Daily Prayer & Hymn Suggestion
Wednesday 16th July
Hymn: Be bold, be strong (SofF 37/MP 49)
Prayer:
Lord God, many of us may not be feeling very bold or strong at the moment. Some of us may be facing change, and the uncertainty of what the future holds can be troubling and making us feel insecure or anxious. Others of us may be facing treatment for illness, or waiting for a diagnosis or a hospital appointment, and this causes us to feel unsettled, unable to make plans – the ‘not-knowing’ is an uncomfortable place to be! But in all of this, Lord, you remind us that you are with us, and that you know the plans you have for us, and that they are positive plans, plans to give us the security we need. So today, Lord, we lay whatever is worrying us before you, knowing that, when we put our trust in you, you are more than able to meet our every need.
Amen
Liz Stuart
Tuesday 15th July
Hymn: All to us (Precious Cornerstone) SofF 2505
Prayer:
Jesus, you are indeed ‘all to us’! You are the foundation of our lives, the rock beneath our feet, the One who gives purpose and meaning to our lives now, and a sure and certain hope for our eternal future. You are the One who gave His life for us so that we might come close to God, knowing our sins are forgiven; that we can be freed from guilt, no longer looking over our shoulder at past wrongs, but now able to make a new beginning with you in the fullness of life you offer us. You are the reason for our faith, the source of our joy – so why are we sometimes so reluctant, so shy of sharing this with others? Lord Jesus, strengthen us, energise your church, and give us the courage and the empowering of your Holy Spirit, that we may become more active witnesses for you in a generation that needs to learn of your love and discover new hope in You.
Amen
Liz Stuart
Monday 14th July
Hymn: Come, let us sing to the One (StF 2/SofF 1740)
Prayer:
Because we have received so much from you, Lord God, we want to sing and to shout out about all the wonders you have done. The wonders you have done in Creation, in the beauty of the world around us; the wonders you have done through Jesus and the great love He has shown us through his life, death and Resurrection; and the wonders you are continuing to do in our lives through your Holy Spirit alive in us. So at the beginning of this week, as we go out into the world, give us, Lord, the courage to tell your story and our story, so that others may discover the joy and the hope that we have found in you.
Amen
Liz Stuart
Sunday 13th July
Hymn: God is Love: let heaven adore him (StF 103/H&P 36/MP 187)
Prayer:
Lord God, the whole of the universes sings its hymns of praise to you in songs which express your glory, your majesty, your faithfulness and most of all your love, and on this Sunday morning we would echo their worship. For you are an amazing God, who blesses us in so many ways. As we have faced the challenges of life, in times of joy and times of suffering and grief, we have been aware of your presence, through your Holy Spirit giving us the support and the courage we have needed. When we have been anxious or fearful we have experienced your peace and known the safety of your loving arms surrounding us. And so today, Lord, we offer you ourselves, our praise and our worship; may all of it be to your glory!
Amen
Liz Stuart
Saturday 12th July
Hymn: Master, the tempest is raging
Prayer:
When we are going through difficult times, Lord Jesus, times when we seem to be struggling on our own, remind us of your promise never to leave us or forsake us. When we feel overwhelmed by all the suffering in the world, the ravages of war, the effects of climate change in floods and drought and the loss of loved ones, remind us Lord, that you are present in the turmoil. And when evil seems to hold sway in oppressive regimes and corrupt leadership, remind us that you overcame its power on the Cross. And then help us to hear you saying ‘Peace be still’, and to know your peace deep within our souls, quietening our minds and steadying our hearts as you bring us into the calm waters of your love.
Amen
Liz Stuart
Friday 11th July
Hymn: Just as I am, without one plea (StF 556/H&P 697/SofF 316/MP 396)
Prayer:
The great thing about you, Lord Jesus, is that you accept us just as we are. If we had to be perfect then we would stand no chance, but you reach out to us with a love that doesn’t condone the wrong things we think and say and do, but offers us forgiveness and invites us to start again with a clean slate – and all of it made possible for us through the sacrifice of your life on the Cross. How can we repay such love and such grace, Lord, except by seeking to live more nearly in the way you have shown us, and by relying on the help of your Holy Spirit, your gift to us, to guide us and strengthen us in our daily lives. We thank and praise you, Lord, together with the love of our hearts.
Amen
Liz Stuart
Thursday 10th July
Hymn: Indescribable, uncontainable (StF 48/SofF 1775)
Prayer:
However we try to put it into words, whatever creative language we use, and even though we stretch our imaginations to the full, we can never even begin to describe all you are and all you mean to us, Lord God. And yet, mighty, wonder-full, holy and glorious as you are, you still have an interest in us; even though ‘you see the depths of our hearts’, and know what we can be like, you still love us with an unchanging, unstoppable love! In Jesus you have given us your very self, and yet we frequently hold back from giving our whole selves to you, and your faith in us is so much greater than the faith we often place in you. You are an amazing God, and we ask you to accept our praise and our worship, together with the love of our hearts!
Amen
Liz Stuart
Wednesday 9th July
Hymn: Hark my soul, it is the Lord (StF 426/H&P 521/MP 209)
Prayer:
Lord God, we all go through seasons in our lives when things are just not going right for us, maybe through loss of one kind or another, or because we simply don’t feel well, or we seem to be constantly receiving bad or unsettling news, and it can begin to drag us down, and perhaps we feel very much alone. There are friends we can share it all with but we don’t want to burden other people, and so we put on a cheerful front and pretend all is fine, but inside we know it’s not. But you know us inside out, Lord, and because you love us with an unchanging love and have always been there for us in the past, we know we can come to you. So, Lord, we reach out to you today, bringing all that is troubling us, asking that you will put new hope into our hearts and help us to put our whole trust in you.
Amen
Liz Stuart
Tuesday 8th July
Hymn: For everyone born a place at the table
Prayer:
Lord God, there are no exclusions to your love. You welcome everyone who comes to you seeking a new way of living, looking to find meaning and purpose in their lives, wanting to discover a hope that will not disappoint them or let them down. But sometimes, Lord, we are less hospitable. We tend to be drawn to those who are like ourselves, fearful of the stranger, of those who have different lifestyles, beliefs or behaviours, prone to judge unfairly and reluctant to make the first move. Forgive us, Lord; help us to be like Jesus who welcomed all who came to Him, and help us to be more open and ready to extend the hand of friendship, as you do to each one of us – and let us begin to do this today!
Amen
Liz Stuart
Monday 7th July
Hymn: Will you come and follow me? (StF 673/ SofF 1120)
Prayer:
It’s so easy to say ‘yes’, Lord Jesus, when you ask us to follow you, but so much harder to put those words into action! But then you never said that following you would be easy. You talked about ‘taking up a cross’, making sacrifices, loving enemies, leaving our comfort zones and so on – in other words, following your example, living the way you lived on earth! And yet, when we take the plunge and put our trust in you, Lord, we find that the fullness of life we discover, the new depth of love and peace we experience, and the sense of adventure as we set out to journey with you makes it all so worthwhile! So, Lord, ‘let me come and follow you and never be the same’, and let us invite others to be companions on our way too!
Amen
Liz Stuart
Sunday 6th July
Hymn: Lord, I come before your throne of grace (StF 58/SofF 894)
Prayer:
Lord God, as we worship you today we come before your ‘throne of grace’, that place where all our needs are met in the strong embrace of your love. It is also so often the place where we come to find healing when we have been hurt, where we come to find hope when we have been disillusioned by the world, where we come to find help and strength when we find the challenges of life too hard to bear. And always, Lord, we discover that you are able to meet our every need, for you are a faithful God, you never change and you never let us down. We praise and thank you for all your goodness to us, and may these not be simply words but come from a deep desire to show and to share our faith in you with all we meet.
Amen
Liz Stuart
Saturday 5th July
Hymn: Jesus paid it all
Prayer:
Lord Jesus we owe everything to you. None of us is perfect, and however hard we try to live a good life it is so easy to fall into temptation, and fail to love as you love us. We know that our thoughts, our words, our actions all too often can be motivated by self-interest rather than the well-being of others, though we find it hard to forgive when other people are unloving towards us. We thank you, Lord that you were willing to die on the Cross in order that we might know our sins forgiven, be freed from our guilt and receive the gift of eternal life. We come to you now, Lord Jesus, at the end of a busy week, acknowledging our weakness and our dependence on your strength to help us live in your way. As we receive your forgiveness, may we not take it lightly but see it as an opportunity to begin again, and to seek to live more to your praise and glory.
Amen
Liz Stuart
Friday 4th July
Hymn: Scars in heaven
Prayer:
Lord God, there is so much suffering in the world, so much pain and grief, so much loss of life, and so much of it unnecessary, caused by conflict, by poverty, by natural disaster, but mostly by our own lack of love and respect for human life and well-being. But there’s also our own personal suffering, Lord, and lately many of us will have experienced this – the loss of friends and loved ones, perhaps some called before their time, and this can be so hard to bear, so difficult to come to terms with, leaving us feeling drained, weary and sad. So, Lord, may our prayers today be for all those struggling to make sense of life, looking for hope and seeking a way forward. And may we find comfort in the sure knowledge that those we mourn are now held in your strong and tender love and care.
Amen
Liz Stuart
Thursday 3rd July
Hymn: To be in your presence (StF 530/SofF 1067/CMP 951)
Prayer:
In the freshness of the early morning, in the lazy heat of mid-day or in the cool calm of the evening we seek you, Lord God, for it is these times of ‘touching base’ with you that enables us to get things into perspective, and to find the quiet assurance of your presence that we need. This doesn’t mean that you are absent in our busyness, Lord, for we know you are with us at all times and in every situation, giving us the strength and guidance to meet every eventuality, but often we are too caught up in it all to notice you, never mind really listen. So help us to make those times to ‘sit at your feet’, Lord; to take in the wonder of all you are, and to cherish these moments as we experience your love surrounding us, and breathe in the fragrance of your Holy Spirit.
Amen
Liz Stuart
Wednesday 2nd July
Hymn: Be still and know that I am God (StF 18/SofF 1067/MP 48)
Prayer:
Yes, Lord, it’s ‘mid-week crisis’ mode again! Somehow the agenda we set for the week on Monday morning just hasn’t worked out, and now time is running out to get everything we had planned to do finished on time. There have been unexpected hold-ups, people making demands on our time, appointments that have run late, trains cancelled – you name it, it’s happened! And that’s without all the trauma of everything else going on in the world grabbing our attention and raising our anxiety levels. And then you ask us to be still?! But you’re right, Lord, and we need to finish that sentence, for it’s when we remember that you are God – when we allow ourselves to really know it and believe it – that somehow life becomes so much less complicated, less confusing, trusting that you are in control and that nothing is beyond your loving care.
Amen
Liz Stuart
Tuesday 1st July
Hymn: Holy Spirit, gift bestower (StF 383)
Prayer:
Half-way through the year, Lord God, and you know what people say – ‘it’s all downhill now until Christmas’, shorter days, longer nights, gradually getting colder and darker all the time! It’s a gloomy thought, and if we dwell on it we’re going to be downright miserable for the next six months! And, of course, the reality is very different. For you never change, Lord, and through your Holy Spirit you are constantly doing new things in our lives, helping us to discover new gifts and abilities in ourselves, creating new opportunities for us to serve you, encouraging us to grow in our faith and to experience new evidences of your grace and love. So whatever time of year it is, Lord, may we embrace the joy and excitement of journeying with Jesus, and be ready for the next adventure you have in store for us.
Amen
Liz Stuart