CD 1

32 prayer poems packed with practical wisdom, theological truths and poetic insights,
wrapped in layers of exquisite music
by Francis Cummings and Linda Louisa,
and interspersed with five of
Carol Sampson’s beautiful songs.

May you feast on the riches,
and turn to these words and music
at times when they will inspire
the Spirit of Prayer
to flow within you,
and help you to make sense
of many things.

You have opened the door
for me to come into Your exalted courts
to hear what Your Spirit exhorts;
for this is where the real decisions are made
as Your saints and angels gather round Your throne.

Ancient of Days, we rejoice in these moments You accord,
when You direct seeming coincidences from the centre of Your throne;
initiatives that love alone interprets and inspires,
that lead toward Your throne.

	The writer to the Hebrews reminds us that we have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. We’ve come to God, the judge of all men, to the spirits of righteous men made perfect – and to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant.
			I am with you today Lord Jesus, by the pool of Bethesda and You delight to share this time in the cool of the day not just to prepare me for some coming trial, but because even in the thick of the action You seek companions who share and understand Your heart.
					I am with you today, Lord Jesus, by the pool of Bethesda and I need no angel to trouble the water on behalf of Your daughter, for the King of Kings has placed springs within my soul.
						Lord of the still calm waters of this healing pool, You surround me with a love that confounds all hostile stares rescues me from deadly snares, and gives me the grace to endure in tribulation as in wealth – and a peace that passes understanding, which the world can neither give nor take away.

With what authority You sent Your disciples out,
demonstrating that one plus You is still a majority.

Show us where we have under performed
by being too slow to act on what
You have bestowed.

We focus so much of our energy on our external appearance; how we are coming across, what we are wearing and so on. As a dear friend used to say, ‘If we could just get that amount down by a few percent, it would leave so much more room for the Lord to work.’ We can’t afford to underestimate how much effort the powers of darkness put into distracting us. The devil knows how to spin a plausible yarn, and how to level his guns at us. It takes courage to call his bluff, and to realise that these guns may not be loaded – or, if they are, that the Lord can still deflect and protect us. This is serious spiritual warfare.

morguefile

Lord,
we want to ask that You will help us discern what is our task
and what is Yours
and to really know the difference.
For this will help us to be clear when it is right to take steps to defend ourselves,
and when we can safely leave You to do all the defending for us.

Provide close confidants with whom
we can pour out our hearts,
without needing to adjust our terminology,
and worrying whether we are getting our politics and theology quite right;
for this is this flow of trust
that You love to honour most.
 

Lift me afresh upon your shoulders,
to behold Your power over all these boulders.
Intervene in my daily routine
whenever I am straying towards the ravine
and whisper, ‘this is not the way.’

Lord, am I the man of peace that you would have me be, or do I still both fret and regret? The man who lives and moves in peace reaches out to lend Your strength, so let Your life breathe through me today, transforming the churnings of my heart, augmenting the spirit of quiet content.

The woman who lives and moves in peace surrenders everything to God. She is patient and interruptible; she neither fears nor fawns but draws near to the sad and withdrawn. Lord, am I a woman who lives and moves in peace, or do I still both judge and grudge? Is there anything that I must yield afresh to You? I declare war on all in me that opposes You. and ask You to mould my temperament in the spirit of Your quiet content.

And Lord, where there is stress and sterility
as the result of apparent incompatibility,
help us develop ways of coping
that will give us the ability to help each other through,
and transform our differences into much appreciated features:
a profoundly complimentary kaleidoscope.
 

	Lord, I cannot put this too strongly: I want to declare it to the deep places of my heart: I am not in charge! For every time I begin to act as though everything depends on me, I end up making mistaken demands:
	Forgive me every time I miss vital warning signs. and cross these hidden boundary lines. My desire to follow Your will gives me no right to reproach or encroach for when I judge outward deeds and dealings it only serves to trigger unwise judgements that polarise matters still more; and though I see people’s faults so clearly, I often miss their inward humility.

Lord, You allow the most irksome things
to come my way to reveal my tendency to fix.
Help me move beyond the outward need for conflicts
and to realise that what You actually want
is for me to relinquish all control.
I pray for that quality of grace that refrains from running down
and gives to others far more space,
honouring them to receive Your crown.

When everything inside is screaming
that some extreme thing needs removing,
You sometimes shelve my plea,
permitting scenarios that appear to threaten everything.

Let’s not hear these words and think they must apply
to some other soul who has gone awry –
but rather pause awhile to confess our deadly soul attack.
 

Lord, drop Your still dews of quietness, till all our strivings cease; take from our souls the strain and stress, and let our ordered lives confess the beauty of Your peace. Lord, I’ve often sung those words, but since dew never falls on stormy nights let my heart be still enough to receive the whispers of Your love.

Sometimes, Lord, Your silence is as eloquent as words,
for You know what You are planning to do,
as surely as You stilled the hunger
of the crowds who followed You up the hill.
You want us to trust You
beyond all immediate signs of comfort.

Fishermen catch no fish until they cast their net, and since I will know no peace of mind until I place my burdens into Your powerful hands I cast all variety of anxiety upon You now, undeterred Shepherd of my soul. King David said, “I delight to do Your will”; let his words be also true of me. If You had let me follow the devices and desires of my heart, I would never have reached the places You had in mind. so You have allowed strange disappointments to come my way in order to fulfil Your higher vision; and You want me to trust You in what comes next.

May we leave no stone unturned in following up Your leads;
for though we never know which ones will succeed
You give growth to the seeds we sow.

It’s so often when we go the extra mile that Your power breaks through,
so help us follow every sign of Your Kingdom
as we give You the people and situations we are involved in.
 

It sometimes feels as though my giving to the poor and needy,
and even to your Kingdom warriors,
is but a drop in the ocean,
yet even the Pacific is made up of so many drops,
and Your word tells us to give and it will be given back to us:
everything added because Your hand has guided;
so I bow my knee afresh
and await Your further instructions
on who and what You wish me to support.

Grant us too the inner strength and resilience
to reject the enemy’s assessment of the way things are –
and to press on beyond every disappointment.
Challenge and confront the ‘no go’ areas in our thinking patterns
in order to give free course to Your thoughts and insights.

Grant us spiritual fathers, mothers and mentors –
and the willingness to serve in this way ourselves,
with steadily increasing influence
in all the work You see fit to give us –
and that we are seeking to do for You, abundant God.
 

Come to Me, My child; rest awhile from all the wild perplexing things that are robbing you of peace. Rest awhile, for My sake as well as yours, for even when you’re feeling really down you will not drown; I am still your Guide and Counsellor, who provides my child with all she needs.

Lord,
You know all that has happened,
what I have done,
and what others have done to me;
the profound hurts that have tossed my life this way and that.
I know these sufferings will not thwart Your final plan,
but right now I need to give expression to my pain.
Selah

The prophet said,
‘In the shadow of His hand
He hid me.
He made me into a polished arrow,
and concealed me in His quiver.’
(Is. 49:2)
 

Lord Jesus, we shelter beneath the refuge of Your Almighty hand –
and find such sweetness there,
but sometimes it is hard to stand,
because it is so dark beneath Your hand.
Forgive us when we fail to understand
that You are using this narrowed time to prepare a polished arrow
for Your very special plans.

When the ability to sense Your presence fades,
help us proclaim that You are still the same,
for even if it is dark beneath Your wing,
You still want us to sing;
and all that we have known of You still applies
when You come in seeming disguise.

Stir up in us the determination to hold fast until the darkness parts and the danger is past. Give us grace to ride each millrace, until the waters slow and peace returns.
	Grant us grace not to begrudge those days when we must trudge across the sandy expanse – for deserts end in Your fond embrace, and the only way to gain the reward is to take firm hold of Your pledge, and to tear all obstacles to shreds.

But the Warped One flees not
before the uncommitted.
He keeps his claws embedded
in hearts too narrowly set
on their own affairs.
He only bows to those whose ambitions
range beyond their own immediate sphere of service –
and since he greatly fears
souls who refuse to compromise,
Lord, make us those whom both Heaven and hell acknowledge.
 
Lord Jesus,
in my spirit I am back in places where I have met with You.
I pray now for the joy of Your presence,
the comfort of Your touch
and the power of Your leading
on all whom I bring to You in prayer.

Let Your compassion come upon them now,
releasing souls from the deadweight of stifling tradition
and turning the predictable into living encounter
as the wind of Your Spirit blows through.
 

May the Lord, who has begun a good work in you,
help you to work out your salvation with fear and trembling
and bring His work to completion
in Christ Jesus.
(Phil:1:6, 2:12)

As you pass through the rushing waters
may they not overwhelm you.
May the Lord keep you from being burned in the fire
(Isaiah 43:2)

May the troubles you go through
achieve an exceeding and eternal weight of glory,
as you keep your eyes fixed not on what is seen
but on what is unseen.
(2 Cor. 4:17-18) 

As you wait on the Lord, may your strength be renewed,
so that you can mount up on eagle’s wings,
run and not grow weary
walk and not grow faint.
(Is. 40:31)

May your heart be discerning and acquire knowledge.
(Pvbs 18:15)
May the Lord keep you from answering before you listen,
for that would be your folly and your shame.
(Pvbs. 15:13)

May you learn from your afflictions
(Ps. 119:67, 71)
and when you feel offended,
may you not bar the gates of your heart,
for walls are easy to build
but so much harder to dismantle.
(Pvbs. 18:19)

I pray that God will bless you and enlarge your border,
that His hand will be with you
and that He will keep you from evil
so it might not hurt you.
(1Chron 4v1).

May the Lord build His hedge around you,
and your house,
and all you have on every side.
(Job1v10).

May the Lord give you discretion and good judgement.
May He give you success in building the house of the Lord.
May you be strong and courageous
and neither afraid nor discouraged.
(1 Chron. 22:11-14)

May you have the tongue of one who is taught,
and speak a word in season to him who is weary.
May the Lord waken you morning by morning
to listen to His voice.
(Is. 50:4)

May your faith remain strong,
even in the face of great sifting.
(Luke 22:31-2).
May you know authority and power to trample upon scorpions,
and strength over all the powers that confront you.
(Luke 10:19)

May the Spirit of Truth guide you into all truth
and reveal the things that are God’s to you.
(John16)

May it always be your goal to please Him,
so that when you stand before the judgement seat,
you may receive the rewards that are due to you.
(2 Cor. 5:10)

As you contemplate the path of your life,
may the Lord guide your steps.
Through the fear of the Lord may you be kind to the needy, and
(Pvbs. 16:6, and 1 Sam. 2:9)
may He keep your spirit from being crushed
(Pvbs. 17:22, 18:14);
may your feet be beautiful as you walk in your destiny.
(Is.52:7)
and keep your heart at peace.
(Pvbs. 14:30)