Many of you might have been taking the opportunity during lockdown to clean out your cupboards in your home. I know friends of mine have done so and I have begun to work in my spare time doing just the same in my own home. I have been amazed at how much clutter I have kept throughout the years without knowing it. I cleaned out one small cupboard space and realised that I needed to take a trip to the local tip to get rid of all the stuff that I didn’t need anymore. We tend to stick stuff into drawers and cupboards just to get it out of the way, never dealing with it and it all begins to clutter our home. The same is true with our lives. We often stuff things away in a corner of our minds thinking we will deal with it at a later stage but the time never presents itself to us. Maybe we should take some time to not just declutter our homes, but declutter our hearts and minds too?
We can find that our heart and mind can be filled with worries, fears, anxieties and problems. Perhaps harsh words spoken by ourselves or by others have found a resting place in our hearts and minds and without us realising it – they have caused a constant pain that we live with. Let’s examine ourselves before the Lord and allow him to declutter our hearts and minds. Let’s forgive ourselves and others as we ask God to remove anything that has cluttered our lives and stuck to us over the months and years. When we do, our lives will be much lighter and freer than we have known before.
I have been amazed recently at how many harsh and spiteful words have been written in social media platforms – some of those words by those professing to be Christians. As the saying goes ‘Hurt people hurt people’ and maybe some of the authors of those words have hidden hurt somewhere inside of them. All of us at times have been hurt, but it is important that spiritually we declutter so that the pain we have felt in the past is dealt with and not just stuffed down deep into our souls. So, let’s ask God to declutter our hearts and minds so that what comes out of our mouth is what is on the heart of God for us and for others. With this in mind – let’s pray for ourselves, our nation and our world on this National Day of Prayer.
PRAYER POINTS FOR FRIDAY 9th April 2021
- Hallelujah the statistics are all still coming down. Let’s tell God how grateful we are that the death statistics, the hospital admissions and the cases continue to fall. Let’s pray that even as lockdown continues to be relaxed, that the statistics would continue to fall. The vaccination of people really has helped and now we have over 32 million people vaccinated and many of those are now fully vaccinated with two jabs. Please pray that the jabs will not produce any dangerous side effects. Let’s also continue to pray for mainland Europe – many countries are struggling at this time. Pray that they are able to get supplies of the vaccine out to their people and that soon they will be able to get Covid-19 under control in each individual country.
- Let’s continue to pray for Boris Johnson. We have prayed for him and every MP for over a year now and I know our prayers will be making a difference in his life. I was thrilled to see and hear his Easter message to the country where he acknowledged Jesus as being the way, the truth and the life. If you missed it – then you can see it here: https://youtu.be/t1oXVlu9PRw Let’s continue to pray for his health, for wisdom for him as he leads our country, but also pray for his spiritual life too. Let’s pray for each MP and for the House of Lords too. Pray for good godly men and women to lead our nation. Pray too for our Queen and for her husband, Prince Philip. Pray for good health for them both. Pray for the rest of the royal family. Pray for God’s blessing on them and for their lives to be spiritually impacted by the love and power of God.
- Pray for everyone who works for the NHS – from cleaners to receptionists to nurses, doctors, surgeons. Each person no matter what they do is important. Pray for health and strength for them all. Pray that as the hospital admissions for Covid slows that they will have more time to process and recover from what they have been through. We pray too for carers who care for people in their own homes and also in Care Homes. Each one is so valuable. Pray that they will rest in God and find strength each day to face the task they have been given. Pray for kindness and gentleness to be evident in them all.
- We continue to pray for the mental health of our nation and for healing to come to people who have been deeply affected by poor mental and emotional health. There are so many who are struggling at this time. Doctors are having more and more people approach them asking for help. We know that the Lord can help – so let’s pray for each person to discover a God who loves them and is ready to help them when they turn to him. Pray for dreams from God that will soothe their soul and restore their peace.
- Do pray for the many riots and demonstrations we have seen recently that have resulted in violence in our nation. Many have attacked the police during the night. Please pray for peace in our land and for the demonstrators not to turn to violence. Pray for the police to have wisdom when they deal with this – but also that they would be protected as they do their job. Pray that the government will give them help at this time. Pray not just for our nation, but pray for peace in the whole world.
- Let’s continue to pray for our economy. Praise God that non- essential shops can open up soon. Many of us in England will be so glad we can soon have a haircut. Pray for every business owner that they would have hope in their heart as we all move forward. Pray that the economy will recover quickly. We continue to pray for those businesses who cannot open up yet – like restaurants, hotels, theatres, music venues, conferences etc. Pray that they will have the wisdom to know how to ride out the restrictions on them. Pray for those who have lost jobs through this pandemic. Pray that each person would find a good reliable and enjoyable job
- There are many signs that God is moving in our nation – so let’s keep praying into this. Pray for God’s Spirit to have freedom in our lives and in the lives of our nation and world. Pray for Heaven’s armies to be released to bring salvation, repentance and freedom. Pray for the UK but also pray for the world. Every country needs to know the love and power of our God. Pray for salvation for all. Pray that many will see and hear and respond to all Jesus did on the cross 2000 years ago. Let’s thank God that the Easter message went out loud and clear this year – pray that many will hear and receive the good news of our Lord Jesus. He is risen – hallelujah! He is with us always – an ever-present help in our time of trouble (Psalm 46:1).
Do you need prayer? What a joy it has been to pray for those who have asked for prayer in recent months. We are seeing many answers to our prayers. Remember if you or others need prayer do drop us an email and we will pray. Don’t forget our prayer line if you or others need prayer – prayer@ngm.org.uk
The Lord remains constant in our ever-changing world. He is constantly with us – our ever-present help in time of trouble. So, let’s do what is says in Psalm 46 and not fear though the earth gives way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea. Read the psalm and see what our God does for each of us. At the end of the psalm, it says: The Lord Almighty is with us, the God of Jacob is our fortress. He surely is! He is with us and he is our strong protection always! Woohoo! So, let’s not fear and instead trust! Sending you all loads of love and encouragement – NANCY GOUDIE
For those who are reading these prayer points for the first time do read below:
Setting the scene
On 20th March I called for a National Day of Prayer, not only for the UK, but also for others who live further afield. A few days after it was over two friends contacted me and asked if I would do a National Prayer Day every Friday, and asked if I would continue to give some pointers each week for prayer. After prayer, I took up the challenge of doing just that. Thank you for joining us. To read previous prayer points and encouragements – go to www.nancygoudie.com/blog/
Helpful instructions/suggestions:
- Set your phone, your watch, your alarm clock or whatever to remind you to pray throughout the day. I would suggest praying every hour for a few minutes or for as long as you wish, but make a time that is suitable for yourself.
- Maybe pray for one of the above pointers every hour – or take one for each day of the week.
- Every time you wash your hands, which should be often – then pray a ‘Heal Our Nation’ prayer – sing or speak the lyrics of ‘Heal our Nation’ and ask God to pour out his Spirit on this land. ‘Heal our Nation, Heal our Nation, Heal our Nation, pour out your Spirit on this land.’ Sing or speak that twice. And finish with the first line from the verse ‘Lord we long for you to move in power’ – and ask God to move in the UK but also move in our world. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CoZwje7Ogkg
- Keep reading Psalm 91, Psalm 121 and Psalm 46 to encourage yourself and your family with the truth of the word of God. Perhaps try meditating on Psalm 62:5-6 – Find rest, O my Soul in God alone; my hope comes from him. He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress; I will not be shaken.
- Use the UK Blessing – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PUtll3mNj5U Play it in your home – make this as a wonderful blessing on you and your family, your children and their children. When you go a walk pray it over your neighbourhood. The song was written in Elevation church, USA. You can watch here and discover how the song came together in the presence of the Lord – no wonder this song is being used at this time: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zp6aygmvzM4&feature=emb_rel_end
