Virgin of Vladimir (+ image by the hand of Stephen Allison 2008)

Monday 26 July 2010

My Beloved Prayer Warriors

Notes of meeting 20 July 2010

A Picture of people in clunky heavy armour, they were discarding it so as to come into the presence of the Holy Eucharist, the Light.
These people are you and I, ordinary, yet gifted with the ability to pray and praise.
As the people prayed the light got brighter, and they were re-clothed in armour of light, this fitted like a second skin, breathable, pliable and flexible. The people prayed for others and the light got stronger, emanating from the Eucharist into them. The more they prayed, the brighter the light in them. As they praised the light got brighter and stronger, others started to notice the light in them and so followed them to the light of the Eucharist. And so the light spread and grew in size covering the darkness.

I could see a being in the darkness it didn’t like the light growing, so it threw stones and arrows at the people of light, but nothing could prevail against the light as Jesus had already equipped them in the armour of light and love. In our armour of light we were free to pray and praise for others to come and so join us.

With the picture were the words “My Beloved Prayer Warriors”

Also given was the reading from Matthew of the lost sheep -
Mathew 18 v 10 - 14
The Parable of the Lost Sheep
10"See that you do not look down on one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven.
12"What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off? 13And if he finds it, I tell you the truth, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off. 14In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should be lost.


Also see Ephesians 6 v 10 - 20
The Armour of God
10Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11Put on the full armour of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. 12For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13Therefore put on the full armour of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.
19Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, 20for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.

As storm is coming, a storm of the Spirit. The world may see it as a catastrophe. The world has fallen so far from God it does not recognizing its need of repentance.. The Lord wants to restore the world and our local area to bring Spiritual renewal not just economic renewal.

I delight in your praise. I delight in your seeking my will

Dancing and rejoicing in heaven over the repentant sinner. You are invited to the wedding feast because you are part of my family.

A powerful river, the ceaseless flow of God’s grace, flowing to the sea. As we pray those we pray for move with us along the river pf grace. “Believe in the power of my love and my blood for all those you pray for”

Ezekiel 47 v 1 - 12
The River From the Temple
1 The man brought me back to the entrance of the temple, and I saw water coming out from under the threshold of the temple toward the east (for the temple faced east). The water was coming down from under the south side of the temple, south of the altar. 2 He then brought me out through the north gate and led me around the outside to the outer gate facing east, and the water was flowing from the south side.
3 As the man went eastward with a measuring line in his hand, he measured off a thousand cubits and then led me through water that was ankle-deep. 4 He measured off another thousand cubits and led me through water that was knee-deep. He measured off another thousand and led me through water that was up to the waist. 5 He measured off another thousand, but now it was a river that I could not cross, because the water had risen and was deep enough to swim in—a river that no one could cross. 6 He asked me, "Son of man, do you see this?"
Then he led me back to the bank of the river. 7 When I arrived there, I saw a great number of trees on each side of the river. 8 He said to me, "This water flows toward the eastern region and goes down into the Arabah, where it enters the Sea. When it empties into the Sea, the water there becomes fresh. 9 Swarms of living creatures will live wherever the river flows. There will be large numbers of fish, because this water flows there and makes the salt water fresh; so where the river flows everything will live. 10 Fishermen will stand along the shore; from En Gedi to En Eglaim there will be places for spreading nets. The fish will be of many kinds—like the fish of the Great Sea. 11 But the swamps and marshes will not become fresh; they will be left for salt. 12 Fruit trees of all kinds will grow on both banks of the river. Their leaves will not wither, nor will their fruit fail. Every month they will bear, because the water from the sanctuary flows to them. Their fruit will serve for food and their leaves for healing."


Revelation 22
The River of Life
1Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb 2down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.


Blow the trumpet in Zion

See Joel 2 (extracts below)

1 Blow the trumpet in Zion;
sound the alarm on my holy hill.
Let all who live in the land tremble,
for the day of the LORD is coming.
It is close at hand-
2 a day of darkness and gloom,
a day of clouds and blackness. …..

10 Before them the earth shakes,
the sky trembles,
the sun and moon are darkened,
and the stars no longer shine.
11 The LORD thunders
at the head of his army;
his forces are beyond number,
and mighty are those who obey his command.
The day of the LORD is great;
it is dreadful.
Who can endure it?

12 "Even now," declares the LORD,
"return to me with all your heart,
with fasting and weeping and mourning."
13 Rend your heart
and not your garments.
Return to the LORD your God,
for he is gracious and compassionate,
slow to anger and abounding in love,
and he relents from sending calamity.
14 Who knows? He may turn and have pity
and leave behind a blessing—
grain offerings and drink offerings
for the LORD your God.
15 Blow the trumpet in Zion,
declare a holy fast,
call a sacred assembly.
16 Gather the people,
consecrate the assembly;
bring together the elders,
gather the children,
those nursing at the breast.
Let the bridegroom leave his room
and the bride her chamber.
17 Let the priests, who minister before the LORD,
weep between the temple porch and the altar.
Let them say, "Spare your people, O LORD.
Do not make your inheritance an object of scorn,
a byword among the nations.
Why should they say among the peoples,
'Where is their God?' " …..

28 "And afterward,
I will pour out my Spirit on all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy,
your old men will dream dreams,
your young men will see visions.
29 Even on my servants, both men and women,
I will pour out my Spirit in those days.
30 I will show wonders in the heavens
and on the earth,
blood and fire and billows of smoke.
31 The sun will be turned to darkness
and the moon to blood
before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD.
32 And everyone who calls
on the name of the LORD will be saved;
for on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem
there will be deliverance,
as the LORD has said,
among the survivors
whom the LORD calls.


Interceding is ‘standing for some one’ before the Father. We bring people into the light through our prayer. We are called to a service of prayer a work of prayer.
We need as intercessor to be aware of our own sinfulness and need for repentance so God can cleanse us through the blood of Christ.

Wednesday 14 July 2010

Be still and receive

Notes of meeting 13 July 201

Be still.
Receive my healing;
Receive my strength;
Receive my inspiration;
Receive my love;
Receive my insight;
Receive all you need to be my disciples.


Not timidity… (See Timothy 2 v7 for God gave us a spirit not of timidity but of power and love and self-control.)

1 Corinthians 12 v 1 -13

Spiritual Gifts
1Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be uninformed. 2You know that when you were pagans you were led astray to mute idols, however you were led. 3Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says “Jesus is accursed!” and no one can say “Jesus is Lord” except in the Holy Spirit.
4Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; 5and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; 6and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. 7To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. 8For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, 9to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, 10to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. 11All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.

One Body with Many Members
12For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. 13For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit.

Monday 12 July 2010

An urgent call for prayer

Notes of Meeting 6 July 2010

Picture of a shining white host.
First with drops of sweat dripping from it, then bleeding from the scourging, then with thorns embedded within it, then the Cross upon it almost crushing it, then the nails and the spear within it. Blood was freely flowing out on to the world.

With the picture came a feeling of the weight, the grievous pain, the loneliness, the utter abandonment, the breaking heart and the humiliation. Through this Jesus was saying how he loved mankind so much that it hurt, he died for us. Also a feeling of his sorrow that so many were indifferent to him and the cost to the Father in heaven that they ignored his loving son.

Jesus is once again asking us to pray along with his Mother for mankind to turn from the enemy and to turn back to him Jesus, and that they would look at the pitiable sight of himself suffering for love of them and they would be overcome with remorse and they would cry out to his mercy and be saved and loved.

Jesus is saying that there is an urgency, a very real need for our prayers and that he felt a great consolation and a loyalty that so many of his body were working with him by prayer, praise, sacrifice, fasting, giving of time and goods, actions of self denial, offering of pain and helping to build and heal the Kingdom. We are helping as his body in the redemptive cause.

Our praise was of great consolation to him like balm on an open wound, soothing and loving him. The opposite to indifference. If we pray like the first Christians trusting in him great things will happen which may seem impossible to us.
To demonstrate he gave the reading Acts 9 - The conversion of Saul


1 Corinthians 15 v 20 - 28

Thursday 8 July 2010

A Holy Temple

Notes of meeting 29 June 2010

Picture of a Temple, Jesus is the cornerstone.
The temple is made up of stones that represent us. The picture changes to show Jesus on the Cross.
With Him we make up the Body of Christ and also have a share in his suffering.

See 1 Peter 2 v 4-22
As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, 5 you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 6For it stands in Scripture:
"Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone,
a cornerstone chosen and precious,
and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame."
7So the honour is for you who believe, but for those who do not believe,
"The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,"
8and "A stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence."
They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do.
9But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvellous light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
and Ephesians 2 v 19-22
19So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. 22In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.


The words “JESUS - COME - RETURN” and a picture of people in the formation of a triangle moving toward a green field or pasture.

Lean on Me.

I have heard your songs of joy.
I have heard your entreaties.
I have heard your cries for mercy.
I want you to share in my love, I want to pour out my love.

God inhabits the praises of his people.
See Psalm 22 v 3 But you are holy, O you that inhabits the praises of Israel.

Matthew 10 v 34 - 42
34 “Don’t imagine that I came to bring peace to the earth! I came not to bring peace, but a sword.
35 ‘I have come to set a man against his father,
a daughter against her mother,
and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.
36 Your enemies will be right in your own household!’
37 “If you love your father or mother more than you love me, you are not worthy of being mine; or if you love your son or daughter more than me, you are not worthy of being mine. 38 If you refuse to take up your cross and follow me, you are not worthy of being mine. 39 If you cling to your life, you will lose it; but if you give up your life for me, you will find it.
40 “Anyone who receives you receives me, and anyone who receives me receives the Father who sent me. 41 If you receive a prophet as one who speaks for God, you will be given the same reward as a prophet. And if you receive righteous people because of their righteousness, you will be given a reward like theirs. 42 And if you give even a cup of cold water to one of the least of my followers, you will surely be rewarded.”


Ann spoke of the Lament (Sorrow) of Intercessory Praise - where we enter into the lament , sorrow , dismay of God the Father at the path people have taken. This lament at times may be difficult to shake off but we must remember that through the suffering (of the Cross) comes the Victory of Jesus.

“ there in Thine ear all trustfully we tell our tale of misery “ from the hymn Sweet Sacrament Divine. We also have our own laments misery that we must lay down before the Father and trust that as he leads us to intercede for other he will call others to intercede for us

She also spoke of the Power of Intercessory Praise - the power of the praise can intimidate us as it is something not within our control so we resist it .The praise is in the control of the Spirit at work in the body.

It’s noisy in heaven with the praise of the angels and saints there is only to be a half an hour of silence before the return of the Lord in judgement.
"And when he [the Lamb] had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour." (Rev. 8:1)

God wants to use our prayer to draw people to Him.