Our church building may be closed, but God’s eyes are open and his ears are attentive to our prayers (2 Chronicles 7.15).

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Opening

Speak these words out loud:

The people walking in darkness
have seen a great light;
on those living in the land of deep darkness
a light has dawned.

Isaiah 9.2 (NIV)

Today’s Proverb

Read the proverb through three or four times, slowly. Pause in-between, maybe write it out by hand – savour the words, let them speak deeply to you.

Proverbs 20.4

As I’ve said many times before, I’m no gardener. I have a (very) vague understanding of seasons and growing and planting and harvesting. I know that a number of you do grow things though, from flowers to fruit to vegetables.

So you will know the truth of this Proverb. If you don’t prepare the soil at the right time so it’s ready to sow your seeds, you won’t have a harvest.

There is obviously practical wisdom here. There is an IT acronym ‘GIGO’ – ‘garbage in, garbage out’ – but I think Solomon would change it to ‘NINO’ – ‘nothing in, nothing out’. If we don’t put effort into something, we are foolish to expect much in return, whether that is our job, our significant relationships, our parenting, our health.

But there is also spiritual wisdom here. So many of us struggle when things go wrong. One of the reasons is simply that life isn’t easy! Bad things, difficult things, they happen and it’s hard to handle them. But another reason we struggle is that we don’t plough – too often we are spiritually lazy and don’t put the effort into growing as disciples of Jesus, which means we struggle when things are hard.

My hope and prayer through the last nine months (I can’t believe it’s nine!) of writing these daily emails, has been that it would help you do some spiritual ‘ploughing’, to help us all grow as disciples of Jesus. We may be apart, but we are still together: there is something special about reading the same Bible verses, praying the same prayers, praying for the same people, every day.

Look back and ask God to help you see how you have been ploughing, and he has been growing – in you, in us together – this year. Thank you, Lord!

Prayers

Pray for Five – pray for your five friends / family from Thy Kingdom Come.

Our daily prayer sheet includes the names of everyone for whom we have a signed church family directory form – and local parishes and senior church leaders. Today we are praying for:

Archdeacon Simon

Father, please bless them with your peace, and a deep awareness of your presence with them, every day and in every way.

We also pray for: Church of England Birmingham

Please pray for our leaders and healthcare workers, and all those working to keep us safe, well, and fed. Please pray that people would unselfishly put others before themselves.

Church Family Prayer

Come Holy Spirit,
and make us one in heart and action,
so that we can serve God faithfully:
abounding in love,
maturing in holiness,
and seeking out the lost.
Help us grow as disciples of Jesus –
in commitment, in depth, and in number –
that we may be a blessing to Amington;
to the glory and praise of God the Father.
Amen.

The Lord’s Prayer

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.
Lead us not into temptation
but deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power,
and the glory are yours
now and for ever.
Amen.

Closing Prayer

Unless the Lord builds the house,
the builders labour in vain.
Let us fix our eyes on Jesus
the only way to the Father.

Psalm 127.1, Hebrews 12.2 & John 14.6

May Christ our Saviour give us peace.
Amen.