The aim of this week’s daily prayers is to try and position ourselves, spiritually, so that we are prepared, equipped and ready to serve God in 2022, and are written by Bernard Langford.
December 13 – Repentance and Forgiveness (1 John 1:8-9)
Lord Jesus, we want to thank You that somehow You befriended and drew us into Your wonderful presence when we didn’t deserve it. We now know that You are the God of Love who always wants the best for us; but at the same time You also want us to turn our backs on sin. You have given us Your word, Your Spirit, and fellowship with each other to enable us to do so.
Father, we thank You for Jesus and the sacrifice He made so that we have this privilege of being forgiven by You, the Living God who created all things. Lord, we ask that as we move forward – Your Holy Spirit will begin to reveal the things that are not right in our lives so that we can throw off the things that displease You, the things that hold us back and prevent us growing spiritually. In Jesu’s name. Amen.
December 14 – Commitment
(Luke 9:23, ‘Then He said to them all, “If anyone wants to follow after Me, let him deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow Me”’).
Heavenly Father, we thank You that Your grace overflows in and through Christ Jesus our Lord, and You are always ready to pick us up and dust us off when we fail You. However, Lord, Your love is conditional on us doing our part and recognising the mistakes that we have made, and are making, confessing these to You and repenting of them.
Thank You, Lord, that You are the God who disciplines us in loving ways; and in return, requires us to commit our lives wholeheartedly to Christ. Being a Christian is not easy but thankfully we have the Holy Spirit and Your word to encourage us when we need it, and to empowers us to reach the goal of laying down our lives on the altar to Jesus. Help us to release the power of self-denial in our lives so that we can be a blessing to the people around us, whether they be family, friends, fellow students or work colleagues. Amen
December 15 – Preparing ourselves (Acts 2:1-12)
Thank You Lord Jesus, that You enable us to have a living relationship with our Heavenly Father – One whom we can depend on, and who supplies all our need. As individuals we give You thanks for the wonderful provision You give; and especially the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Father, at Pentecost the disciples gathered not knowing what was to happen, but that incident, the coming of Your Holy Spirit in power, changed the whole course of humanity by virtue of those early Christians being empowered to spread the gospel.
Help us, Lord, to be available and prepared to be used for Your glory. Take us out of ourselves by changing our mindsets in godly ways; give us the ability to throw off the burdens that hold us back, and put a deep desire in our hearts to want to follow Christ, no matter what the cost. Amen
December 16 – Discovery time (Jeremiah 29:11-13)
Heavenly Father, we thank You that when You created us in our mother’s womb – You mapped out what our life was going to be. You determined what natural abilities we would have and even though education, circumstances or family pressures have perhaps steered us in a different direction – Your desire is that we should now discover the talents that have been given to us.
Lord, in the year ahead, we ask that everyone of us will become aware of what You determined for our lives. Our true God-given talents, when unleashed, will impact on not only ourselves but also the people around us, and lead to better outcomes in our jobs or school/college/university work.
Heavenly Father, You want us to be creative, productive and effective in everything that we do bringing glory to the Lord Jesus; so, come Holy Spirit, and set us free to fulfil our destiny in Jesus’ precious name. Amen
December 17 – Forget the past, look to the future (Isaiah 43:18-21)
Lord Jesus, some of us have come to faith in You after life has hurt, damaged or shaped us into something that we didn’t want to be, or we live life spiritually hampered, not living life to the full, or perhaps not serving You as we should. Sometimes, Lord, we are so damaged or hurt that it is hard to break free from the pain and memories of the past, or even the physical limitations that we live with; but Your Word brings life and hope into our lives.
Your scripture encourages us to “forget the former things and not dwell on the past;” so Lord, for those of us who need to turn our backs on the past – provide an abundance of grace rooting us into the truth of Your word to believe that You will do a new thing in our lives. Lord Jesus, we want Your name to be praised; so, release the power of the Holy Spirit and Your word into our lives to set us free to move into that new realm in You, and thus much glory will be brought to Your name. Amen
December 18 – Seeking the anointing (1 Corinthians 12:7-11)
Lord Jesus, we ask that as we move forward in faith, having thrown off the emotional and spiritual baggage of the past, You will give us a fresh anointing of the Holy Spirit. Help and prepare us so that we are willing to receive from Your Spirit the anointing that You desire for our lives.
Anoint people to provide a word of wisdom and/or knowledge – minister healing – perform miracles – give prophecies – discern the spirits – to speak in tongues – and others to provide an interpretation. Lord, let Your Body here, at Telford Elim, in person and online, have much more power so as to live, worship, serve, give, witness and make disciples as You call us to do in 2022. Come Lord Jesus, and complete Your work in us we pray. Amen.
December 19 – Functioning Church (1 Corinthians 12:12 – 31 & Isaiah 61:1-3)
Lord God, we want to be a church that is full of praise as You, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, are the one and true God. We want Christ to be formed in us and thus able to be more like Him – we are eager to make full use of the gifts the Holy Spirit is ready to pour out upon us – and to share Your love with others.
We pray, Lord, that each one of us with be able to fit into that jig-saw of ministries that You have for us. We ask that You will direct the pieces into place so that as the Body of Christ, we will be able to do what Jesus did – ministering to the people around him, preaching good news to the poor, binding up the broken hearted, releasing those captive to sin and hurt, and comforting all who mourn.
Father, let 2022 be a year where we, as a church in person and online, are set free to become true servants of Christ. Amen
