December 2020

Gracious God, in a year when how we celebrate Christmas will be different for many, let us remember that it's true meaning is unchanging. We thank You for sending Your Son, Jesus, into the world bringing hope, peace, love, joy and light.

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Father God, may we have the faith of Mary, the commitment of Joseph and respond to the angels' message like the shepherds. Forgive us, Lord, when we do not have room in our hearts and lives for You. Help us instead to have You at the centre of our lives..

Lord, draw near to all who are lonely during this season. Let them feel Your presence and know the joy You alone can bring. Comfort the many who have been bereaved throughout the year and bring them Your peace, which is beyond all understanding.

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Living God, teach us that the glad tidings proclaimed at Bethlehem all those years ago is good news for us today, in the here and now, Amen.

November 2020

REMEMBER

Father, we remember the sacrifice of those caught up in war, and the generations of men, women and children who have died in the cause of liberty and peace; also their widows, girlfriends, parents and children who waited in vain for the return of their loved ones.

We pray for those who still bear the physical and mental scars and disabilities of their service and ask that You will grant them strength and courage.

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Ruler of all nations, we give You thanks for the freedom we enjoy in this land and pray for the wisdom and strength to build a better and peaceful world.

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Lord, we remember those who have lost their lives over this past year due to Coronavirus or any other cause and give You thanks for the lives they shared with those who knew them.

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Loving God, bless those who mourn with the comfort of Your love. Fill their empty hearts with happy memories and hope for the future.

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In Jesus' name we pray,

Amen

October 2020

Desperate Times

Lord, it's getting to be desperate times

Why do you seem to delay

In responding to my pressing needs

That I remind you of each day?

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In my mind, I know that you

Will come through in the end

But in my heart emotions rise

And I worry and fret again.

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Help me, Lord, at those times

To give it again to you,

Help me know deep in my heart

That you will pull me through.

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And that you fully understand

Exactly where I'm at,

Though circumstances do not change,

In you, I shall not lack.

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Eveything when given to you

Will work out for my good,

For when I cast my care on you,

It's then, that it's understood.

That it's just a matter of your timing

In respondng to my need,

For often it's because you're doing

A deeper work in me.

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So, all that's left for me to do

The one thing that is sure,

Is to put my trust in you each day,

For nothing matters more.

By M S Lowndes

September 2020

"I am my beloved's and my beloved is mine" -Song of Songs 6:3

My very existence springs from Your love, Lord.

Your love streams through my soul.

You know me,

You hold me,

You enfold me in the whisper of Your tenderness.

I am Yours.

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"Wait & See"

by Angela Ashwin

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Please send any requests for prayer to the church's e-mail which you can find on our website: www.boldchurch.org.uk

August 2020

Please send any requests for prayer to the church's e-mail which you can find on our website: www.boldchurch.org.uk

Lord, in the stillness, speak to us;

in the emptiness, come to us and fill us;

to our troubles, come with Your peace;

to our weakness, come with Your strength;

in our doubts and our fears, abide with us.

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Still the storms within us and let us find rest in You.

Help us to be the people You want us to be,

and to achieve what You want us to do,

that we may go out in confidence and serve You all our days.

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Through Jesus Christ our Lord, who is alive and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God for now and ever.

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By David Adam

July 2020

The Prayer Group remains active during the restrictions we presently have, via email and phone conference. Please send any requests for prayer to church’s email, which is on our web site, www.boldchurch.org.uk

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As the restrictions of lockdown are gradually being lifted, we give thanks, while still recognising that we must adhere to the rules that are in place and remain patient, which can seem harder the more time passes.

May you be strong with all the strength that comes from His glorious power and may you be prepared to endure everything with patience, while joyfully giving thanks to the Father who has enabled you to share in the inheritance of the saints of light. Colossians 1: 11-12

Lord, we commend to Your love those who have died and ask Your comfort and strength for all who grieve, Amen.

June 2020

We remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labour prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.

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1 Thessalonians 1:3

As the first snowdrops of the year give us hope of emerging from winter and entering spring, we give You thanks, Father, that there are early signs of hope that we are emerging from the present pandemic.

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Grant us patience, Lord, to continue our journeys through this difficult time and strengthen our NHS staff, care workers and all essential workers as they serve others.

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In all situations, Lord, may Your healing hand rest on those who are ill. Grant your peace to the dying and your comfort to those grieving the loss of a loved one.

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In Jesus' name, we pray, Amen.

May 2020

Lord, I see the lighthouse on the hill,

This island out in the sea

it reminds me, Lord, of the call

That You spoke out to me

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"I am your salvation, come to Me

Let Me be your Guiding Light

Forever more to roam with Me

Never in the darkness of night

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A steady Beam I'll be for you

When you have times of despair

A constant source of Guiding Light,

Never alone, I'll always be there"

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Thank you, Lord, for Your Light

That shines on me each day

Now help me to be a light that shines

For others, is what I pray

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by Lucy A Cain

"The Lord is my Light and my Salvation - whom shall I fear or dread? The Lord is the Refuge and Stronghold of my life - of whom shall I be afraid?"

Psalm 27:1

"Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God and also in Me." John 14:1

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30 March 2020

• Coronavirus: Pray for NHS staff and all helping selflessly to care for the ill and those in self isolation.  Pray for the police, ambulance and fire services. The bereaved.

• Environment: Pray that the improvements we have seen during recent weeks in the environment, such as the healing of the ozone layer and pollution levels, may continue once life returns to normal.  May we see clearly from these improvements at this time the damage that we are doing to the world by our usual attitudes and actions.

• Mental Health: Pray for those suffering from mental health issues and for all who are finding this an especially difficult time.

• Thanks: Give thanks for the simple things in life that we so often take for granted.

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An amazingly timed quote. Read the quote first and then read the dates of the author at the end.

 'And the people stayed at home. And read books, and listened and rested, and exercised, and made art, and played games, and learned new ways of being, and were still. And listened more deeply. Some meditated, some prayed, some danced. Some met their shadows. And the people began to think differently.

 And the people healed. And, in the absence of people living in ignorant, dangerous, mindless and heartless ways the earth began to heal.

 And when the danger passed, and the people joined together again, they grieved their losses, and made new choices, and dreamed new images, and created new ways to live and heal the earth fully, as they had been healed.’

 By Kitty O’Meara, who was born in 1941 in Limerick, Ireland and died 2013 in New Rochelle, N.Y.

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23 March 2020

• Coronavirus: Those who have lost loved ones; those who are ill with it; NHS staff and all essential workers; scientists searching for a vaccine; those who feel isolated and afraid.

• As Easter approaches that people will examine their lives and turn to the cross.

• Pray for those known to you who need to know God's love, mercy and strength at this time.

• Give thanks that we can trust God in every situation because He loves us and never leaves us.

January 2020

Our Chrismon tree, which was greatly admired, has now been taken down. However, the trunk of it will appear again at Lent in the form of a cross. Had Jesus only been an ordinary child, His birth would soon have been forgotten and the story would have ended. Yet, as the story told by our Chrismon tree will continue in Lent, so the events of the incarnation point us to the cross and resurrection, the cornerstone of our faith.

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Our Prayer theme for the month of January is "new beginnings". Let us remember the words of Peggy Toney Horton:

"As the old year retires and a new one is born, we commit into the hands of our Creator the happenings of the past year and ask for direction and guidance in the new one. May He grant us His grace His tranquility and His wisdom! Amen."

2018