he said. “Peace! Be strong now; be strong.” When he spoke to me, I was strengthened and said, “Speak, my lord, since you have given me strength.”

(Dan 10.8-12, 15-19)

I have greatly appreciated recent studies in the book of Daniel, the faithful-in-exile, who served pagan rulers with integrity and always maintained an intimate and obedient relationship with the Almighty God, the Lord of his people Israel. Daniel models so much for us in our own day and age, and even though in the later chapters the book is full of strange visions, yet we can still learn much from them. Above all, we learn that the books of history are open before our God, and nothing takes him by surprise. It is made clear that while this broken world endures, there will be human conflict, evil will continue to manifest itself in many ways and suffering will be widespread. And yet, over and over again, Daniel is shown the final unveiling and prevailing of the eternal kingdom of which he – and we as followers of Jesus – is a member. God wins, and as his precious children, we are already secure in that victory.

Daniel also models how we should be praying for ourselves and others according to God’s word and will; how in the midst of turmoil, we bring our concerns to the Almighty and ask him to do what he has promised – to reveal himself, to extend mercy to sinners through Jesus, to make a people for himself, and ultimately, to reveal his eternal glory. God’s people are called to pray God’s word; recognising God’s sovereignty and submitting with grace and trust to his will but also claiming his promises. We pray not out of our own righteousness, but because God IS always righteous, and can be depended upon in every situation to be good, holy, and true.

It is easy for us to enter into Daniel’s experience of overwhelming distress as we contemplate the mess of our world, and the judgement which humanity is bringing upon itself. Daniel’s visions often shattered him for prolonged periods of time, and it is wonderful to read of the compassion and strength which is extended by the divine messenger to this faithful but traumatised servant. Three times, words of encouragement, tenderness and compassion are spoken over him; three times, he is touched by the divine hand. This speaks deeply to me of my heavenly Father’s concern that the cosmic scale of this battle should not be something which I seek to enter or understand in my own strength. It is the Lord who is waging war against his enemy, a defeated but vengeful, vicious and utterly unscrupulous foe. I can be honest in sharing my fear, helplessness, confusion and distress – God’s compassionate response never fails, and I find peace as I recognise that the Almighty has all in his hand, including me!

Heavenly Father, thank you that you meet my distress with compassion and raise me up to stand in your presence as you speak words of encouragement, wisdom and direction. Thank you that the future of this world is in your hands, and that my task is to follow Daniel’s example: Let me go my way, with your help, until the end of my days – the way you have alloted to me. Let me rest in your faithfulness, not my own understanding or strength. Thank you that, at the end of the days, I will rise with all your saints to receive the inheritance you have prepared for us. Thank you for Jesus, through whom alone all this is done, and to his name be glory, Amen.

That faith might not fail

Leave a reply

I love the Lord, for he heard my voice; he heard my cry for mercy. Because he turned his ear to me, I will call on him as long as I live.. the Lord is gracious and righteous; our God is full of compassion. The Lord protects the unwary; when I was brought low, he saved me. Return to your rest, my soul, for the Lord has been good to you…. I trusted in the Lord when I said “I am greatly afflicted”.. What shall I return to the Lord for all his goodness to me? I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord. I will fulfill my vows to the Lord in the presence of his people.

(Ps 116.1&2,5-7,10,12-14)

.. we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies.. 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..

(Rom 8.23&26)

.. ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all God’s people, I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms..

(Eph 1.15-20)

“How may I be praying for you?” – is one of the kindest questions we can be asking one another as God’s children and fellow pilgrims on this journey. How would you answer that one today? Although our various individual circumstances will vary enormously, each of us is walking by faith, and I believe that one of the greatest ways we can encourage one another is by praying for that faith to grow stronger, and not fade or fail. If faith grows weak, then our walk is imperilled, and we may stray from God’s path, or fall prey to sore temptations and injure ourselves and others. We can see that happening time and again in the story of God’s people down through history, as they stopped relying on God and took matters into their own hands.

But that story is also the tale of God’s redemption, deliverance and transformation of those same flawed human beings. Because of his loyal love and faithfulness to his own promises, we are offered salvation as a gift, not a reward – we are not earning anything, but are invited to set aside all claims to power, righteousness, strength or endurance, and to lean hard on God. In our weakness, He is strong. In Psalm 116, the word ‘unwary’ refers to a person who has a deep and childlike trust – they walk without being troubled because they are confident in their Father. Faith like this is possible because of who God is, and because in Jesus we are assured of our place in his family.

Faith to face a challenging reality does not mean screwing up one’s nerve, but turning one’s gaze upon Jesus every single day – a discipline, yes, and also the way that we keep going. To come before God in every situation is to trust him with every part of our lives – the psalmist simply cried out a statement of fact about his condition, but behind that lay the conviction that his situation mattered to God, to the Almighty, the Maker of the galaxies. This is trust, faith in action – and as we get to know him better, as Paul prays for the Ephesians, we will deepen our trust, becoming more childlike in simply presenting God with each day and hour and need, fully expecting that he is able to carry us through, to be at work in what is happening, and to keep us close to him through all things. And in Romans, Paul assures his hearers that when words fail us, even then we can be sure that God has heard and understood because the Spirit within us speaks.

Let us then be encouraged to pray for one another, for the God in whom we trust will not fail us, even though we may be more aware of our weakness and failures than anything else. Let us also pray for one another against the spirit of pride, or complacency which is perhaps more dangerous to faith, since it leads us to walk carelessly, presuming on our own wisdom and abilities. May God keep us from that danger, and keep us humble, childlike and trusting in the Father who is always listening, whose arms are always extended, and whose power is always being exercised on our behalf. Let us make this song our prayer for ourselves and one another, to his glory and our blessing!

When I fear my faith will fail, Christ will hold me fast;
When the tempter would prevail, He will hold me fast.
I could never keep my hold through life’s fearful path;
For my love is often cold; He must hold me fast.

He will hold me fast, He will hold me fast;
For my Saviour loves me so, He will hold me fast.

Those He saves are His delight, Christ will hold me fast;
Precious in his holy sight, He will hold me fast.
He’ll not let my soul be lost; His promises shall last;
Bought by Him at such a cost, He will hold me fast.

For my life He bled and died, Christ will hold me fast;
Justice has been satisfied; He will hold me fast.
Raised with Him to endless life, He will hold me fast
‘Till our faith is turned to sight, When He comes at last!

(AR Habershorn 1861-1918, and Keith & Kristen Getty)

On human frailty

Leave a reply

Hallelujah. Praise the Lord, O my being! Let me praise the Lord while I live, let me hymn to my God while I breathe.

Do not trust in princes, in a human who offers no rescue. His breath departs, he returns to the dust. On that day his plans are naught.

Happy whose help is Jacob’s God, his hope – for the Lord his God, maker of heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, who keeps faith forever, does justice for the oppressed, gives bread to the hungry, the Lord looses those in fetters.

The Lord gives sight to the blind. The Lord makes the bent stand erect. The Lord loves the righteous.

The Lord guards sojourners, orphan and widow He sustains, but the way of the wicked contorts.

The Lord shall reign forever, your God, O Zion, for all generations. Hallelujah.

(Ps 146 R Alter translation, 2007)

Stop trusting in mere humans, who have but a breath in their nostrils, Why hold them in esteem?

(Isa 2.22)

Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who draws strength from mere flesh and whose heart turns away from the Lord… But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream…

A glorious throne, exalted from the beginning, is the place of our sanctuary. Lord, you are the hope of Israel; all who forsake you will be put to shame. Those who turn away from you will be written in the dust because they have forsaken the Lord, the spring of living water.

(Jer 17.5,7&8,12&13)

I urge, then, first of all , that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people – for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.. This is good, and pleases God our Saviour, who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.

(1 Tim 2,1-4)

One of the – many – wonderful things about believing in Jesus, and trusting in God as our Father and Creator, is that we are invited to learn to think about the world, about time, and our place in it as God does. We are offered glimpses of the great divine narrative, and as that story is embedded in our thinking, becoming our story, we are set free from so much that brings fear, anxiety, all the tossings to-and fro between hope and despair which beset those who have no anchor in eternal love.

God’s children are invited to put their hope in the only one who is worthy of it – the Almighty One, the Maker and Sustainer of all things, and the Author of the story. We are invited into an intimate, loving and trusting relationship with the only being who really is in charge. and can orchestrate everything that happens in order to fulfil His purposes – which are for blessing, beyond our imagining, as we take our place in his family and inherit the new creation.

Until that day dawns, this world is subject to the evils which beset those who have consistently rebelled against their creator, who persistently trust in their own gifts (which are truly good things, God’s gifts to us) in order to live without God in the world. Humankind is increasingly reaping the harvest of unbelief, of human pride and rejection of God. Populations are lured by extravagant promises of a golden future, to be inaugurated by leaders who know full well that they cannot actually deliver these things, and are playing on human needs and desires in order to gain power. No one, not one human being on our planet, is actually in control, no matter what their social media claims for them. 

While God may choose to permit the rise and persistence of regimes which bring appalling depths of suffering and cruelty, which dismiss the threats to our world’s fragile climate, which survive by threats, repression, mis-information and constant surveillance – the bible is clear that He is not tainted by or culpable for the decisions of these leaders, they will answer to Him for their use of power. 

Human frailty is written all over history, and we can see it today as we look around. How great is our relief then as God’s beloved children to know that we can put our faith for our lives and our future – and this world’s story – in God, who alone is able to bring good out of evil, and light out of darkness. We do not need to be buffeted by current affairs, and must be wary of being sucked into the waves of exaggerated reaction which increasingly masquerade as news. We have a foundation which is sure, and must exercise the discipline of fixing our eyes on God, keeping human beings – no matter how ‘powerful’, in their places.

Thank you Father, that you alone are reliable, and that in You I can trust. Help me to pray for those in power in our world, remembering their frailty and need of salvation. Help me to live steadily and confidently by faith in Your power and purposes, not swayed and frightened by what happens. Let my small life be a witness to your sovereignty, justice and goodness, so that others may come to put their trust in you. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Looking through..

2 Replies

In that day the root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to him, and his place of rest will be glorious.. He will raise a banner for the nations and gather the exiles of Israel.. There will be a highway for the remnant of his people …

In that day you will say: “I will praise you, O Lord. Although you were angry with me, your anger has turned away and you have comforted me. Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. The Lord, the Lord, is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation.” With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation. In that day you will say: “Give thanks to the Lord, call on his name; make known among the nations what he has done, and proclaim that his name is exalted. Sing to the Lord, for he has done glorious things; let this be known to all the world. Shout aloud and sing for joy, people of Zion, for great is the Holy One of Israel among you .”

All you people of the world, you who live on the earth, when a banner is raised on the mountains, you will see it, and when a trumpet sounds, you will hear it.. At that time gifts will be brought to the Lord Almighty from a people tall and smooth-skinned, from a people feared far and wide, an aggressive nation of strange speech, whose land is divided by rivers – the gifts will be brought to Mount Zion, the place of the Name of the Lord Almighty.

In that day there will be an altar to the Lord in the heart of Egypt, and a monument to the Lord at its border. It will be a sign and witness to the Lord Almighty in the land of Egypt. When they cry out to the Lord because of their oppressors, he will send them a saviour and defender, and he will rescue them. So the Lord will make himself known to the Egyptians, and in that day they will acknowledge the Lord…. The Lord Almighty will bless them, saying, “Blessed by Egypt my people, Assyria my handiwork, and Israel my inheritance.

(Isa 11.10,12&16; 12. 1-6; 18.3&7; 19.19&20,25)

Our ladies’ bible study is currently reading the book of the prophet Isaiah, and recent weeks have seen us immersed in foretelling disaster, destruction and suffering – grim stuff indeed. And yet, we have found much to encourage and inspire us as we get a better understanding of Isaiah’s double vision – of the immediate future for Judah, and also the long-term future of God’s purposes in the world. The realism of the prophet is comforting – echoing the world in which we live now, with human pride and power dominating the stage, and resulting (as it always has and always will) in misery. Isaiah never pretends that bad things are not going to happen to God’s people in this world, but what he does time and again is to remind them that what they are seeing is but a tiny glimpse – and a distorted one at that – of what is really going on.

God gave Isaiah many opportunities to intimate coming events which would validate his prophecy as from the Almighty. This encouraged the faithful in Judah to believe the bigger prophecies too, and to put their whole trust in God. In our turn, these prophecies encourage us to discern God’s purposes at work behind human actions, and the dazzling of power or the darkness of destruction. What is promised is wonderful beyond our imagining, a blazing vision of true power and authority wielded for good, by a perfect and just ruler, under whom all can dwell in perfect peace and fullness of life.

The One through whom God has appointed this deliverance to come is the Messiah – whom we know as Jesus, son of Mary, born into Joseph’s family and raised in Nazareth. He came to suffer and to die for us, to remove all the barriers that cut us off from God and to defeat the power which drives us continually away from God. BUT one day he will come again, this time as the Judge and King, as the banner to whom all the nations will rally and whose place of rest will be glorious! It is this future to which we look now, as we live between these first and second comings. And Isaiah’s prophecies still encourage us in this interim period, to look through our history and by faith to discern God at work.

We pray for the nations – like Egypt and Assyria – whose regimes resolutely oppose the revelation of God’s authority and power, because we see from the prophecies that their people too are God’s beloved handiwork, that they will worship him and find in him their salvation. There is no race or tribe or tongue which is excluded – not even our own godless nation!

As we prepare to celebrate Christmas, let us take courage from Isaiah’s prophecies. Let us press on in endurance as the darkness deepens in a world besotted by human power. Let us believe in that darkness that divine light has dawned, and cannot be extinguished. Let us pray and work for the sharing of the gospel with everyone and rejoice that it was given even to us. Our songs of gladness and thanksgiving are our witness to the hope we have, so let us sing them loudly and stand firm!

Father, it hurts..

Leave a reply

Hear my cry, O God; listen to my prayer. From the ends of the earth I call to you, I call as my heart grows faint; lead me to the rock that is higher than I. For you have been my refuge, a strong tower against the foe. I long to dwell in your tent for ever and take refuge in the shelter of your wings. for you have heard my vows, O God; you have given me the heritage of those who fear your name. 

(Ps 61.1-5)

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.”

(Jn 13.34)

We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a person’s gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; if it is encouraging, let him encourage, … if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully… Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honour one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervour, serving the Lord. be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer… Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn

(Rom 12.6-12, 16)

Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfil the law of Christ.

(Gal 6.2)

Hudson Taylor, the founder of the China Inland Mission is reported to have said this, “The Lord’s work, done in the Lord’s way, will never fail to have the Lord’s provision.”

While I am sure this applies to global mission movements and great developments in church outreach and evangelism, I also believe that it applies to my own small life. It could be translated to read, “As I obey God’s call to offer my life in his service – whatever circumstances I am in and whatever resources are available to me – I may be sure that He will enable me to fulfil that particular and unique calling.”

I have been working out just what that means in this current season of life – and being a slow learner and a forgetful soul, I find I am treading familiar ground with a sense that I should have been here a while ago!

My life does not involve many responsibilities, I have much personal freedom to structure my time, and that brings a challenge in knowing what God wants me to do with my availability… Recently, I have felt overwhelmed with the sheer number and range of burdens being carried by my friends and family, let alone those further afield to whom I am committed in prayer support. As I wrestled with the discouragement and sense of my own futility in face of such need, I was helped by the love of friends and some wise counsel. The Spirit has been working mercifully to open my eyes to a new understanding.

This burden of sharing in the lives of others, which is also a privilege of course, is my particular calling in this season. I have time when I can be alone and without distraction, when the Lord can take me through the names and needs of many, to obey Christ’s command of love and bear them before him in prayer.

I want to bear this burden honourably. I want to glorify my Lord as I give myself in this way – not grumbling or complaining about the list of names, nor becoming cynical and weary of the work. I want to remain hope-filled and quietly rejoicing in the goodness and faithfulness of God, even as I contemplate suffering or loss. My dear Lord knows my heart, and promises to meet my daily needs in order that I may fulfil this desire to serve him worthily; as my heart is permitted to feel a little of his great heart, sorrowing or rejoicing, over all his beloved children.

Today therefore, I embrace this calling and thank the Lord for it. I do not need the answers to the trials of others – this is his business. Instead, I come in humble and glad faith to the ONLY one who can bring relief. I bring those my heart loves to the Father by whom they are even more beloved. I lift these precious people up for his love, even as a child comes trustingly to a parent for the fixing of a broken toy, or comforting of an injured sibling. If I am tempted to fix them myself, or to try and wrestle God into a solution of my own making, I will only become distressed and weary.

Father God, I come in love and thankfulness for those whom you have given me to pray for. I rejoice in all that they are, and all that we share as your children. Above all I give thanks that you know their need and are already at work to meet it. I thank you that your will is more glorious and generous in its outworking than I can begin to imagine, so that I don’t need to try to find the answers but simply lift them to you and cry, “Father, it hurts!”.

 

 I ask Thee for a thoughtful love, through constant watching wise, to meet the glad with joyful smiles, and to wipe the weeping eyes: and a heart at leisure from itself, to soothe and sympathise.

(Anna Laetitia Waring, 1823-1920)

 

And when I pray…

3 Replies

Only may the Lord your God be with you as he was with Moses…Only be strong and courageous.

(Jos 1.17&18)

I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus…. And 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.

(Phil 1.3-6&9-11)

Grace and peace to you from God our Father.

(Col 1.2)

It is always good to learn from others how we might serve the people of God more faithfully, and perseveringly – at least, I know that I have much to learn. The writings of Paul to his beloved churches give us a glimpse into the life of intercession which he followed so faithfully, and I was struck recently by the fact that he seems to start praying for people by being thankful for them! Perhaps this is not new for you, in which case, read no further..

What happens when we look at the prayer list, when the array of burdens and requests mounts up and it seems that all we are doing is bringing a shopping list of our demands to God? I think that I lose perspective, I become absorbed in the – important but not crucial – details, and forget that God’s overall plans and purposes are so much greater and so utterly other than my own. I begin to think that if I don’t see the answers I want, then prayer doesn’t work, or that I am somehow failing to ask properly.

But, when I start by giving thanks for God’s people, each unique, each beautifully crafted for his purposes and saved by grace through faith in Jesus – each one a beloved child and sibling of min in Christ – then my perspective shifts. They are no longer a duty to be ticked off, but a person in relationship to the Almighty – and to me. They are fearfully and wonderfully made and to be rejoiced in. Their salvation story is a reason to celebrate God’s goodness and power in transforming broken humanity – as is mine.

Their heart’s desire, like mine, is to know Christ and to make him known, to play their part in God’s great plan of salvation and new creation. While we may have our own human ideas of what that ought to look like in a given situation – healings, job opportunities etc – actually, we all know and ultimately trust in a God who so often confounds human expectation.

So, when I pray, I can use some of the great prayers of the scriptures like these:

  • that God would go with us in all we do
  • that the Spirit will make us courageous and confident in God to work ahead of us
  • that we might receive daily grace – God’s work in us to accomplish what we can’t do
  • that we might live in the peace which is experiencing the blessings of being fully reconciled to God hour by hour and day by day
  • that we might grow in love for Christ and for one another, a mature and self-denying love which builds community, and witnesses to the power of the gospel in our hearts
  • that we might bear fruit for Christ, the changed lives which result from continual re-orientation of all our thoughts and attitudes according to his word
  • that we might bring glory and praise to God

All of these are things that I long to see happening in my life, so should I not also pray them for others? These things all underpin the details of daily life, so that our attitudes and decisions are increasingly godly and discerning, and fully aligned to whatever God is doing in and through us. Each and every situation is an opportunity to chose to live for God, and to trust him to use that glad and obedient submission for his own purposes.

When I pray in this way for others, I am reminded all the time that God’s agenda is so big and that whatever the details of each life may be, we are together in fulfilling his plans. Our sufferings and struggles gain significance, and also are drained of their power to bind us in despair and half-heartedness when we remember the great story in which we are playing a part, and the adversary who seeks to thwart every blossoming of God’s work in human lives.

Friends, let us pray with joy, because the one who began this good work in us will bring it to completion, and in the meantime, he has promised never to leave us. Then let us pray with confident thanksgiving, and to him be all the glory. Amen!

A wider vision..

Leave a reply

 

May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face shine upon us,

Selah

that your ways may be known on earth, your salvation among all nations. May the peoples praise you, O God; may all the peoples praise you. May the nations be glad and sing for you, for you rule the peoples justly and guide the nations of the earth.

Selah

May the peoples praise you, O God; may all the peoples praise you.

(Ps 67.1-5)

I will praise you, O Lord, with all my heart; before the “gods” I will sing your praise. I will bow down towards your holy temple and will praise your name for your love and your faithfulness, for you have exalted above all things your name and your word. When I called, you answered me; you made me bold and stout-hearted. May all the kings of the earth praise you, O Lord, when they hear the words of your mouth. May they sing of the ways of the Lord, for the glory of the Lord is great.

(Ps 138.1-5)

Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

(Matt 28.18-20)

Pray.. for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.

(Eph 6.19&20)

I grew up in a congregation which met weekly for prayer on a Saturday evening. It wasn’t the kind of meeting where we shared personal concerns, but rather an ambitious and confident gathering which every week prayed around the country and around the world. The focus was on what our sovereign God was doing through his ministers, missionaries and through the unfolding of history.

I am profoundly thankful for this background to my early christian life, which I was privileged to continue in other churches which I attended. Sometimes, it seemed a great effort to drag myself out on a dreich night, sometimes my own affairs pressed hard and I was tempted to give way to self pity. But I never regretted making the effort to overcome the temptation, to face the weather or my own weariness, in order to join with others in lifting God’s world up to him for his will to be done and his name glorified.

This discipline of entering into intercession for God’s people and the growth of his kingdom is such a privilege, but also a blessing! I would encourage anyone who is feeling overwhelmed by the issues facing their own congregation to get involved in the work of prayer for the world. It lifts us out of our own lives for a little and shows us something of the breadth of God’s vision for our planet and our race. God is working all the time to fulfill his purposes – raising up and casting down nations, just as he did in the time of the prophets. He is moving people around the world in order that they might hear the gospel and take it back home to their own tribe and tongue. He is sending the light of Christ into prisons and detention centres, as his persecuted saints witness in their cells to his love and the power of the cross and the empty tomb. He is using poverty-stricken believers in war-torn countries to show his love to their displaced neighbours, bringing healing and hope.

Our God is not chained, he cannot be controlled by border guards and oppressive regimes, or silenced by control of the media. Our God will be glorified in all the earth, and he invites us to be his co-workers in making that happen, as we pray for others and also grow in courage to witness ourselves to our neighbours. Let this work of intercession be an encouragement to you when you feel there is no future for the gospel in your neighbourhood. The God who has called you there is faithful, and has work for you to do – even if it is the silent witness of loving, serving and forgiving others who refuse to let you talk to them about your saviour.

Yes, the world has many troubles and sorrows; human rebellion against God continues to work itself out in pain and destruction, the degradation of both people and the planet we inhabit. But, our God is on the throne, and we are under his wing. We have his authority to preach good news, and to pray for others who are also reaching out in his name. Let us, like the psalmist, cry out to be made bold and stout-hearted that we might join with confidence in the work of growing the kingdom, and interceding for one another. 

When everything else has fallen away..

1 Reply

O Lord, hear my prayer, listen to my cry for mercy; in your faithfulness and righteousness come to my relief…The enemy pursues me, he crushes me to the ground; he makes me dwell in darkness like those long dead. So my spirit grows faint within me; my heart within me is dismayed.

I remember the days of long ago; I meditate on all your works and consider what your hands have done. I spread out my hands to you; my soul thirsts for you like a parched land. Answer me quickly, O Lord, my spirit fails.

Do not hide your face from me or I will be like those who go down to the pit. Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you.

Show me the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul. Rescue me from my enemies, O Lord, for I hide myself in you. Teach me to do your will, for you are my God; may your good Spirit lead me on level ground.

(Ps 143.1, 2-10)

From the sixth hour until the ninth hour darkness came over all the land. about the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?” – which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

(Matt 27.45&46)

As followers of Jesus, we live with a continual tension between the reality of a broken, and pain-filled world, and the revelation of God’s loving purposes for his creation. This is not the place to unpack the many discussions which can arise, rather I have been considering how we can pray for one another when the crises come. To be a Christian is not a recipe for a protected, pain free existence, and anyone who tries to convince others that the gospel brings health, wealth and happiness is to be rebuked and avoided at all costs. We will face suffering, even as every human being does.

Every trial known to humanity happens to believers too – rape, abuse, violent assault, homelessness, cancer, addiction, debilitating and degenerative diseases, disability, poverty, war, earthquakes and all natural disasters. How may we pray for one another when our lives are shaken to their foundations, when all the walls collapse and in an instant, we are naked to the winds and vulnerable to utter destruction? This is intercession, the ministry of other members of Christ’s body for those who are stunned and reeling, unable to pray for themselves, possibly running away from God, certainly in great agony of spirit.  We may be called to it for hours, days or years, and we may not see the answers we hope for – our own faith may be challenged. Are we willing?

We can pray for protection of their faith – that they will continue to bring all to God, not turn away from him. He is big enough to take all our frantic furious words and his fathomless love refuses to walk away from his hurting children. We can pray that their anger will be poured out before him, so that their spirit may be preserved from the infection of bitterness and the petrifying power of resentment. The psalmists give shape to such lament, as do Job and the prophets.

We can pray for that steadying and grounding which guards against drastic and desperate action, for wisdom to hold through confusion and the turmoil of grief. The presence of compassion and practical support, of burden-sharers, and those who can advise and bring comfort by their presence. Perhaps we ourselves may have a part to play in this. How often Paul speaks in his letters of the comfort which friends brought – by their gifts and their companionship – as God’s support to him in his need.

We can pray for for freedom from paralysing fear as they contemplate a future which they hoped never to see. How many of us deliberately contemplate what life might look like if disaster struck? We don’t, we focus instead on enjoying what we have and easily forget that life can change in an instant. A beloved may walk out of the house, and out of our lives with no warning, and how shall we live without them? A diagnosis may come which shifts life into an endurance event, full of obstacles, and pain. We don’t want to anticipate these things, but they are the stuff of real and daily life. How much we need God’s help in living through those situations, in dealing with the fear of suffering, of loss, of death.

Above all, we pray for mercy from the Omnipotent on the dust-creature whom he loves, and who is at this time flat out in stunned despair and hopelessness. Tomorrow, it could be my turn, or yours. We live, day by day depending entirely on God’s providence, and by grace we cry to him as Father for his presence. We have his love, an eternal inheritance, a daily indwelling strength by his Holy Spirit, and although we may feel abandoned, we can give thanks that we are never truly alone. Because Jesus was forsaken, we are not..

Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me…And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

(Matt 28.18&20)

When I want to look away..

Leave a reply

Our Father, who is in heaven

Almighty God, creator and sustainer of all life; in whose image all humanity is made, and who desires that all might know and love you, might walk in joyful fellowship with you and with one another, hear our prayer.

As a Father you yearn over your children, from every race, tribe and tongue you call us forth to live together in peace as your family and to glorify you as each brings their own unique part to complete the whole. 

In our rebellion and pride, we long ago rejected your wisdom, your lordship, and chose what we consider right in our own eyes. And see what a price we are paying for our pride and so-called freedom…

The heart of humanity is fatally flawed, and without you, our best and highest aims become the grounds of our corruption, the motivation for the darkest deeds. Almighty God, we confess our sin afresh, and mourn for the grief which has come upon us because of sin, because of our rejection of our God.

Hallowed be your name

We are no longer motivated by your glory, but by our own. We are driven by a desire for power to make ourselves secure; to win vengeance over our neighbour for his wrongs; to be the biggest, the fastest, the wealthiest, the strongest, the most enduring. Our empires(large and small) are fed on exploitation, on corruption, on manipulation and domination, on injustice and dishonesty; they grow fat on the poverty of others, and strong through the killing, intimidating and oppression of others. 

God, we deserve your judgement, we confess the darkness in our hearts and those of our leaders, and cry for the mercy which we do not deserve. Truly, your glory and honour require our condemnation and destruction.

Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven…

With trembling hearts, we praise and worship you because the judgement which was rightly ours has been taken by Jesus, by our perfect substitute, and even as he took that punishment on himself, so we by faith receive his perfection and are made acceptable and beloved children in your family. We rejoice to know that this, this astonishing salvation is your will for all your children, and that ultimately we shall dwell together with you in joyous harmony in a new and sinless earth. 

Your kingdom has been  inaugurated through Christ’s life, death and resurrection; and will be fully realised on his return in glory when your appointed time has come. But until then, Lord, how should we work and pray as we consider the bloody battlefield of this world?

As I write, my mind is full of the grievous and intractable situation currently prevailing between the Israeli state and the Palestinian people; images of destruction and violence; images of fear and hatred writ large on human faces; images of hopelessness and despair as the infected wound of a decades long conflict breaks out yet again. The roots of this agony are complicated beyond words, each generation inheriting the consequences of previous decisions and unable to reverse or disentangle them. The decisions taken by my own nation some hundred years ago have their part to play, I must not pretend that our hands are clean..This is not someone else’s problem, it is mine, because these people are my brothers and sisters, and who can say what I might do in their situation, under their provocation?

There are other battlefields to remember – Yemen, Eritrea, South Sudan, Syria,  Guatemala, Colombia, Myanmar, North Korea, Western China, Tibet, Chad, Niger, Sierra Leone, Democratic Republic of Congo, Nigeria, Turkey, Ukraine….you could add to the list those places dearest to your heart. Not all the battles are physical, many are economic, religious and racial state-sponsored oppressions.

How do we – as those who believe that God’s kingdom has come and is coming – pray and work in these situations? We pray for God’s glory to be seen and for justice to be forthcoming; for that lasting peace which allows humanity to flourish and the gospel to be preached. We speak out to our own lawmakers and politicians, to those who can be heard on global stages, urging the respect for human rights which we cherish and which reflects the God-imprint which is in each one of us. We ask God to help us not to look away from conflict, injustice, prolonged suffering, but rather to be motivated through what we see to care enough for our fellow human beings to pray, and to act. We seek those agencies through which we might extend aid to the suffering, and justice to the persecuted, and we commit ourselves to being involved.

Almighty God, I pray today for all those in the land of Israel who acknowledge Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour, and in his name seek peace in their land. Give them courage to stand against injustice and violence, and help them to hold together – as ethnic Jews, Arabs and Palestinians united in Christ – so that your name might be honoured. May the witness of your people encourage all who work for a lasting and just settlement, and may it strengthen every local effort to end hostility and bring reconciliation.

Sulky exiles, or responsible citizens?

Leave a reply

This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says to all those I carried into exile..:”Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce…Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.”

(Jer 29.4,5&7)

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God…You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbour and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous…Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

(Matt 5.9,43-45&48)

I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone – for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.

(1Tim 2.1&2)

Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every authority instituted among men: whether to the king, as the supreme authority, or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right…..Live as free men, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God. Show proper respect to everyone: Love the brotherhood of believers, fear God, honour the King.

(1Pet 2.13,14,16&17)

As followers of Jesus, redeemed children of God, we often think of ourselves as exiles in this world, of people whose real home is not here, not in this place of darkness, pain and evil. We rightly think with joy on the prospect of a life to come, when we shall be free of sin- in our own lives as well as those of others- and when the new creation will be our glorious dwelling place, all as God intended and designed it for us.

But the words of the prophet Jeremiah to the exiled Jews in Babylon give a clear instruction for God’s people in that situation – get stuck in, be involved, care about your community, be constructive and positive and be at home there. It may not be your ‘forever’ home, but it is the place of God’s calling for this time, and his plan is that through your presence, it might be blessed. There is no distinction between seeking God’s will for their lives and seeking God’s will for the place where they are living, no need to choose which should be their  focus.

I believe that this is also a word to us in our time, uncomfortable though it is for followers of Jesus as our culture increasingly rejects him and the truth he stands for. God has placed us here for this time, with all the opportunities and abilities chosen and crafted for us by his plan to bless us and through us the communities of which we are part. Will we be enthusiastic in our place of exile? Or will we sulk and withdraw into holy huddles, bemoaning our situation and withholding our gifts and presence from those around us?

Our challenge then is to be fully invested in our communities, supportive and active, without falling into the patterns of thought and behaviour which may characterise that community. To be Jesus followers is to be peacemakers, to be those who refuse to believe the worst; who chose to respect those with whom they disagree; who choose to love, not demean their critics and who will pray for all as those created – like us- in God’s image and precious in his sight.

In this week of elections to the Scottish Parliament, the need for respect, truth-telling, love and humility are obvious. We may not always find these qualities in our politicians, but we must always pray for God to be at work through them to bring the stability of our society, the welfare and compassionate care needed by so many, the equality and protection of dignity for the weakest, and even the freedom which allows people to disagree strongly. We pray in effect, “Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done” in our society, even through our imperfect politicians, and we play our part in supporting and respecting the institutions through which we enjoy the rule of law, the provision of public services, and the freedoms which so many in the world are denied.

I cannot do everything needful for the transformation of society, and indeed that will happen only when Jesus comes to make everything new. But in the meantime, I pray that I might learn to hear his voice and to obey his calling to live for him, and in doing so, to bless the place to which he has called me.

Continue reading →