The service of prayers for healing and wholeness is an online reflection only at the moment. I will let you know when we restart at church. Today our reflection has been provided Rev David Ray. Thank you, David.
‘My grace is sufficient for you,
For my power is made perfect in weakness’ (2 Cor 12:9)
In the ministry of Christ healing was a sign of the presence of God’s kingdom, bringing renewal and wholeness of life to those who turned to God in their need. Jesus commissioned his disciples to proclaim the kingdom and heal the sick (Luke 9:2). The Church believes that the healing power of Christ is exercised through medical and related professions, through faith and prayer, and the care of the Christian community.
God desires wholeness for all people. We bring to God our frailty and brokenness – felt not only in physical illness, but in guilt, anxiety, and all the burdens which weigh us down. We also bring our concerns for others and for the world. We come to God who knows our needs before we ask, and whose love revealed in Jesus Christ is stronger than suffering and death.
To start, take some time to bring yourself into an awareness of the presence of God. If it helps, imagine yourself sitting in your church alone, resting in the prayerful atmosphere.
We meet to offer our prayers for healing & wholeness in the certain presence of God in Jesus Christ. God is powerful and loving; anyone who dwells in love dwells in God. Our prayers for ourselves and for others are that we and they may abide in Christ.
Let us now open our whole life to God, who loves us, and seek his help for all those for whom we have come to pray.
Let us lay before God all that would prevent us really meeting him in our prayers. Let us offer to God our cares and anxieties, pain and distress, doubts and fears, and our concern for others. As we place ourselves in the care of God, we can trust his grace and be assured of his love, from which we cannot be separated. We join together our prayers with those of Christians everywhere, seeking the healing of Jesus Christ.
Jesus said, “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find, knock and the door will be opened to you.” (Luke 11:9)
O Lord God, we thank you that you are the giver of life; renew us by your Spirit as we pray. We declare your goodness, generosity and kindness every day.
Eternal God and Father of all –
Together we worship and adore you
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God and Saviour of the world –
Together we worship and adore you
Holy Spirit, always with us and in us, Comforter of all in need –
Together we worship and adore you
Lord God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, we acknowledge your greatness and love, and seek your healing power and touch.
Amen
Let us confess our weakness and sin, and in so doing, seek God’s forgiveness and healing.
Lord God, we confess disharmony in our lives;
the times of hurt and unhappiness;
the pain we have caused others;
our failure to love and care as you do;
our harbouring of bitterness and unwillingness to forgive;
our selfishness and lack of generosity of time and possessions;
the parts of our lives which deny health and the wholeness we most desire;
our neglect of people and of you, Lord;
our busyness and failure to make time for you.
By your cross and sacrificial love, heal us of all that spoils the image of Christ within us.
Forgive us and help us to forgive others, in the name of Jesus our Saviour. Amen.
Almighty God, who promises forgiveness and new life to all who truly repent, have mercy upon us,
pardon and deliver us from all our sins
and keep us in life eternal,
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen
Reflection:
My mother lived next door to her best friend, Phil. There was a pear tree in Phil’s garden that had never born fruit. Then, one year there was evidence of just one pear growing on it. My Mum and Phil were given strict instructions not to touch the pear whilst it was growing and not to pick it when it was ripe. Phil’s Mum and Dad promised to share it with them when the time came.
Well, you can imagine the excitement. Mum and Phil went into the garden most days to check the pear’s progress – but they never touched it. In the fullness of time the pear grew to be fat and juicy. Imagine Phil’s parent’s horror when they looked out one day to see that the pear seemed to have gone. Closer investigation found just the core hanging on the tree. Mum and Phil had not picked it – they had carefully eaten it whilst it hung on the tree!
When my Mum told me that story she was teaching me an important lesson about the subtle ways in which we can be led into wrongdoing.
I don’t know about you, but I rarely want to walk on grass until there is a sign saying, ‘Don’t walk on the grass’ and then I can hardly restrain myself! The lure of temptation is very strong.
We’re in Lent, a period of preparation leading up to Easter. At the start of this season we usually remember the time Jesus spent in the wilderness at the beginning of his ministry being tempted by the devil.
Read: St Luke’s Gospel chapter 4 verses 1-13.
Let me point out two things which say something important about temptation – Jesus and ours.
First, if you look at what happened immediately before the temptation of Jesus you will read that he was baptised (chapter 3 verses 21-22). As he came out of the river Jordan Jesus heard confirmation of who he was. “You are my son, whom I love: with you I am well pleased”. Wow! What a moment! That will have set Jesus up for all the testing to come.
Second, at the end of his time in the wilderness, Luke tells us that ‘the devil left Jesus until an opportune time’. A warning that the devil had not finished with Jesus – he would return.
We’re often most vulnerable to temptation when we’re in a good place and feeling confident about ourselves and our faith. Beware Christian, beware.
We also need to be careful, when we have successfully resisted a time of testing, not to think it won’t happen again. It did for Jesus and it will for us. Beware Christian, beware.
Let me remind you of one occasion when the devil visited Jesus again. You can read about it in Mark chapter 8 verses 31-33. Jesus was telling his disciples how he would suffer and die. Peter didn’t like him speaking like that and took Jesus to one side and told him so. Immediately Jesus recognised that he was being tempted and he said, “Get behind me Satan”. Poor Peter.
It’s interesting to read what happened just before this painful exchange.
Jesus had been asking his disciples who people said he was. “Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah and some say one of the prophets”. “And what about you?” said Jesus, “who do you say that I am?” It was Peter who answered, “You are the Messiah”. A high moment followed by testing. Beware Christian, beware.
There is another lesson to be learnt here about temptation. We can often be led into it by others. Remember my Mum and Phil. I wonder whether on their own they would have thought of the ‘eat the pear whilst it’s on the tree’ trick. Peter was one of Jesus’s closest friends and yet he was the one leading him astray, Beware Christian, beware.
I think I can say with some confidence that we all know what it is to be tempted. I imagine that we also recognise that to give into temptation leads us to fall short of our calling as followers of Jesus.
How can we resist temptation? By learning from Jesus. In the wilderness the words that Jesus had heard at his baptism would have rung in his ears, “This is my beloved Son”. Jesus listens to the one true voice. He refuses to live according to his own wishes and wisdom. We can resist temptation by listening to the one true voice of God. Of the numerous options open to us on which we can build our lives and from which we can find meaning, Jesus shows us that God’s way is dependable and worthy of our confidence and commitment – in him we can trust.
Jesus dependence on God enabled him to reject other very exciting alternatives and so be victorious over wrong. Temptation will return, but he has kept it at bay by clinging tenaciously and faithfully to his calling as God’s son.
You want to resist temptation? Then hold fast to your confession of faith confident that what you believe about God is reliable and true. Approach his throne of grace with boldness knowing that God wants you to come to him and know that he hears your prayer and will help you overcome all temptation.
God bless you.
Prayers
Protecting God, teach me to recognise temptations. Some are easy to spot but others are not and I can give into them without realising. Give me a clear sense of what you want me to do and be. Grant me the commitment I need to stand firm whenever temptation strikes. May I stay true to you and offer you faithful service, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Forgiving God, keep me strong in the face of daily temptations; whispered gossiping, sharp words, lack of patience, false pride, old resentments, failure to forgive, self-absorption, judgement of others, self-deprecation. Help me not to be overwhelmed by weakness or failure and keep me confident in the knowledge that, whatever I face, I face it with you. Amen.
Gracious God, I come in hope, finding reassurance that Jesus encountered difficult experiences as I do. I draw strength from Jesus’ response to testing, finding in him the guidance as I seek to live your way in my life. Amen.
———-
We continue in prayer.
Lord God, hear our prayers for others whom we bring in the name of Jesus. Bless the whole Christian Church that, by our worship, fellowship and life, we may be a healing community. For all who minister through the church in any way, we ask your blessing. Govern and direct your church; fill it with love and truth; and grant through the power of your Holy Spirit that it may be a vehicle of your healing presence in the world.
Lord, in your mercy Hear our prayer
We pray for the world in all its struggles and frailty, for those who suffer as a result of war or conflict, famine or poverty.
Lord, in your mercy Hear our prayer
We pray for all concerned with health and healing; all in the medical profession and those trained to bring harmony and healing into people’s lives. We pray for all who seek to help people with broken lives and relationships; for all who are encouraging young people to whole and creative living; for those who care for the elderly and housebound.
Lord, in your mercy Hear our prayer
We pray for those who seek to bring compassion, understanding and help to people. Strengthen all who comfort and help the faint-hearted. Raise up the fallen, and grant to the lonely, the bereaved and the oppressed your gracious care.
Lord, in your mercy Hear our prayer
We say the prayer that Jesus taught his disciples:
Our Father in Heaven
Hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come,
your will be done
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins
as we forgive those who sin against us.
Save us from the time of trial
and deliver us from evil,
For the kingdom, the
power and the glory are yours,
now and for ever. Amen
Together, let us bring to the Lord those for whom we have been asked to pray….
Peg T
Margaret B
David & Carolyn S
David B
Cynthia J and family
Janis P and family
Judy F
Take some time now to bring your concerns to God. If it helps, try saying them out loud. Feel yourself held in God’s safe hands.
Lord God, Jesus has taken upon himself our sufferings and, through his transforming power, made a way of perfect peace. We ask you to minister to all for whom we have prayed. May the blessing of your Spirit be theirs.
And may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us all, now and for evermore. Amen.
May the Lord go with you and grant you the joy of Jesus Christ. Amen
Some material included in this service is copyright © WGRG, Iona Community
