Today is Saturday the 4th of June, and this week we are joining with the Archbishop of Canterbury and millions of Christians around the world in the prayer movement Thy Kingdom Come.
Together we have been asking God to empower us by His Spirit to share the good news of Jesus.
As I enter prayer now, I pause to be still; to breathe slowly, to re-centre my scattered senses upon the presence of God.
Creator God, who formed humanity from dust, breathe in me again. Revive me and sanctify me by the power of Your Spirit. Set my heart on fire with the good news of Your gospel.
I choose to rejoice in God’s compassion today, joining with the ancient praise of all God’s people in the words of Psalm 22…
Praise the LORD, all you who fear him!
Psalm 22:23-24 (NLT)
Honor him, all you descendants of Jacob!
Show him reverence, all you descendants of Israel!
For he has not ignored or belittled the suffering of the needy.
He has not turned his back on them,
but has listened to their cries for help.
As the Apostle Peter writes to his exiled followers, he speaks directly to their suffering:
Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice inasmuch as you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed. If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you.
1 Peter 4:12-14 (NIVUK)
‘As we live as Christians we experience God’s blessings, even as we know humankind’s suffering. St Paul talks about us sharing His sufferings, that we may enter into His glory. It is the depth of glory found in the unexpected places, in the darkest corners, in those who are rejected and abused. It is knowing that God considers us worth dying for, and that no experience of suffering or sorrow is able to overcome the capacity of God to bring life.’*
I think back over the last couple of years. How have I suffered during the pandemic and all of its effects? How has God brought life to me in those places? In the quiet, I offer up both my lament and my thanksgiving.
God I pray for those who are still suffering due to the impact of the pandemic and of war and conflict, wherever on earth that may be. God would You bring Your glory in the unexpected places and in the darkest corners of our world. Come, Holy Spirit.
As I return to the passage, I open my ears to hear Your word, and my heart to yield to Your will once again.
Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice inasmuch as you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed. If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you.
1 Peter 4:12-14 (NIVUK)
God is always at work, by the Holy Spirit, to bring light in darkness, hope in despair, healing in pain and desolation, glory in suffering. Whatever we are going through, the prayer, “Come Holy Spirit” changes things.’
In my darkness, I pray, ‘Come, Holy Spirit.’
In my despair, I pray, ‘Come, Holy Spirit.’
In pain and desolation, I pray, ‘Come, Holy Spirit.’
In my suffering, I pray ‘Come, Holy Spirit.’
And now, as I prepare to take this time of prayer into the coming day, the Lord who loves me says in Luke’s Gospel:
How much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!’
Luke 11:13b
Father, help me to live this day to the full,
being true to You, in every way.
Jesus, help me to give myself away to others,
being kind to everyone I meet.
Spirit, help me to love the lost,
proclaiming Christ in all I do and say.
Amen.
*Archbishop Justin Welby, Thy Kingdom Come: Novena, Reflections on 1 Peter, (London: Church House Publishing 2022), Day 9, p. 22.