Daily Share-a-Prayer w/e 24/08/2025
Derek Mill
Worship Leader, All Saints Church, Belton
Sunday 24th August
Heavenly Father, I was praying yesterday about wallpapered people. I suppose some of this is similar to the masks that people wear that I have prayed about before, but there is an extra dimension. I found myself asking another question: "Who puts the wallpaper up?" I know this is only an image, but Jesus used images all the time and they help us to understand the world we live in and the way we are
Perhaps we put the wallpaper up ourselves as a form of protection. It covers the flaws and cracks we perceive in our character, real and unreal, the things we don't want people to see. Perhaps other people cover us with wallpaper, through comments they make, things they say cause us to think we are something we are not and we try to live up to, or down to, their expectations. And perhaps the enemy gets into our heads and adds wallpaper, or encourages us to do it. Whispering in our ear: "You don't want people to see you like that... You're not clever enough to do that... Keep within your own boundaries... What will people think"
And so we become like wallpapered people, bound. I remember a house we moved into when I was young. My parents wanted to redecorate but when they went to remove the wallpaper they found there were a number of layers; instead of removing the old wallpaper the previous tenants had simply wallpapered over the top, time after time. It was very difficult to remove the old paper; layer after layer had bonded together. I don't know how many different people had wallpapered over the years
Lord Jesus, I know it takes time to strip away the many layers that cover us, so You gently remove layer after layer until cracks and flaws are revealed. It can be a painful process, but eventually You fill the cracks and flaws with the 'polyfilla' of Your Holy Spirit, so we no longer need to cover up
Thank You for your loving kindness. “Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you! See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are ever before me"
Amen
Songs for today:
Yet not I but through Christ in me
Way Maker
Say the word I will be healed
It's Your blood that cleanses me
As we see the world in tatters
Saturday 23rd August
Heavenly Father, I often find that people come to church expecting to find a whole load of 'good' people. I also find that they are either surprised or disappointed. What people, perhaps, don't realise is that the church is full of bad people, often very bad people, but they are people who have been forgiven and saved by Jesus and are slowly being transformed into His likeness; sometimes very slowly!
I suppose everyone is at a different point in their transformation, some people needing very little transformation and others needing a complete change. What is true however is that none of us is perfect and there will always be work for Jesus to do until our transformation is complete in Heaven. Your Word is quite clear about our need: "If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make Him out to be a liar and His Word is not in u."
I had a picture yesterday while a visitor sat with Jane and me; it was of 'wallpapered Christians’. Some of us are 'wallpapered' in that the real person is hidden, appearing good, looking nice perhaps, but behind the wallpaper there are cracks in the plaster. Eventually the wallpaper starts to peel and the cracks are revealed
To a certain extent we are all 'wallpapered' but You are constantly working with us and in us to strip away the paper, sometimes revealing the cracks, but only so You can repair them, filling us with Your Holy Spirit, changing us from one degree of glory to another. "And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit"
Thank You Lord for Your continuing work in Your church, in me, in each of us. One day Your work in us will be complete and we will worship You in Heaven
Amen
Songs for today:
Our God is an Awesome God
In Christ alone
Behold our God
Friday 22nd August
Heavenly Father, there are many times when I sit in silence. I wonder if there are times when You are silent? It seems to me that my mind is constantly on the go. If I sit in silence my mind never seems to stop. It is hard to think of nothing at all, even if I try to think "Nothing" I am thinking something! And if I think "Nothing" my mind starts to think all kinds of things: "What is nothing?
Is space nothing? Space is full of stars and planets, comets, moons, space dust, old rockets and satellites. People sometimes say they've got nothing, but we all have something." And so my thoughts trundle on, thinking about nothing particular. I suppose it may be possible for You to be silent, Your mind not thinking anything. We are told: "With God, nothing is impossible."
Perhaps when I sleep my thoughts stop, although there are often dreams there; some would say there are always dreams. Our minds never stop, but we can find rest! "Yes, my soul, find rest in God; my hope comes from him." Perhaps I can decide what I want to be thinking about, even in silence?
Instead of thinking, "What shall I eat?" or "What shall I drink?" or "What shall I wear?" I could, or should, be thinking about, and seeking, first of all Your Kingdom and Your righteousness. The Bible tells me that if I do this: "... all these things will be given to you as well." Help me Lord to focus my mind on You, on Your will, on Your plan for me, on Your Way, on Jesus. King David knew this: "Truly He is my rock and my salvation; He is my fortress, I will not be shaken... To You, Lord, I call; You are my Rock, do not turn a deaf ear to me. For if You remain silent, I will be like those who go down to the pit... Those who know Your Name trust in You, for You, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek You"
Help me Lord to remember the wisdom of King David in Your Word. And also to remember this focus: "Draw near to God and He will draw near to you." You are only a prayer away. May I draw near to You all day today. Thank You
Amen
Songs for today:
Seek ye first the Kingdom of God
King of kings (In the darkness we were waiting)
The Silence of God
Thursday 21st August
Heavenly Father, I mentioned discernment yesterday and I wanted to pray more about this. Firstly discernment is a gift You give to some for the "distinguishing of spirits," meaning a person can tell if the spirit at work is Your Holy Spirit, the world's spirit or even the enemy
Discernment is available to everyone who asks for it to recognise truth from deception, in teaching, people's actions and in relationships. Some people may call that instinct or say "I had a funny feeling about that; something was not quite right." Discernment also helps us to make good choices or wise decisions. Your Word tells us: "Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship"
Discernment helps us to make decisions which are good, acceptable and perfect in Your eyes. The only Way to do all this is to be steeped in Your Word, so that the Word is in us; to spend time with You being filled with Your Holy Spirit. King Solomon asked: "Give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong. For who is able to govern this great people of yours?”
And St Paul warns us: "The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit." And elsewhere he asks: "This is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God"
And St John writes: "Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. Brother James tells us: "If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you"
So Lord, in Light of all this I ask that You help me to trust You with all of my heart and lean not on my own understanding; in all my ways submit to You and You will make my paths straight." After all, Your foolishness is wiser than our wisest wisdom. Thank You
Amen
Songs for today:
Perfect wisdom of our God
Christ our wisdom
Wednesday 20th August
Heavenly Father, there is a TV programme called 'Would I lie to you?' There are two teams and one of the participants tells a story about themselves and the other team asks questions and has to try to work out whether the story is true or a lie. There is much humour along the way
I remember playing 'True or false' and 'Truth or lie' when I was a child, both of which had a similar premise. What made me think of this was a song I saw online, which claimed to be by Paul McCartney and was called "Forever No. 20." It is a tribute to Diogo Jota, who I prayed about a few weeks ago. The words are very emotional, and in many ways is a lovely tribute. The trouble is that it is hard to believe it is Paul McCartney singing, it certainly doesn't sound like him, and the comments below the song seem to indicate that many people are of the same opinion
My son showed me a song last week that had been created by 'Artificial Intelligence' or 'AI' as it is known. I don't know what to believe; is it an invigorated Paul McCartney, or someone else pretending to be him or is it 'AI'? The internet has much in it that is true, but also much that is false. Some is in error and some is maliciously false, deliberately delivering lies and falsehoods, and some trying to deceive people and con them out of their hard-earned money
Father, help me to remember to be very, very cautious when looking online. In particular with regard to You. Remind me to check every word against Your Word. "A fool and his money are soon parted" is not a biblical proverb, but certainly sounds like one, and the Bible does talk about being wise in our financial dealings. Jesus spoke about this in the 'Parable of the Talents,' saying we should invest wisely. This is not only about money, but about our lives
Lord, help me to invest in You, the Truth who never spoke a lie. Your Word tells us: “He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.” I believe in You as my Lord and Saviour. Help me to keep You in mind in all that I do and say, and in all I see, read and hear. Help me to discern good and evil. Thank You
Amen
Songs for today:
I believe in Jesus
There is One Name under Heaven
All my days (Beautiful Saviour)
Truth
Forever No. 20 (True or False)
Tuesday 19th August
Lord Jesus, You said: "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." Some translations say: "have life more abundantly"
Lord, I wonder how many people live life to the full? I know there are some people who seem to have everything that life here on earth has to offer; a house or houses, or mansions; great wealth; success or fame; cars and jets and boats; and yet often they want more. They try to build empires or dynasties, and yet they end up fighting to hold on to what they have
Families are ripped apart as the members fight for control. Some lose everything they have to aggressive business partners or hostile takeovers. Somehow I think "life more abundantly" or "life to the full" or as 'The Message' puts it: "real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of" is more than this. Somehow, even people who seemingly have everything know there is something missing and therefore want more. And 'ordinary people' living ordinary lives, working for a living, in ordinary houses, with a car but no yacht or aeroplane, know that there is more to life than this.
People always seem to be searching, wanting more, working harder, working longer hours for a little more; and yet they are still not satisfied. In Your words there are two people, the thief and You. The thief, the enemy, satan, wants to "steal and kill and destroy" and often he does it by tempting us to chase after the wrong things, wealth and more. People turn to drink, drugs, or more sexual partners. People kill, steal and destroy
But You offer a life of humility, a life of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness. and self-control. These are things money can't buy. These are things that only You can give. This is how people who have very little can have a life of satisfaction, a life lived to the full, a life of contentment. And this life is the life that leads to eternal life
Lord, help me to keep submitting to You, then the devil has to flee. Fill me with Your Spirit so I am fully satisfied and the tempter has no power over me. Help me to pass on the message of hope that You bring about life in abundance. Thank You
Amen
Songs for today:
Abundant Life
Bound to be free
Grace did much more abound
Monday 18th August
Heavenly Father, what a great privilege it is to be made in Your image. You do not say this about any other creature on earth that You created. We are the closest to You in all creation! We can think and speak like You. We can create like You, by the work of our hands. We can love like You. And yet we are not like You in so many ways. Even in our speaking and thinking, in the work of our hands and in our love we fall short of Your glory, the glory of God
Your Word makes it clear this applies to all of us: "There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." Your glory is Your perfect holiness and righteousness. Because of our sin we cannot achieve this on our own; we have missed the mark of Your perfect standard and therefore need Your grace for Salvation. Your Word affirms this: "All are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of His blood - to be received by faith"
And Your Word also tells us why You did this: "He did this to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance He had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished - He did it to demonstrate His righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the One who justifies those who have faith in Jesus"
As time progresses we are transformed to become more like Your image: "Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into His image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit." This work in us will be completed when we meet with You in Heaven: "... being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus"
Thank You that we see Your perfect image in Jesus. Thank You Father that Your work of restoration continues in us every day
Amen
Songs for today:
Restore O Lord the honour of Your name
Oh the mercy of God
I believe You
all songs (usually with lyrics) and talks courtesy of YouTube
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