Praises
We are praising God for …
- The newest member of our Inspire family, Josiah Hosea Peter Heathcote born on 8 March.
- Andrew and Mary sharing Jesus, testimony and Inspire with students as Asbury University.
- Steven’s new job and for healing for his eyes.
- “I want to share a praise. Every Friday I go to our county jail and mentor/disciple men there who desire to leave their old lives, the lives that put them there. Currently I am working with 4-5 guys depending on the week. After spending time meeting individually with them discipling and spending time in scripture, I lead about 30-45 minutes of corporate Bible study. I eagerly look forward to each Friday. Last week one of the young guys (23-24 years old) shared with me he has accepted Jesus as Lord and Savior. Praise Jesus! This Friday I have the privilege of baptizing this young man! Each time I have this opportunity I rejoice that I have been called to this ministry in retirement. Please join me in rejoicing and praising God for another young man whose name is now written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.” Ed
- Lives being transformed by God as students at the OMS student centre of Asbury University press in with fellowship bands.
- Faithful pray-ers across the Movement, who help us to continue “holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of God’s people” Rev 5:8
Prayer Points
Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (NIV)
Please join us in praying for:
- Hope and healing within our communities.
- Those living in the reality of war every day, for those serving on front lines and families separated.
- The Inspire Scholars as they come together each month to reflect on “Invitation to the Journey,” a book about spiritual formation.
- Students and ministry team at the OMS student centre of Asbury University that they will grow deep in their discipleship through their fellowship bands and help other students at the university to be captivated by discipleship as a Way of Life.
- Those who are suffering hurts caused by the church.
- Leaders exploring house fellowships and fellowship bands for their communities that they might have wisdom to follow the Lord’s direction and lead the people.
- Financial support for Inspire Missioners so that we can advance the reach of Inspire wherever the Spirit is directing us. Click here to read more.
So whenever we are in need, we should come bravely before the throne of our merciful God. There we will be treated with undeserved kindness, and we will find help. Hebrews 4:16 (CEV)
Pray for those who are in special need of God’s healing touch and comfort at this time, that the Spirit will bring wholeness and in the process reveal more of Jesus in people’s lives. Subscribe to the Prayer Bowl to receive more details.
- Matthew, struggling with mental illness.
- Hulian, fighting for his life from an unknown illness.
- The family of Nico who had downs syndrome and died of complications from flu aged 8.
- Eddie, recovering from surgery for an injured back.
- Alicia, undergoing chemotherapy for non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
- Jacey, starting treatment for lymphoma and hoping to complete it before her wedding day.
- Tiffany, with a progressive disease, Idiopathic Intracranial Hypertension.
- Brian, desiring to give up an addiction to chewing tobacco.
- Philip, having treatment for enlarged prostrate.
- Paulina and Danny and their premature baby Santiago.
Prophetic Words and Prayers
Below are prayers, scriptures, and insights that people have sent us recently. We invite you to pray with us about what the Lord is saying to Inspire through these. As you pray make a note of what comes to your mind and pray again. If you feel the Lord is speaking to you about these or any other image, scriptures, prayers, then do please share them with us.
On Saint David’s Day, we remember he is patron saint of Wales and is known for his emphasis on the ‘little things’ in community, the apparently insignificant acts of habitual kindness for others. He and other church-founding saints of Wales sought to create Christian communities rather than to convert the odd person here and there. At the center of these communities Jesus led them to emphasize His loving kindness in the small things of daily life. Restoring the shattered land, rebuilding it as a network of communities based on love of God and love of neighbor and held together by a common faith. A prayer for St David’s day:
Jesus, Feed us heaven’s bread, from the table David dressed; we come to You, poor.
Quench us, like sparrows, from the Spirit-springs; we come to You, thirsty.
Fit on us the blessed yoke that lightens loads; we come to You, weary.
(excerpts from Celtic Daily Prayer: Colman Readings)
The beginning of the only reliable source of St Patrick’s Confession/Testimony.: “My name is Patrick. I am a sinner, a simple country person, and the least of all believers. I am looked down upon by many.”
Part of a 8th century hymn translated by Mrs C F Alexander-
Christ be with me, Christ within me,
Christ behind me, Christ before me,
Christ beside me, Christ to win me,
Christ to comfort and restore me,
Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ in quiet, Christ in danger,
Christ in hearts of all that love me,
Christ in mouth of friend and stranger.
”The precepts of the Lord are right, giving joy to the heart.
The commands of the Lord are radiant, giving light to the eyes.
The fear of the Lord is pure, enduring forever.
The decrees of the Lord are firm, and all of them are righteous.
(Psalm 19:8-9)
May God the giver of life and liberty surround us with His the love of His Son and the power and peace of the Holy Spirit to bring the Good News of Forgiveness and Redemption to those who are lost and encouragement and energy to those of us who are His disciples. Amen
We may be good at praying our praises of thanks, interceding and asking for what we need, but then we often fall into the habit of telling God how we want him to fix it!
Maybe if we started out with ADORATION – praising God just for who he is, not for what he has done – then we would remember who God is and trust that the Sovereign Lord, Creator and Redeemer, knows better than us how to answer our prayer.
Maybe if we started out with ADORATION, we would fear the Lord – remembering who God is with awe and reverence and believing that He knows what justice is better than we do and He desires all that is good and right for us because His love is greater than ours.
Abba, You are a good, good Father, Your name is great, Your name is majestic, Your name is holy, Your name is love. You are all I need, and yet You love to hear my voice, You love to hear Your children as we ask, seek, and knock on the door of heaven, and You love it even more when we realize that Your Son has been knocking on the other side and we let Him reveal Himself in a deeper way. Come inside Lord Jesus, in Your fullness! Show me what is on the Father’s tender heart today, I know that is exactly what I need. Praying in the power and presence of Your precious and only Son. Amen.
We serve a God who split the Red Sea and who saved a man from a fiery furnace and has a way of reversing the things that looks hopeless!! My God still ALIVE AND WELL!!! He already has done one miracle that we know of in my family and so this morning we are asking for another miracle for him to heal if that’s his will!! I’m believing it is!! So we are praising our Jesus this morning, listening to Jesus songs and praying out loud! We pray that God will do something today!! We may see it or we may not… but we still give our Lord praise!!
Sometimes we do not know what words to use when we pray. We are so thankful when the Lord helps to inspire us through the words of others. Here are a few prayers that have been shared on the Inspire prayer group. We have left space for you to name people you are praying for.
- “”May the peace (healing and freedom from fear),which only Jesus can give, be with [NAME], now and in the days to come. Amen”
- “Lord our hearts are broken when we see folk hurting from illnesses we can’t see or heal. But you see all things & can heal all conditions and can bind evil spirits who seek to takeover our will. So we ask that you touch [NAME] and their family with your healing love and give them people with your authority to pray over them and reveal your cleansing light. Amen”
- “Jesus is the rock, from whom living water flows; and the Spirit will guide and strengthen you through the wilderness just as he did for Jesus; so you too can come out the other side filled with his presence and power. Amen.”
- “Lord Jesus, our risen, ascended, present healer, exalted with nail pierced hands, will you touch [NAME] to restore their health, and bring blessing to those they minster too. In your name. Amen.”
- “Holy God, thank you for the witness of fellowship within a faith-filled community. Empower us to witness to each other even while we witness to the world!”
- “Lord reveal yourself to [NAME], for who you really are, that by a new gift of faith, they might find you to be their real and present friend, saviour and healer. Please comfort them, and lead them through this dark moment into your kingdom of light, so they may know the fulness of your love and life, now and forever. Amen.”
- “Lord bless these friends of [NAME] that they might feel the strength of your love and know that they are in the centre of your will and that you have a plan for them for good and not evil. And O Lord forgive us if we have inadvertently caused offence to your people and help us to be one, your people working together for the kingdom. Amen.”
Standing Against the Darkness
Jesus, you make me strong.
Help me to stand firm in you today.
Clothe me with your:
Helmet of salvation (put your hands on your head)
Breastplate of righteousness (put your hands on your heart)
Belt of Truth (put your hand around your waist)
Shoes of the Gospel (touch your toes)
Shield of Faith (hold your hands, palms out, in front of you)
Sword of the Spirit (put your hands together and open them like a book)
And clothe me with your
Cloak of zeal (give yourself a hug)
Aaaaamen (raise your hands in the air to worship Jesus)
Praying for Missioners
Inspire Missioners are on the frontline of the Movement. They are all involved in different ways and different contexts. They seek to live the way of life in all of their roles and responsibilities. As they share the Inspire vision for missional discipleship and work that out in many different ways, we see the Movement growing and the Kingdom coming. Please keep them all in your prayers.
Often serving Jesus is costly in more ways than we know. We are so thankful for all our Inspire Missioners in the many different ways they are serving and continue to pray for their protection.
It is always a joy and privilege to meet together with one another for prayer. And, as he promises, Jesus is with us whenever we gather. We are planning Inspire prayer gatherings to coincide with particular times of year. And EVERYONE is welcome to join us. Even if you can only join for a short time, or just want to come along to listen, we would love to have you with us.
Put dates in your diary:
- May – Pentecost – Wednesday 15 May 2024
Contact us to receive updates and the Zoom link: [email protected]
