Daily Share-a-Prayer w/e 28/04/2024
Derek Mill
Worship Leader, All Saints Church, Belton
Sunday 28th April
Heavenly Father, my vision is blurred. I am short sighted, so I need glasses in order to see things clearly in the distance. My vision needs to be corrected
Sometimes, in order for people to see Jesus, I might need to make a spectacle of myself. I don't necessarily mean I need to be ridiculous but I may need to do something out of the ordinary. Jesus did extraordinary things all the time. What might I need to do to help Jesus be seen clearly?
Offer to help someone in need?
Speak kindly to someone who has been unkind to me?
Offer an apology when I upset someone?
Ask someone how they are today?
Hold back when I would be within my rights to tell someone some ‘home truths’?
Do what Jesus would do instead of what I want to do?
Say what Jesus would say rather than what I want to say?
To encourage rather than criticise?
To go it alone rather than follow the crowd?
To give and not worry about the cost?
To pray for someone I know hates me or wants to harm me?
To not want to be 'top dog'?
To be happy to stay in the background and allow others to take the credit?
There are so many ways to be like Jesus, different to the crowd, but it is not easy, and if I do all of these things I may well be mocked and ridiculed, others thinking I am weak, a ‘pushover’! I prayed a while ago: "I'd rather stand with God and be condemned by the world than stand with the world and be condemned by God" Perhaps this is how I do it? Well, at least it's a start. God, help me
Amen
Songs for today:
Just Like Jesus
The King of Love
Grace Upon Grace
Saturday 27th April
Heavenly Father, I had a terrible, chilling thought the other day: What would happen if... You died? Firstly, and I know this is ridiculous, everything would stop. The world would stop turning, the sun would stop burning, we would all freeze, assuming we didn't all die from lack of oxygen first, as gravity ceased and we all floated off into space
Thank You that none of this nonsense is possible, because You are eternal; there has never been and never can be or will be, a time when You do not live, when You do not exist. Everything is held together by the power of Your Word. "The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of His being, sustaining all things by His powerful Word." Without You life is impossible!
Whether we believe this or not, life starts and ends with You. We may think we have all the answers, but really we just have more and more questions! The Bible tells us, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding". You are awesome! All knowing, all seeing, all powerful, so we need to treat You with reverence, respecting You for who You are
Knowing You is vital to our understanding of how life works; how anything works. But the bottom line in everything is this: You love us. You really do love us. Jesus died on the cross because You love us, and then rose again, as will we, because You love us. And it is right that we should love You. Love deserves love. Thank You
Amen
Songs for today:
Hope
All Because of Mercy
Jesus Calms the Storm
Friday 26th April
Heavenly Father, it takes me about 5 hours to drive to Sunderland, about 4 hours to drive to Derby, 3 hours 30 minutes to Leicester, and 2 hours to Cambridge. Top speed on each journey, 70 miles an hour. I know this because I make these journeys quite often to see family
What I hadn't realised is that every day I travel approximately 1.6 million miles in 24 hours as the earth hurtles through space, around the sun, at about 67,000 miles an hour!! I learned this from a UCB devotional sent to me this morning by a friend, coincidentally, in Derbyshire. It made me think. It made me wonder. It made me worship! What a wonderful Creator God You are!
The incredible world You have made and in it, me! Us! People!! Alongside all the other creatures You put here, we are the ones created in Your image. We can sing and dance, build, paint, sculpt, write stories and poems, compose music and songs, run and jump and swim and so much more, because You have put the breath of life in us. How amazing we are, because we are in Your image. No other creature can do what we do
Thank You for Your whole creation, including us; including me
Thank You for worship. If You didn't tell us to worship You, our Creator and God, we would worship ourselves, and yet we can't do so many things You do
The planet moves because You move it, it spins because You spin it, it orbits the sun because You set its course. There is so much we can't do, but we can worship You. So, I do!!
Amen
Songs for today:
Creator God
Psalm 139 - Wonderfully Made
Creator
Thursday 25th April
Heavenly Father, thank You for Your peace. My devotional today made the following claims: "God's peace can calm me when I'm angry. God's peace can comfort me in times of grief. God's peace can give me joy and contentment"
These claims were based on this verse in Your Word: "And the peace of God which transcends understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus". The word "and" at the start of the verse would seem to indicate there is something before that I need to read too. "Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God"
There is a word in that verse which is so important, "every". No matter what my circumstances, no matter what my day may hold, in every situation I can come to You and Your peace will guard my heart and mind. All this stems from the previous verse: "Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near". You are near!
You are here with me, right now, and will be throughout the day. My heart and my mind are guarded by You, by Your Spirit alive in me. Lord, help me today to remember to rejoice, pray, and give thanks, and the peace of God Your peace, which transcends understanding, will guard my heart and my mind in Christ Jesus, helping me to be calm, comforted and joyful; and I am sure there are many other benefits besides. Thank You
Amen
Songs for today:
God's Peace
I Won't Be Afraid, I Know My God
Look At the Birds
Wednesday 24th April
Heavenly Father, I was fascinated by a picture given to me the other day. It was a church meeting, but seated around the table was a butterfly, a robin, a fish, an elephant, a kangaroo, an octopus, a worm, a bear, and a dinosaur. (I think there may be a song in there somewhere!)
Each one there brought their own individual personalities and talents. There were things that only the elephant could do, and things only the butterfly could do. There were things that others could do who were not even at the meeting, lions, lambs, bees, wasps, ants, lizards, porcupines, and many others. As the meeting was called to order the first thing they did was to pray and give thanks to You for creating each one of them and making them all different, even though being different could cause interesting and challenging conversations as to how to go ahead and work as a team
Father, thank You for each one of us, diverse in our abilities and blessed with the gifts You give, in order to serve. I have no doubt the world would be a sadder place without the beauty of a butterfly. I have no doubt that an elephant and a mouse see things from a different perspective. I have no doubt that working together will sometimes be awkward
The Bible tells us that Paul and Barnabas "had such a sharp disagreement that they parted company"
Lord Jesus, guide us by Your Spirit, so we always seek Your will and Your Way. Even when we differ, may we always treat each other with love, kindness, and respect
Amen
Songs for today:
If I Were a Butterfly
To the Table
Way Maker
Tuesday 23rd April
Lord Jesus, I heard from Jane about a friend's tree. The leaves on the tree weren't looking very healthy so they decided to cut the tree down. At first it was hard work lopping off the branches and then working through the trunk... at first. As they worked down the trunk it became obvious there was something wrong. Lower down the inside of the tree was hollow, diseased, rotten
This got me thinking about the time You cursed a fig tree. One day as You and the disciples were leaving Bethany, You were hungry. Seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, You went to find out if it had any fruit. When You reached it, You found nothing but leaves, because it was not the season for figs. Then You said to the tree, "May no one ever eat fruit from you again"
And the disciples heard You say it. The next morning as You passed the spot the disciples saw the fig tree withered from the roots, Peter saying, "Rabbi, look! The fig tree You cursed has withered!" It always seemed a bit unfair that You cursed tree when it wasn't the season for figs, rather childish actually
But now I wonder? Did You see something in the leaves that no one else noticed, perhaps the tree was diseased, rotten inside? And a rotten tree may produce rotten fruit? In fact, at another time, You said to the disciples, "No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit... A good man brings good things out of the good stored in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart". Help me to see as You see, to live as You lived. Thank You
Amen
Songs for today:
Just Like Jesus
Still Kind
Holy Spirit Move
Monday 22nd April
Heavenly Father, when things happen in the world, often there seems to be no rhyme or reason. People with the same illness, one is cured by medical science through doctors, one is miraculously healed, and one dies; but there seems to be no logical explanation
Well, perhaps not to us. But then, we don't see everything. The ripple effects of a birth, an illness, an accident, even a death are not seen by us. But You are always working for good. We have a saying, "God moves in mysterious ways, His wonders to perform"
The Bible tells us, "The Lord works out everything to its proper end - even the wicked for a day of disaster". Who would have thought the death of Jesus on the cross would become central to the faith of millions and lead to eternal life? If we follow the logical course His death would have been the end. But, as the Bible tells us, "Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable His judgements, and His paths beyond tracing out!"
We do not always see the end of Your path, we just need to trust You! After all, as Your Word says, "Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been His counsellor?" Help me Father to have faith like this: "By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going"
Help me to trust Your Word and Your voice. "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'". Thank You
Amen
Songs for today:
The Mystery of Faith
Mystery of Christ
Glorious Day (Living He Loved Me)
all songs (usually with lyrics) and talks courtesy of YouTube
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