Prayer For Help To Do God's Work In Ordinary and Not So Ordinary Times
Yesterday people in many churches around the world celebrated Pentecost – the day the Holy Spirit filled the people of the early church. When Jesus was with his followers He told them that after he died and rose again He would return to heaven but that he would send the Holy Spirit to live in people.
Jesus said some pretty astounding things – things like –
It is for your good that I am going away.
Unless I go away, the Advocate
will not come to you; but if I go,
I will send him to you.
John 16:7
Whoever believes in me will do the works I
have been doing, and they will do
even greater things than these, because
I am going to the Father.
John 14:12
You will receive power when the Holy Spirit
comes on you; and you will be
my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea
and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.
Acts 1:8
This celebration of Pentecost signals the end of several weeks in the church calendar that is called the Easter season where we remember what Jesus did for us on the cross and then His powerful resurrection – just as He said.
Here we are “the day after” in a new season – as season known as “Ordinary Time.” I don’t know about you but the season we are in doesn’t quite seem “ordinary yet, does it? Some things begin to open but still so many different restriction and physical distancing measures in place and all the unknowns of potential virus spread.
I suspect the season for the followers of Jesus in their time didn’t seem too ordinary either. They were only a few weeks into a new season where their beloved leader Jesus had been arrested, cruelly tortured and killed and in the time He was dead, their whole world had been turned upside down – hope lost; fear deeply written on their souls. Then in a further shock 3 days later He was alive again and they saw Him a number of times – though things were not the same. And then, a further jarring event – as they were out on a mountain with Jesus he went up into heaven and they were told by angels to wait in heaven for the Holy Spirit Jesus had promised to send to them.
Now the Holy Spirit has come. Thousands of people have come to faith in Jesus and the anger of the leadership of society around them is still strong. A new season had come but so much was unfamiliar and unknown.
With them, we open our hearts to God and invite His Holy Spirit to come and live in us and minster through us so we can bring about massive change in our society even as happened to those folks in the early church so 2000 years later here we all are and millions of others like us – knowing the goodness of God and being sent out into an uncertain world to speak God’s good news with confidence and love. Let’s pray:
Loving God, what can we say except that we that we are grateful for all You have done for us and all You want to do through us. Pour out your Holy Spirit on us again we pray. Empower us to know You, to hear Your heart, to speak Your words with power and to bring the good news of Your saving grace to our families, our neighbours, our friends, our colleagues. In these uncertain days as society reopens during this COVID-19 pandemic You have brought us to these times and to our places of residence to use us to help many open their hearts and lives to You so they can be saved and have life with You forever.
The Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit
in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience,
kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
gentleness, and self-control.
Galatians 5:22-23
You said that those who had the Holy Spirit in them would show the signs of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. We need all of these qualities front and center in our thoughts, in our conversation, and in our behaving. Change our hearts, Holy Spirit, so we can reflect the mind and heart of our Loving God to everyone we meet in whatever circumstances we find ourselves.
You send us out to minister and You promise us gifts to help us to do that effectively. And so, in obedience to Your word we pray for these gifts – especially to prophecy.
But you should also desire the special abilities
the Spirit gives—especially the ability to prophesy.
1 Corinthians 14:1
A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other.
To one person the Spirit gives the ability to give wise advice;
to another the same Spirit gives a message of special knowledge.
The same Spirit gives great faith to another,
and to someone else the one Spirit gives the gift of healing.
1 Corinthians 12:7-9
He gives one person the power to perform miracles,
and another the ability to prophesy. He gives someone else
the ability to discern whether a message is from the Spirit of God
or from another spirit. Still another person is given the ability
to speak in unknown languages, while another is given
the ability to interpret what is being said.
1 Corinthians 12:10
We also ask for words of wisdom and knowledge, faith, power to heal and do miracles, to discern spirits, and to speak as the Holy Spirit gives us language. These are what You say You are giving us – each in the measure You have determine so we can together be a unified people and do the work that You have given us to do.
In this, ordinary and not ordinary time, we give ourselves to You. Do in us all that You have in mind to do. Use us as You know is best and we know that in serving You we will find deep and lasting satisfaction. Amen
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