HELLO  EVERYONE

PAUSE & PRAY

As I enter prayer now, I pause to be still; to breathe slowly; to re-centre my scattered senses upon the presence of God.

For more than a year, the world has been passing through a Gethsemane of sickness and sorrow.

The name ‘Gethsemane’ means ‘oil press’ – a place where olives are gathered to be crushed.  Take a moment to imagine the scene in Gethsemane watch Jesus crushed by the sorrow of the world.  Am I waiting and watching with Him, or have I fallen asleep?

REFLECT

Today, I ask to wait with You, Lord, on behalf of grieving nations, tired doctors, exhausted nurses and other frontline workers. “Comfort those who mourn. Give strength to the weary and increase the power of the weak. May they soar on wings like eagles; may they run and not grow weary; may they walk and not grow faint.”  (Isaiah 40:1, 29, 31)

I reflect on a moment in the Gospel story where Jesus himself mourns…

‘Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, ‘Sit here while I go over there and pray.’ He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled. Then he said to them, ‘My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.’

Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, ‘My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will Matthew 26:36-39

‘Sit here while I go over there and pray.’ Jesus says, to most of his disciples. But he takes Peter, James and John with him and says, ‘Stay here and keep watch with me.’

ASK

Am I close enough to Jesus to hear his invitation to watch with Him?

What sorrow might He be asking me to share?

Could I watch and pray with Him for an hour today?

YIELDING

Lord, I yield to Your invitation to watch with You, to share in Your grieving, to wait patiently with You, to mourn for the hurt of Your wounded world, and not to hide from the pain of those I meet.

Not my will, but Yours be done.

Yielding Promise

And now, as I prepare to take this time of prayer into the coming day, I echo Paul’s words in 2 Corinthians, ‘The God of all comfort… comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ.’ (2 Corinthians 1:3-5)

Closing Prayer

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.                                                                  

KEEP SAFE -=KEEP PRAYING 

Peter