Sept 14 – The Prayer Letter this week is on the Love of the Spirit.

Father, thank You for Romans 15:30, ESV, ‘I appeal to you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to strive together with me in your prayers to God on my behalf.’ Here Paul appeals for prayer support in really striking terms. His appeal also reveals that Your Spirit creates in us a love for each other, Colossians 1:8, ‘Epaphras has told us about the love for others that the Holy Spirit has given you.’

Romans 15:30 also presents all three members of the Trinity – Paul invokes the authority of Christ, the aid of the Spirit, and urges prayer to Father God. He asks the Romans to join him in his struggle by praying for two things, v. 31 – 1. Protection from those who are rebelling against God in Judea, 2. And that the believers in Jerusalem will accept the generous financial gift he was bringing to them.

The love Your Spirit creates in us flows from the love He has for us in Christ. This is such a profound revelation. We often conceptually embrace a truth without experientially entering into the full blessing of it. May this great truth not only remain ‘head-knowledge,’ may it become an experiential reality in our lives bringing the blessings of security, an overwhelming peace of soul which overcomes the world’s destructive noise, and the recognition that we are receiving Your love transforming us from within.

Holy Spirit, fill us with God’s amazing, victorious love so it drives out unsanctified fear and fills us with His pure love so we then can love others as He commands us to do. In Jesus’ name. Amen

Sept 15 – Father, we acknowledge the invisible nature of Your Spirit; we also declare the ‘felt-reality’ of His presence. His invisibility is not an intangible absence; rather, the promise of His presence is a great solace and strength for our souls as we experience His joy and peace flooding our bodies, souls and spirits.

Your Son declared that the world cannot receive the Spirit because it isn’t looking for Him nor does it recognise Him. May Telford Elim, and the churches of all who pray these prayers, become connected spiritual families truly fellowshipping together, and fully embracing, experiencing and exulting in Your Spirit’s presence and love.

As the Spirit guides, empowers, anoints and teaches us – may we also enter into the great spiritual battle praying for the advance of the Gospel in our land, and for our brothers and sisters, including those who are in public ministry, to be protected from those who rebel against the Gospel, while being able to minister through Your grace in all its fullness.

We pray for the generous Spirit to flow through our church so Christ is exalted, many saved, and the church strengthened and enlarged. In Jesus’ name. Amen

Sept 16 – Father, Your word is resplendent with references to the power of Your Spirit. Thank You that His power is not an undisciplined force which at times is uncontrollable. It is a power that is perfectly matched or joined with His love, and completely in tune with Your Perfect Will and Ways.

We pray for an outpouring of His power, and the love He creates in us for each other, into and through Telford Elim, flowing beyond our walls out into the communities around us, including online, bringing salvation, healing, wholeness and godly purpose to many. In Jesus’ name and for His glory. Amen

Sept 17 – Father, Your Son opened the door for the outpouring of Your promise – Your Spirit’s arrival at Pentecost. He was poured out upon the Church of our Lord Jesus Christ to remain until the end of the age. May the spiritual life that He brings, with its rich spiritual vitality and love, lead to an even greater overflow of Your love in our church, and flowing out through our church to the world around us in person and online.

We declare that the Spirit’s life in us is active sharing with us all we need for salvation, sanctification and Your worship and service – that His nature is one with Yours – that He is fully committed to the implementing of the reign of Christ in His Church – that He is also Lord enabling the lordship of Christ to be established in Your Church.

Thank You that Your Spirit brings to us divine purpose and a noble call. The outworking of these enables us to proclaim and live out the Gospel. It is the Gospel which in turn creates a redemptive pathway, through the blood of Christ, for men, women, young people and children to be saved and discipled.

This new life in Christ culminates – not in a type of utopia – but in the very flesh and blood reality of the Christian life lived out in the world. We pray for many souls to be saved. We are confident that Your mission to the world, because of Your Spirit’s presence in Your Church, will bear much good fruit. May Your Spirit’s life, and the love He pours into us, flow through the streets of Telford + Wrekin/ Shropshire, and beyond ushering many into eternal life in Christ. Amen 

Sept 18 – Father, the love of Your Spirit is warm and engaging. His power at work in us is always at one with His warm love for us. He reveals Your Son’s light – Christ is the true Light of the world. We give thanks that Your Spirit is the only one who can enable us to live in the purity, power and warmth of Christ’s light. As we live and walk in His light – it cleanses us from all sin, and shines through us pointing to Christ the door, the door that leads to a saving faith.

Unless we are born-again, by Your Spirit, the carnal light within us is darkness and our day night. When His invisible work begins within – then it opens the portal to Your grace – Your Son’s love in action – to be victoriously at work in our lives. In Christ, our inner darkness of soul is overcome by His true Light – all because of the finished work of the Cross, and of Your glorious, Holy Spirit.

I pray for a great work of grace in the lives of those in my family, in my circle of friends, among my colleagues, in my communities – those who are not saved. I also pray that Telford Elim, including all in it in person or online, plus the churches of those who pray these prayers – will be filled with Your Spirit, word and worship and thus able to overcome the specific darkness that Satan uses to oppose us. We pray for the advance of the Gospel across our nation transforming the UK from largely dead spiritually and lost in sin and darkness – into a nation shining brightly in the light and love of Christ. Amen

Sept 19 – Father, thank You that Spirit baptism is also a baptism in true love. It is the Spirit who sheds abroad Your love in our hearts. We pray for many breakthroughs in many lives enabling the overflow of the well of life to bring salvation flowing into many homes and communities. As more and more people are filled with Your Spirit – this will cause the release of effective ministry which is able to drive out the darkness of sin, depravity, fear, worry and unbelief.

His love is love in action – not austere, not formal and cold, not condemnatory, not abusive – but sincere, encouraging, establishing true, deep, Christ-honouring relationships, and is inspirational. It is a love that conquers all, and glorifies Christ – may His love flow through my life.

May a baptism of His love give evidence to His awesome presence among us. We proclaim that the pure nature of His love, without stain, shadow or presumption, will be the Hallmark of Telford Elim, the Elim Pentecostal Church nationally and internationally, and all churches represented by those who pray these prayers. In Jesus’ name. Amen

Sept 20 – Father, thank You for the true freedom and liberty that comes from Your Spirit’s presence among us. This is a freedom, flowing from the Cross of Christ, which sets men, women, young people and children free from the straight-jacket of religious observance, religious imposition and from religious pluralism. It also destroys the foundations of Syncretism – when people mix together different religions, religious beliefs and philosophies to create a religion of their own making.

Because of the ministry of Telford Elim – we pray for conviction of sin, the Gospel message of salvation to be preached clearly and succinctly, for many to be converted by faith and repentance, and many to walk the new, narrow road after Christ as His disciples.

Where the Spirit of the Lord is there is true freedom and liberty which opens us up to be completely saturated by Your Agape Love in Christ. The freedom He brings overcomes our selfishness; it also enables us to truly connect with each other in love, and flows into us filling us with His power, authority and wisdom.

We pray for His freedom, which liberates us from the endless need to sort our own lives out, to flow out through our lives, and our church, bringing Christ’s freedom to those bound in sin, held captive by shame or guilt, and imprisoned in the dungeon of despair.

We pray for the transforming power of grace to be preached and experienced because of the ministry of our church, each person in it, and each church represented by those praying these prayers. May this freedom to love You, the Triune-God, also become a freedom to love ourselves and our neighbours as You command. Holy Spirit, pour out on us the love of God in Christ. Amen