We gathered for an Inspire Prayer Gathering in May to prepare for Pentecost, listen to the Lord together and pray for the Movement. Here are some of the resources we used and the response the Lord gave us.
REFLECT: Picture and Poem
i thank You God for most this amazing
day:for the leaping greenly spirits of trees
and a blue true dream of sky;and for everything
which is natural which is infinite which is yes(i who have died am alive again today,
and this is the sun’s birthday;this is the birth
day of life and of love and wings:and of the gay
great happening illimitably earth)how should tasting touching hearing seeing
breathing any—lifted from the no
of all nothing—human merely being
doubt unimaginable You?(now the ears of my ears awake and
E.E. Cummings 1950 NY:OUP (note: ee.cummings always used lower case, so the poem is printed as published)
now the eyes of my eyes are opened)
LISTEN: Eric Whitacre: “I thank You God for most this amazing day” sung by
The Stanford Chamber Chorale and the Choir of Trinity College, Cambridge.
READ: JOHN 16: 7-11
Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. And when he comes, he will prove the world wrong about sin and righteousness and judgement: about sin, because they do not believe in me; about righteousness, because I am going to the Father and you will see me no longer; about judgement, because the ruler of this world has been condemned. (NIV)
PRAY: with Spirit of Thanksgiving
For Inspire:
- Fellowship Bands
- House Fellowships
- School of Discipleship
- Beacon of Hope
- Prayer Bowl
- Prayer Network and message group
- Missioners breaking new ground and living by faith
Jesus, we thank you that you are the reason we are gathered here. You invited us to be your friend and introduced us to all our friends here. Thank you for your presence in our lives and in our gathering now.
We thank you Lord for the tangible ways that we see one another, even when the world sees us as fools for you.
Thank you, Father that through the worship of the choir and the words of Cummings’ poem we experience the glorious sentiments and sounds that express the inexpressible. You are the Sovereign King of the seen and the unseen.
Lord God, we thank you for the vision of the Inspire Movement that you gave to Phil and Sam, and impart to us through the growing movement of the Spirit.
Father God, use us to prove that the Lord Jesus IS risen and with us.
PRAY: with Spirit of Confession
- What have I neglected?
- Who is Jesus asking me to forgive / be reconciled with?
- Where do I need healing and forgiveness?
- When will I admit I need help?
- How am I denying Jesus?
- Am I willing to receive the Holy Spirit and His lordship in my life?
Father, we seek forgiveness for when things don’t go the way we want them to go, for your are always faithful.
King of new starts, new seasons, new creation, we confess that we have been in a season of not following you as closely as we want or should. We desire as new season of staying in step with the Spirit – not ahead, not behind, but with.
Lord, we let the busyness of the day get away from us. Thank you for this time together to speak with you and to be with your people. It is hard to balance our time but we DO want to be with you. Allow us to focus on you always and let you lead us.
Holy Spirit forgive me for resisting you. Help me to have no resistance to you and help me to resist the things that distract me from you.
Jesus we invite you to reveal where we need to exercise forgiveness of others and of ourselves. Help us to learn the rhythms of grace.
PRAY: with Spirit of Abundance
- How is God wanting to leading you out of your comfort zone to build His kingdom?
- Who is Jesus putting on your mind to go to this week to share his love in the power of the Spirit? To pray for healing/forgiveness/hope…?
- What do you need to do as a response to this time of prayer:
- in your own life
- in/for the Inspire Movement
- in your local community/church?
- Are you ready to be filled with the Spirit and sent out with Him?
Jesus, give us a spirit of boldness with gentleness and reverence to speak to others.
Is it possible that in grieving we can still be in a place of abundance? It is hard to explain the deep joy of the Lord to people when they expect you to be overwhelmed with sorrow. Jesus gives us inexplicable abundance in our grieving.
Lord, as we wait for a new assignment with you, let it be in your timing not ours.
The Lord is pouring out a spirit of abundance for the Inspire Movement. It will be a counter movement in the desert places.
Jesus is in you. He is zealous and bold for you. “His disciples remembered it is written; “Zeal for your house will consume me.” John 20:17
We desire to be as zealous for the Lord as he is for us.
PRAY: with Spirit of Obedience
Help me to journey beyond the familiar
and into the unknown.
Give me the faith to leave old ways
and break fresh ground with You.Christ of the mysteries, I trust You
Extracts from a prayer of St Brendan the Navigator Part xvi (Celtic Daily Prayer Book One Harper Collins for The Northumbrian Community Trust)
to be stronger than each storm within me.
I will trust in the darkness and know
that my times, even now, are in Your hand.
Tune my spirit to the music of heaven,
and somehow, make my obedience count for You.
SENT OUT in the Spirit
Almighty God,
who on the day of Pentecost,
sent your Holy Spirit to the apostles
with the wind from heaven and in tongues of flame,
filling them with joy and boldness to preach the gospel:
By the power of the same Spirit
strengthen us to witness to your truth
and to draw everyone to the fire of your love;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
If you would like to have someone pray with you or for you, please contact the Prayer Coordinator: [email protected].
