May 22 – The focus of this week’s Daily Prayers is on Repentance and Righteousness.

Father, thank You that repentance is a gift of grace, a gift given by Your Spirit in response to the entrance of Your word. Under the Spirit’s anointing, Your word produces an enlightenment about what pleases You, righteous living, and what is sinful and contrary to Your character, unrighteousness.

It is not a work of nature, nor is it from the field of philosophy nor psychiatry – it is of Your Spirit and pertains to the spiritual life.

Repentance is more than the sorrow of being ‘found out’ for doing something wrong; beyond an emotional response to a challenge about the nature of a particular lifestyle – it is a genuine sorrow for sin, and includes a determination to turn from all sin to You and live a righteous life in Christ – Your beloved Son.

We ask for a great outpouring of this gift today in and through our church, in person and online. In Jesus’ name. Amen

May 23 – Father, You are infinitely merciful in and through Christ, but also infinitely true to Your word. We declare that You are love, but also righteous and just, completely opposed to sin. You are holy, and separate from sinners.

The Cross of Your Son is the ultimate expression of Your righteousness in that Jesus endured punishment, He was counted as the wrong-doer in our place – our substitute, including experiencing Your displeasure and wrath against Him as the Sin-bearer.

He, the Righteous One who never sinned, took the place of all who were guilty and unrighteous in Your eyes, but who will believe in Him. Your word declares a Day when Jesus will Judge all in righteousness and truth, all who have ever lived.

In the light of these great truths, we pray for a greater unveiling, in our Age, of the centrality and importance of Repentance towards You, and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ – the very centre of the outworking of Redemption.

Thank You for the Gift of Righteousness which is imputed to our account at conversion, and for the daily impartation of Righteousness which enables a godly and holy lifestyle to develop through a saving relationship with Jesus.

We ask for many to come into a fuller understanding of these great truths, to seek first Your Kingdom and Christ’s righteousness, and to apply the principles of sanctification in and through their own lives through Telford Elim, its people and ministries. Amen

May 24 – Father, the Lamb of God, Your only Begotten Son, became sin that we might, in Him, become Your righteousness – a people reflecting Your love and nature.

As we look at the world we see many who love what Your Word calls ‘sin,’ but we also see much misunderstanding about Your nature, word and truth. There is an aggressive and rampant unrighteousness.

When we seriously consider this it causes us to mourn and lament the rebellious nature of our Age. Sin and unrighteousness are terrible, callous, evil and destructive, but often dressed in the clothes of fun, enjoyment, life and reward.

We ask that these false mindsets, about sin and unrighteous living, would be exposed, proven false, repented of and forsaken. May many come to see turning to Christ in Repentance as their only hope for salvation. May they then move on growing in faith and putting on righteousness as a breast plate as You designed it to be. In Jesus’ name. Amen

May 25 – Father, Your Word/Law is designed to cut right through our ignorance about who You are, what You call us to do, and Your purpose for humanity renewed in Christ.

Holy Spirit, awaken many through the ministries of Telford Elim, in person and online, and its people’s witness to Christ, of their need for repentance and righteousness.

Educate their conscience, through Your word, so that it becomes a reliable arbiter of truth and where they stand with You – thank You when You awoke mine.

I had no relationship with You – I was lost and not part of Your family. Your Word/Law awoke a deep, real knowledge of the terribleness of sin but then pointed me to the magnificence of Your grace and salvation in Christ.

It also produced a hungering – a deep desire for relief from the pain of a troubled conscience. As this continued, the more clearly I perceived my sin in all its awfulness; this led to a longing for forgiveness and the cleansing of my soul.

Thank You that Repentance was a foundational part of my Salvation – renouncing and turning from self-dependence, sin and independence from You; for me, it led to a right standing with You, a loving relationship with Your beloved Son, and further advances, over the years, in my Sanctification.

I ask that this revelation may be clearly understood by many – that many non-believers will come to a true knowledge of sin. May it be a key part of our witness to the world, especially present in our conversations about salvation. May Repentance and what Righteous living looks like, how it can be obtained only through Christ, be clearly understood.

I pray that both Repentance and Righteous living are clearly perceived to be the gifts of love of the Sanctifying Spirit, and also a personal choice which opens the doorway to an ever growing righteous lifestyle as we trust and obey Christ.

May Repentance be practised, and its benefits evident in the righteous transformation in the lives of those who come to Christ here in Telford Elim, in person and online. In Jesus’ name. Amen

May 26 – Father, thank You that Saving Faith and Sanctifying Faith come as both gifts of Your Spirit and through Your Word. A living faith is not the end of the need for Repentance; rather, it ensures that our spiritual health depends on a lifestyle built upon following Jesus in submission to His will, and under His Lordship.

This inevitably means that there will be times when the gift of Repentance must be exercised again – we are prone to wander, at times, into self-sufficiency, sin and self-will. I honour and give You praise for Your commitment to forgive, restore and sanctify me using that same Repentance as a door leading to a more godly lifestyle with a developing holy disposition. Thank You.

We pray today for the outpouring of this gift of grace upon all who join us online, and who come in person from Telford & Wrekin, Shropshire and further afield. In Jesus’ name and for His glory. Amen

May 27 – Father, Your Gospel is a Gospel of Repentance towards You and of Faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. Indeed, Your Son came proclaiming that people must Repent and Believe in the Gospel (Mark 1:15).

The Gospel perfectly pointed to Him as the Son of God, Messiah, only Lord and Saviour. This same Gospel does not only highlight what is evil and unrighteous, but also that our thoughts, intentions, words and actions, outside of Jesus, cannot please You.

We repent of the spirits of Legalistic Repentance, and of Religious Repentance, which have, at times motivated us. These were merely either human or demonic in origin, outward religious duties, not of the Spirit, and which had no lasting inner transformation on our lives as we engaged with You on Your terms.

It is only through the Blood of the Lamb, not human reformation of character nor of our actions, that leads to a right standing with You and godly peace. We confess we have not truly understood that all sin is first and foremost – sin against You, our gracious Father.

Lord Jesus, You are the only remedy for our sin, and Repentance Your gift leading to Righteousness, the forsaking of sin, and wholeness of life. May this remedy fill this Church, and through it out into the streets, neighbourhoods and communities of Telford and beyond. Amen

May 28 – Father, many have callous and hard hearts which lead them to act without grace;

many are bound by cynicism and unbelief which leads them to ridicule Your Son and His Church;

many live in darkness and have not the light of salvation because they refuse to come to Christ the true Light of the world.

Empower us by Your Holy Spirit to both preach and live out the Gospel; to present Your Law and Grace; to be Ambassadors advocating the Ministry of Reconciliation through Jesus.

Most of all, may Your Spirit train and educate us in the proper understanding and application of these doctrines, and then in the application of the Gifts of Repentance and Righteousness in our lives as Your disciples and followers. In Jesus’ name and for His glory. Amen