Prayer Booklet 83
Dear Reader,
Welcome to Booklet 83 of reflection and thoughts for prayer from the Presbytery Prayer Promoters’ Group. As usual, let me graciously remind you that we understand that for some of you, you will have your own prayer guides and ways of approaching God, but we hope that many readers will enjoy these reflections and use them to help guide their thoughts in prayer. Please share these notes as widely as possible, especially where you know someone who has expressed that they struggle with knowing how to pray.
My husband and I feel blessed because we were able to have a break away for a few days. We feel rested and refreshed – and I enjoyed not having to cook. However, even as I write this, I am mindful that I am also grateful to be able to put food on the table and to have a kitchen to prepare and cook it. I suppose most of us have long stopped taking these blessings for granted. Television brings such dreadful world-wide situations right into our own homes.
For a few weeks – really from now until Christmas – I invite you to join me in reflecting on passages that help us to come to God in worship and thanksgiving . (If anyone has a favourite passage you would like to share with others, if you email me a note of it, I will try to include it with a little reflection over the next few weeks.) As it is our work in Jesus’ name to pray for others, I will continue to add notes at the end of the booklet to encourage prayer for others and for situations – focusing for a while on our Mission Plans in presbytery.
If you would like to comment or have a story you would like to share then feel free to contact me: christistewart@btinternet.com Amen
Sunday, 14th November,, 2021
This Sunday (14th November), Christians across the country – and further afield – will continue to join together in prayer and reflection at 7pm in response to the pandemic.
This week’s letter:
“In a time of Remembrance, we turn to the One who offers ‘refuge and strength’ in time of trouble and whose presence stills the storm and calms our fears. (Psalm 46: 1)
“Our faith is rooted in the remembrance of the Christ who laid ‘down His life for His friends’. (John 15: 13)
In turn, it is rooted in our receiving the Good News of the Christ who ‘was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures’. (1 Corinthian 15: 4)
In turn again, we come by faith to understand the death of Christ in the light of the resurrection and so comprehend that it was for us and for our salvation that He gave His life.
In a time of loss, we find no human words adequate to express the depth of that loss and we often find ourselves seemingly detached from the onward rush of time.
In silence, and as memory casts its eye across the span of time, we hear the voice of the One who calls to us: ‘Be still, and know that I am God’.”
We pray:
Living God,
Our refuge and our strength,
Hear our cry in time of remembrance.
Hear our cry as memory, and stories told,
Carry us to places of loss and sorrow.
Meet us in this time,
To still the storm and calm our fears.
Lord, in Your mercy Hear our prayer.
Living God,
Our refuge and our strength,
Hear our cry in time of loss.
Hear our cry, though it seems long lost,
In the cruel winds that blow.
May the measure of our loss
Be the measure of Your grace.
Lord, in Your mercy Hear our prayer.
Living God,
Our refuge and our strength,
Hear our cry in time of sorrow.
Hear our cry, and the cry of all who mourn,
As it gives voice to hidden grief.
May it rise from the depths of the earth
And be embraced in the heights of heaven.
Lord, in Your mercy Hear our prayer.
Living God,
Our refuge and our strength,
Hear our cry in time of remembrance.
Hear our cry,
And still our hearts,
That we may we hear the voice that speaks:
Be still, and know that I am God.
Lord, in Your mercy Hear our prayer.
Monday 15th November, 2021
For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge – that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. Ephesians 3:14-21
Reflect: My heart is always full when I read this passage from Ephesians. Paul had a startling conversion to faith in the truest sense of the word conversion (Recorded in Acts chapter 9). His life was a complete turnaround. He changed from being someone who hunted down Christians to persecute and destroy them to becoming one of the greatest missionaries for the cause of Christ this world has ever known.
In order to serve the Lord Jesus, whom He now loved, he was prepared to proclaim His Gospel and share the teaching he received from God by the Holy Spirit – even when he suffered indignity, imprisonment and persecution.
He is honoured to be called to serve. He has clearly been blessed by God with gifts and knowledge that enable him to share some of the great mysteries of faith that He has revealed to Paul. Remember this all took place very soon after Jesus had returned to be with the Father, and God had his plan to share the Gospel out of Jerusalem and to all the world.
We are so privileged that the message is still strong and powerful and many people across the world are turning to Jesus for salvation – forgiveness and redemption through His death and resurrection. Jesus is alive today, after his suffering – and we are invited to draw near to God because of Him.
It is for the cause of this Gospel that Paul is pleading humbly to God the father – creator of all things – on behalf of those he is now privileged to bring to faith. He longs to know that they experience the full joy of his knowledge of the love of God in Christ Jesus. This is our call to prayer also.
Some thoughts for Prayer –offer praise and thanks to God:
- He is our creator – of the heaven and the earth
- He is our Father, through Jesus the Son
- We have the same relationship in God as the Apostle Paul did, and as all the disciples of Jesus did
- When we come to Him in faith, we have the same rights and responsibilities to worship Him in prayer – humbly and faithfully
- We have the same call to serve others in Jesus’ name as Paul did – and we are given the gifts we need in our place and time.
- We all have God’s Spirit within to fulfil what He asks of us.
Tuesday 16th November, 2021
“I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being,”
Reflect: Conversations about the Holy Spirit are very much to the fore in our church at the moment as we are hosting two Alpha groups – one on-line and one in person. It is strange to me that it causes so much concern. Paul links the presence of the Holy Spirit to us being able to access the ‘glorious riches’ in our life that God makes available to us. Paul is certainly empowered to do all He does through the Holy Spirit within, and you might be tempted to think that that’s okay, because He was special. However, we are all special and precious to God, and we all have the promise of the Holy Spirit to be present with us – a promise given by Jesus himself. (“Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper (Holy Spirit) will not come to you;” John 16). Paul talks about the Holy Spirit being that which gives us strength and power to live out our faith in Christ. A dear friend in her 70s shared that she had always thought the Holy Spirit was not for her until someone put it like this, “ The Holy Spirit will not come and ride rough shot through your life. He is a perfect gentleman, and will work through your personality”. God is grace and love.
Pray: God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit we thank you that you are divinely three in one and truly we cannot separate you. Help us to respond with gladness to your awesome Person and to know that as Jesus is our friend, so the Holy Spirit is our Helper in all aspects of worship, life and service. Amen
Wednesday 17th November, 2021
“I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.”
Reflect: In this part of Paul’s prayer, he develops a little more of the idea of God, the Holy Spirit. Clearly Paul is speaking to a new church of people who have recently come to faith in Christ. Here is the great difference between head knowledge of who Jesus is; what is meant by his death and resurrection, and the heart knowledge and understanding that actually changes who we are. Jesus Christ is not meant to be someone we worship at a distance. It is God’s intention that Jesus becomes a part of who we are. This is truly a life-changing experience. It is a wonderful part of our journey of faith when we understand that the Holy Spirit is within us when we are part of God’s family. In his letter to the Church in Rome, Paul teaches the believers there that it is the Holy Spirit who takes our prayers and presents them on our behalf to God the Father – especially at those times when circumstances make it difficult for us to find words to pray
Pray: Sovereign Lord, we confess that sometimes the mysteries of faith are daunting. Help us to simply trust you. As we lift our hearts and voices in praise of your Holy Name, we are thankful that you sent your son to be our Saviour, our Redeemer. Help us to be grateful for the gift of your Spirit to prompt and guide us. Teach us that the Spirit makes it possible for us to know Jesus as our friend – to walk with us & lead us in truth. Amen
Thursday 18th November, 2021
“And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ,”
Reflect and pray: How earnest is Paul in this prayer? I kneel before the Father…I pray…and I pray that… We cannot fail to grasp how important this prayer is. Paul is daily learning from His experience of living as a friend of the Saviour. He is seeing many people turning to the Living God to worship and honour His name through Jesus. He is understanding what it takes to be empowered to serve him in love. It takes everyone to be assured of the wonderful love of God in Christ – to know that their Salvation is found only in the sacrificial love of Christ. John 3:16 says this: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” So when we come to Him we are ‘rooted and established in love…’ and in this love there is Unity, ‘together with all the Lord’s holy people.’
Pray: Lord God, teach us how to worship you in Spirit and in Truth. Help us to know that to be bound to you by cords of love means that we are one with you, Father, Son and Holy Spirit – who will lead us in all truth and teach us if we give him space in our lives to do so. Help us to examine our hearts in relation to you and to one another – especially to those who know you as Saviour. We should find it easy always to love each other, to see them through your eyes. Forgive us when we fail. Amen
Friday 19th November, 2021
“And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ,”
Reflect and Pray: The love of God is beyond anything that our human understanding is capable of knowing. And yet it is His Love that gives us the power to truly worship and serve Him. As we begin to know how He loves us, so our hearts begin to respond. The more we respond to God, the more we appreciate that we can never come to the end of His love. The children’s chorus reminds us that it is ‘so high we can’t get over it…’ etc. However unworthy we might feel, we cannot be beyond the wonderful love of God in Christ Jesus. However, Paul points us to something even more powerful when he reminds us we are not alone. We are ‘together with all God’s holy people’. Think of the effect, the power, that our mission to others would have if the entire church understood ‘how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ,’ If we understood it and shared it in all its fullness with others, sharing the Gospel of Jesus would have a huge impact on everyone around us. This begins with each one of us…
Pray: Forgiving God, we thank you for the lightness of spirit that you grant to us when we kneel at the cross and receive the forgiveness offered by Jesus. Help us to forgive others in His name and show us how to share the light of your love in our everyday lives. Show us how to do our part without waiting for others to do it first. Let us commit to this as part of loving and worshipping you because you first loved us. Amen
Saturday 20th November, 2021
SOME CHURCH DETAILS FOR PRAYER PURPOSES (Repeated)
I have written the churches in their groupings mainly as assigned by plan A in the Mission Development Plan, simply for a way of assigning them to prayer. (Some are still linked as they are currently -as I used the yearbook. Also, I have no intention to pre-empt decisions still to be made). In each group I have named the Area Grouping Convener/Secretary. Please pray for them and everyone involved in discussions. I suggest we all pray the Lord’s Prayer over them plus other words of scripture. Take time and make your requests fervently and earnestly to God for His will to be done in these very difficult days for the church and the Testimony of Jesus our Lord and Saviour.
THE LORD’S PRAYER
Our Father, who art in heaven,
Hallowed be thy name;
Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done;
On earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
And forgive us our debts,
As we forgive our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation;
But deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
The power and the glory,
For ever and ever. AMEN
- Pray for the Convener and Secretary of each area group that they will find God’s grace to them sufficient for the task.
- Pray for all who attend any meetings that each will look on the other with understanding, and that anger and bitterness will have no place as people honestly strive to understand the issues and present their situation honestly and openly.
- Pray that all will seek God’s will to fulfil the commission given by Jesus to reach out to others in His name
- Pray that care will be taken to keep the light of Christ shining brightly and strongly across our Presbytery
- Pray God’s grace on all who serve on the Mission Committee
- Pray that ministers currently in service will not be driven from their calling by sheer physical exhaustion; that they will not be over-extended; that they will not be in a situation where they are forced to withdraw from mission activities already in place where these are successfully reaching and touching the lives of many and drawing them to Jesus.
- Pray that people will keep their eyes firmly focused on the Lord, and that congregations will still choose to worship even where there could be sadness about the effect on their area, and the ‘fate’ of church buildings
- Let no-one make decisions for the sake of man’s approval – only to fulfil God’s will.
- Pray for the Mission Development Committee – that they will be able to focus on helping churches to build Mission and Outreach with new initiatives; new additional posts and new funding ideas.
- PRAY FOR REVIVAL ACROSS OUR NATION.
North Area Grouping (Rev Dr S McKenna/Mrs L Rankin)
“Let all that you do be done in love.” 1 Corinthians 16:14
“As for you, be strong and courageous, for your work will be rewarded.” 2 Chronicles 15:7
Craigie Symington/Prestwick South
Minister: Rev Kenneth Elliott; OLM: Rev Tom McLeod; Session Clerk: Mrs Doreen Tait (CS); Alan Moir (PS)
Dundonald
Minister: Rev Lynsey Brennan; Session Clerk: Bob Stewart
Monkton & Prestwick North – Locum: Rev Stewart Birse; I.M. Rev Brian Hendrie; Session Clerk: Pending
Prestwick: Kingcase
Minister: Rev Ian Wiseman; Session Clerks: Alastair McIntyre & Libby Syme
Prestwick: St Nicholas
I.M. Rev David Gemmell; Locum: Rev Fraser Aitken; Session Clerk: Margaret McIntosh.
Troon: Old
Minister: Rev David Prentice-Hyers; Session Clerk: Andrew Fell
Troon: Portland
I.M. Bill Duncan; Locum: Rev Mary Elizabeth Prentice-Hyers; Session Clerk: John Reid
Troon: St Meddans
I.M. Rev James Hogg; Locum: Rev Andrew McGurk; Session Clerk: Elaine Rodger
May God sustain them and enable them to work in harmony to the glory of His name.
“Peace I leave with you; My peace I give you.” John 14:27
Central Area Grouping (Rev Mandy Ralph/Paula Lennox)
“Trust in the Lord forever…the Rock eternal.” Isaiah 26:4
Alloway: Minister: Rev Neil McNaught;
Session Clerk: Eric Ness;
Ayr: The Auld Kirk
Minister: Rev David Gemmell; Session Clerk: Kate Lockhart
Ayr: Castlehill
Minister: Rev Paul Russell; Session Clerk: Douglas Owens
Ayr: Newton Wallacetown
I.M. and Locum: Rev Rona Young; Session Clerk: John Bell
Ayr: St Andrews
Minister: Rev Stanley Okeke; Session Clerk: Ian Lamberton
Ayr: St James
Minister: Rev Barbara Suchanek-seitz; Session Clerk: Bill Mackie
Ayr: St Columba
Minister: Rev Dr Scott McKenna; Session Clerk: Robert Bartholomew
Ayr: St Quivox
Minister: Rev John McCutcheon; Session Clerk: David McMahon
Ayr: St Leonard’s/ Dalrymple
Minister: Rev Brian Hendrie; Session Clerk: David Murdoch (St L) David Cottrell (D)
May God sustain them and enable them to work in harmony to the glory of His name.
“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Acts 1:8
East Area Grouping (Rev Paul Russell/Dr David Lewis)
“… For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11
Annbank/Tarbolton
Minister: Rev Mandy Ralph; Session Clerks: Mrs Audrey Brown (A) and Mrs Maureen McNae (T)
Auchinleck/Catrine
Minister: Rev Stephen Clipston; Session Clerk: Molly Sunter (A) Pending (C)
Coylton/Drongan
Minister: Rev Dr Alwyn Landman; Session Clerk: Anne Howat (C) Margaret Clarke/Anne Hope (D)
Mauchline/Sorn
Minister: Rev Allan Vint; Session Clerks: Mrs Kirsty Murray (M) and Mrs Christeen Dunlop (S)
New Cumnock
Minister: I.M. and Locum Rev Ken Yorke; Session Clerk: Morag Ferrans
Ochiltree/Stair
Locum and I.M. Rev George Fiddes; Session Clerk: Isabell Montgomerie (O); Mrs Ghislaine Kennerly (S)
Muirkirk/Old Cumnock Trinity
I.M. Rev Alwyn Landman; Locum: Rev Scott Daily; Session Clerk: Sylvia Gallacher (M) Kay Mitchell (OCT)
Old Cumnock: Old/Lugar
Minister: Rev John Paterson; Session Clerk: Ian Ronald (OC); Pending (L)
South Area Grouping (Rev Dr A Vint/Mr Gordon MacDonald)
“Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.” Proverbs 19:21
Ballantrae/ St Colmon
Minister: Rev Theo Corney; Session Clerk: Claire Strain (B) Lynne McIlwraith (St C)
Barr/Dailly/Girvan South
I.M. and Locum: Rev Edgar Ogston; Session Clerk: Sharon Trotter (B) Ronald Turnbull (D) Ken Johnstone (GS)
Girvan North
I.M. James Anderson; Locum: Glenn Ronald; Session Clerk (acting): Ian Fitzsimmons
Crosshill/Maybole
Interim Moderator: Rev Paul Russell; Locum: Rev John Lochrie; Session Clerk: Pending (C) Lynne Rankin (M)
Fisherton/Kirkoswald
Locum and I.M. Rev David Hume; Session Clerk: Elspeth Carter (F); Elizabeth Veitch (K)
Dalmellington/Patna Waterside
Interim Moderator: Pending; Pastoral assistant: Barbara Jenkinson Session Clerk: Jean Barclay (D); Gordon McCrone (PW),
Kirkmichael/Straiton
Minister: Rev Gerald Jones; Session Clerk: Janet McFadzean (K); Margaret Logan (S)
“I am the Lord, the God of all mankind. Is anything too hard for me?” Jeremiah 32:27 AMEN
Nothing is too great for His almighty power. Nothing is too small for His love.” Corrie Ten Boom
Other prayer Points might include:
- Thanking God for all those who surrounded the COP 26 talks with prayer and praise.
- Thanking God for peaceful protests and almost two weeks of calm and commitment to being heard in a largely peaceful way
- Wisdom that has been shared and positive negotiations already in place
- Pray against meaningless rhetoric and disruption and false promises
- Pray that more will recognise and own that God is Sovereign
May we also pray for all delegates, that they will return from the conference with goodwill and determination to take care of God’s creation – whatever their spiritual or secular beliefs.
Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6,7
COVID 19
Continue in all your many prayers for God to assist humanity in finding a cure for this awful, devastating illness Amen