Oct 9 – The focus of this week’s prayers is on Overcoming Loneliness. Around 4 million people in the UK will spend long periods isolated from their communities, and feeling forgotten. Surveys suggest that there is an epidemic of loneliness in the UK.

Father, there is such a difference between solitude, a Christian discipline of silence and waiting on You which refreshes the soul which helps us resist the pressure to do and perform for others, and loneliness, an intense emotional emptiness in response to community isolation, lack of companionship or relational emptiness.

We pray for lonely people, especially those associated with our church, that there will arise within our nation a community spirit which breaks down the walls of isolation and loneliness.

At the heart of Christian compassion is the motivation to love and serve others. Grant us, as Your children, a Spirit-led blueprint for reaching, supporting and encouraging lonely people. May Your love be at the heart of this ministry. In Jesus’ name. Amen

Oct 10 – Father, we pray for those who have lost a spouse through bereavement, or through a divorce they did not want; perhaps, for some, children have left home and moved to uni or to a new area for work or because of a relationship or marriage. We ask that You will be very close to them all, uphold and sustain them.

We ask for Your healing balm to sooth the great and deep pain that can become such a dominant part of a person’s life governing their emotions, mental well-being and physical health. In walking with You, Lord, there is such strength, spiritual, physical, mental and psychological.

Teach us how to more fully lean into Your love and tangible presence by faith – may such healing flow through our church’s people and ministries. For those who do not know Jesus as Lord and Saviour, draw them into a living relationship with Him – transforming their outlook on life through the New Birth.

May many visit our church and find a spiritual home. Bless each one who is connecting with others, supporting or caring for the lonely – may they have a special anointing which leads to breakthrough and the overcoming of loneliness in many people’s lives. In Jesus’ name. Amen

Oct 11 – Father, many lonely people feel isolated from meaningful personal relationships, they feel it as an intensely unpleasant, painful and distressing experience – unique to them because of the individual memories of past joy in relationships which no longer are there.

Thank You that You do not overlook the individual; indeed, Your word constantly reinforces the need to visit and care for the bereaved, orphaned and those who feel themselves to be strangers – such Pastoral Care is central to genuine faith.

Help us, Lord, to be better at this, and for each of us to consider some of our neighbours, family members or friends who may be in this situation. Raise up many in our church who will respond to Your call in this area, and offer themselves to Christ’s service to the lonely, last and least. In Jesus’ name. Amen

Oct 12 – Father, loneliness is such a personal thing. Many people whom we would not think of as lonely – do suffer from it. We remember that for some it is a deep seated issue, so deep seated that even in a crowd, or with their loved ones in their own homes, they can feel lonely.

We pray for the many who suffer from depression, experience intense periods of feeling lonely – this can be such a difficult aspect of their illness. It can also be because of a spiritual blockage – some experience spiritual depression which robs them of Your joy and peace and we pray for them all for grace, healing and wholeness.

We proclaim that You are the Great Shepherd and Friend of Your people, Jehovah Raah.

May a wave of Your Son’s Shepherding care flow through the UK Church, and on through it ministries and people into the communities throughout our four nations.

Expose where Satan is trying to destroy people – perhaps as a result of relationship breakdown or relationship troubles. As these issues come to the surface, grant the grace, insight and anointing needed to break Satan’s hold in lives, and to set people free into a new sense of the family of God, completeness, and love in Christ. Amen

Oct 13 – Father, there has been such a breakdown in the bonds that glue our society together. Families no longer live near one another, but are separated around the country, and world.

Attachments often only last as long as people see each other; once we no longer see someone regularly, then the glue is so weak that the person no longer is part of our ‘community/family.’ This has been compounded by the deep divisions not only in society, but also in many families.

Thank You that You are God, and dwell in perfect relationship, Father, Son and Spirit.

May we, and I, become better at replicating Your model so that others enter into the love and absolute emotional security at the heart of relationships built and linked together in Christ.

Guide us in how to avoid turning the big issues of the day into petty squabbles while failing to pray and engage in the spiritual battle around these. Holy Spirit, give us spiritual ears as it where to really listen to what You are saying about these issues, and to respond and pray with grace and love.

In this Party Conference season when those with different political or governmental views express their policies in ways that attack other parties, and portray themselves as better than the others. We pray for a breakthrough in our national politics and debates leading to a pathway which leads to a sense of national unity and purpose in seeking to find answers and address the issues constructively rather than destructively.

As families and communities have fragmented during these last years leaving many isolated and alone – we pray for the healing power of the Gospel to flow which leads to a new openness and willingness to minister the love of Christ to those we live among and interact with as people repent and turn in faith to Christ. Amen 

Oct 14 – Father, the world around us paints pictures of what the ideal should be like. Adverts tell us that shopping in certain stores or owning certain items will improve our lives and make us feel good.

Many of those isolated and lonely sit and watch these adverts which in turn compound their feelings of loneliness because what they own does not make any difference to how they feel. A BBC survey found that huge numbers of people, about 33%, experience bouts of loneliness, including many young people.

Bless those Christian ministries that are seeking to tackle loneliness in godly and Christ-centred ways. May these ministries lead to many understanding that there is a better way of assessing their value and the contentment in life; it is not by worldly standards, but through the wonder of a living relationship with Christ. As such a relationship becomes established, are lives are transformed as we are brought into contact with Your presence, peace and joy.

You delight in healing the hurt, in reorienting the focus of a person’s life towards Kingdom values, and of revealing the wonder of Your love. Transform and redeem the outlook and values of our nation so that it pleases You, and follows Your Word’s blueprint for life.

Use the people and ministries of Telford Elim, in person and online, to bring wholeness to many, and to encourage those who attend our services to seek after Christ wholeheartedly. Amen

Oct 15 – Father, loneliness can be a contributing factor in suicide; as such, it is a great enemy which needs to be confronted before it destroys lives. Many who are lonely feel distressed and restless, bored, even hostile to a society that has forgotten them.

It can also paralyse a person to such a degree that they never go out to seek the companionship they crave; instead, they end up sitting at home in great bondage.

Loneliness can produce silent withdrawal or, on the opposite scale, a demanding, pounding need to pour out one’s heart to others in overwhelming ways.

As we pray into and consider these sociological and psychological factors, we remember that You are our Great Creator, that You alone can raise us from spiritual and relational death. No matter what guise death presents itself in, spiritual, emotional, mental or in communal terms – the Cross is the place of absolute victory.

Let Your resurrection power flow through our church to many in such situations leading to a new season of acceptance, godly contentment and joy in the Holy Spirit. In Jesus’ name. Amen