[Wednesday's Devotional] - Prayer: Supplication

Prayer: Supplication We are used to bringing our requests and petitions to God in prayer. My prayer diary too often reads like a shopping list of prayers that I struggle to get through. Prayers of supplication relate to much more than a petitioning of God as we might petition our MP to get the laws or services we want. In the Bible the words used for supplication in the Old Testament Hebrew and New Testament Greek mean a passionate request or petition, however the Latin root is the word supple. If we are supple we are soft but malleable, we willingly bend to the will of another like clay in a potters hand. Supplication then is concerned with the attitude of our heart that accompanies those prayers of petition. When we pray prayers of supplication, we are submitting to Gods will for ourselves and those for whom we pray. We are seeking that God will transform our minds so that through our prayers He may transform the lives of others. In Psalm 51, when David confessed his sin to God, he prayed that God would not only forgive him, but would create in him a clean heart and a renewed spirit. David did not just want God to meet his needs (although that was part of his prayer); he wanted God to change him so completely that his desires became in line with those of God. We will pray very differently when our desires are aligned with those of God. When we pray "Thy Kingdom Come" this is what we seek; that Gods rule, Gods authority, Gods ways will be ours here on earth as it is in Heaven. When we submit our whole lives to Him, God changes us to be more like His Son, which changes our desires and our will to be in line with His. Lord God, change my heart so that as I pray, I pray in line with your will and your purposes for those I humbly bring to you. Amen Sally Williams    Twitter Website Copyright © 2018 St. Matthew & St. Oswald's Church, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email as a subscriber to the Daily Devotionals Our mailing address is: St. Matthew & St. Oswald's Church 1a New Street Rugby, Warwickshire CV22 7BE United Kingdom Add us to your address book Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list Want to be added to our mailing list? - sign up here!

[Tuesday's Devotional] - Prayer: Confession

Prayer: Confession This week we are considering some of the types of prayer that we use both personally and corporately. No matter how well we try to live our lives, we sin. However unintentional that sin may be, because our God is perfect He cannot tolerate its presence. The Bible tells us that: "…all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God…." Romans 3:23 [NIV] We are not perfect, and in our fallen humanity we cannot be. In the first letter of John we read that: "…If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. But if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness…" 1 John 1:8-9 [NIV] Micah 3:8 tells us that the revelation of sin and the knowledge of error is enabled by the spirit of God (the spirit of truth) working in and through the lives of mankind. The father, Son and Spirit working as one to bring about the salvation of humanity. As a fully human being, Jesus experienced the joy, frustration, pain, sorrow and anger that we do - yet was without sin. In his righteous anger he challenged the unjust situations he encountered, he challenged the sinful lives of individuals and healed the painful reality of sickness. Yet He remained without sin and because of this He can intercede before the Father for us. God longs that we come to Him, seeking His forgiveness. We do this through the confession of our sin. Confession is beginning a renewed relationship with God and He doesn't require that it is formal or only done in the presence of another or to a priest – although these do sometimes have their place and are appropriate or necessary. When we come to God, we come to the creator of the universe, yes, the judge of all, yes, but we also come to Father who loves us completely and gave himself for us. One step toward him and His arms open in loving embrace. Confession is not about condemnation it's about freedom, peace and having a right relationship with God, Father, Son and Spirit and with those we encounter each day. Spend some time today in quiet, laying before our Father who loves us completely those things the Spirit prompts us to lay before him. Loving God, Father, Son and Spirit, would you bring to me revelation of my sin and the knowledge of my error that I may serve you in newness of life. I lay before you ……   Sally Williams Twitter Website Copyright © 2018 St. Matthew & St. Oswald's Church, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email as a subscriber to the Daily Devotionals Our mailing address is: St. Matthew & St. Oswald's Church 1a New Street Rugby, Warwickshire CV22 7BE United Kingdom Add us to your address book Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list Want to be added to our mailing list? - sign up here!

[Monday's Devotional] - Prayer: Adoration

Prayer: Adoration This week I would like us to consider how we pray and how the different elements or types of prayer we use shape our personal and corporate prayer times. Many years ago I was encouraged to use the "ACTS" format of Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving and Supplication in my personal prayer times. Having a structure to prayer often enables us to focus when we encounter times that may appear "dry" or when prayer is difficult. Recently though I have been thinking what it really means to Adore, Confess, Give thanks, to supplicate and also the place of Lament in our prayer lives today. We shall consider one of these elements each day this week. Adoration Dictionary.com defines adoration as "to admire very much; regard with the utmost esteem, love and respect; honour. To pay divine honour to; to worship". Often today our adoration is given to earthly things, must-have possessions, the latest look and food being good examples. We use words so cheaply sometimes and throw away words that have a much deeper meaning and purpose than we give them.   At Christmas with the angels we sing "O come let us adore Him, Christ the Lord". The shepherds and wise men too adored the Christ Child, presenting their gifts and their worship to him; but how can we adore Him today? If we admire someone and hold them in high regard we will try to emulate their behaviour and their lives. If we honour someone, we bestow worth upon them, hold their achievements in high esteem. A soldier is honoured for bravery, a charity worker for compassion, a craftsman for their skill. We honour our Lord Jesus above all because he gave up the honour bestowed upon him by His and our Heavenly Father and took the shame of our sin. He became sin for us so that we might receive honour before God. We adore Jesus when we honour Him in our lives, when we serve our communities, when we love the unloved. We adore Him in our corporate times of worship too. Psalm 95:6 says: O Come let us worship and bow down, let us kneel before the Lord our maker. Let us today think how we can adore our Lord in our everyday lives and in our formal corporate worship. O Come, let us adore Him, Christ the Lord. Sally Williams   Twitter Website Copyright © 2018 St. Matthew & St. Oswald's Church, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email as a subscriber to the Daily Devotionals Our mailing address is: St. Matthew & St. Oswald's Church 1a New Street Rugby, Warwickshire CV22 7BE United Kingdom Add us to your address book Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list Want to be added to our mailing list? - sign up here!

[Friday's Devotional] - You are not forgotten

You are not forgotten   "In those days, while Mordecai sat at the king's gate, two of the king's eunuchs, Bigthan and Teresh, of those who guarded the door, were angry and sought to lay hands on King Ahasuerus. And this was known to Mordecai, who told it to Queen Esther, and Esther told the king in Mordecai's name. When it was investigated and found to be true, both men were hanged on the gallows. And it was recorded in the Book of the Chronicles in the king's presence." Esther 2: 21-23 [AMPC]   Throughout the bible, God makes it clear that there is a reward coming for all the good work we do for Him and others.   In the story above, we see Mordecai intercepting the plans of two trusted servants of the king who were planning to kill the king. But what did he get in return for saving the king's life? Nothing, except the fact that the incident was recorded in the Book of the king's Chronicles.   People will always forget what you do for them but God does not.   Years later when Mordecai and the entire Jewish people living in Persia were about to be killed at the instigation of Haman who hated the Jews, God caused the king to read the Book of the king's Chronicles, the night before Mordecai was to be killed. When the king discovered that nothing had been done to reward Mordecai, he ordered that Mordecai be rewarded immediately and guess whom he used? Haman was asked by the king to dress up Mordecai in the king's royal clothes and sat him up on the king's horseback and then parade him to all the people in the market place. Mordecai was also promoted to the highest post in the land and was used by God to destroy Haman's plans to kill all the Jews in Persia.   If you have been praying to God for help and it seems He has forgotten about you, do not despair. A delay in answered prayers does not mean God's denial or the answer is No!   Your time spent in prayer is not a waste of time. God is always faithful to His promises. In Matthew 6:6 [NIV] Jesus said:  "when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you."   Contrary to what Mordecai may have thought - that he had been forgotten- his reward was only delayed. God's sweet answer came at the most strategic moment in Mordecai's life and when the Jewish community was most in need.   You are not forgotten. When God's answer comes it will not just be a blessing to you and your family but many people will be blessed and for generations.   In the meantime, keep praying and being faithful and allow Him to mould your heart and character.   Farai Mutsambiwa   Twitter Website Copyright © 2018 St. Matthew & St. Oswald's Church, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email as a subscriber to the Daily Devotionals Our mailing address is: St. Matthew & St. Oswald's Church 1a New Street Rugby, Warwickshire CV22 7BE United Kingdom Add us to your address book Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list Want to be added to our mailing list? - sign up here!

[Thursday's Devotional] - Hope in what is seen is not hope at all

Hope in what is seen is not hope at all "We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.  Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies.  For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have?  But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently." Romans 8: 22-25 [NIV]    We all desire to get to heaven but we are not there yet. We haven't seen how beautiful heaven is. We haven't seen our Saviour Jesus Christ, face to face. As a planted seed comes up with a new body we haven't seen the new bodies we will have. We haven't seen and worshipped our Father together with multitudes of Angels. We haven't met again those in Christ who went ahead of us. We haven't met Abraham, David, Peter, Paul etc. We are yet to experience what it means to live life that is free from death, pain, poverty and all the evils we have seen in this world.   As we can see, there are so many things that:   "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him." 1 Corinthians 2:9 [NIV]   Similarly we all have dreams and hopes for earthly things we need in order to live a decent life in this world. We haven't got them yet but hope that through prayer and hard work, one day we will possess them.   The conclusion of the matter is in our bible text from Romans 8:25 above:   But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have?  But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.   Friends we need to wait patiently for the promises of God. Lets also keep doing good as we wait.   Farai Mutsambiwa   Twitter Website Copyright © 2018 St. Matthew & St. Oswald's Church, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email as a subscriber to the Daily Devotionals Our mailing address is: St. Matthew & St. Oswald's Church 1a New Street Rugby, Warwickshire CV22 7BE United Kingdom Add us to your address book Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list Want to be added to our mailing list? - sign up here!