Prayer Answered

There are 2 stories I wish to tell today the 1st is kind of long(ish) the 2nd isn't.

Story 1

This time last week I was sat in the sanctuary after student prayers talking with a person from the Church. He told me about a man called Richard Hernandez in the Philippines, who runs a volunteer fire service in the slums using old donated equipment from several fire services here.

The discussion I was having with the man in sanctuary was not about the good job the man was doing but about how a woman who was running for the local government had promised him and the people in the slums that she would build fire hydrants in the slums and provide a new fire-engine for them. When she was elected instead of doing that she tried to evict the volunteer fire service from the sight where they were based and sell of the land for private development.

I spent about 20 to 30 minutes with the guy from my church talking about the situation and praying. I also spent time praying for him as well because earlier in the conversation he had indicated that he had little confidence in prayer or that it would be answered. So I shared a bit of my testimony of how God hand answered prayer in my life to encourage him and then we prayed for a while and I prayed that he would see prayer answered and have confidence in prayer.

This week when I went into sanctuary I was greeted by him with the news that Richards' wife had challenged the legality of what the woman was trying to do and that they had discovered that it was illegal to sell of the land the firefighters were on without providing them with an alternative premises on which to conduct their business otherwise she would be removing a vital service to the community so although she is still going to be selling off the land she now has to provide them with another plot of land to use as their base of operations.

When I was talking to the guy again today he made the comment. "God answers prayer."

Story 2

When I first moved into Jesmond the houses along the streets on my walk to the church were filled with empty houses waiting to be filled with people, students mostly. On my walk to Church I would pray for the people who were going to move into the houses I would pray for protection for them and blessings on the houses and that there would also be other Christians on the street to be a witness in the community and yesterday when I was walking past the houses on my way to Tesco I noticed that from the top room in one of the houses on the street someone was playing worship music, it doesn't defiantly mean that they are a Christian but its a good indicator.

In 3 ways this week God has answered prayer and its only Wednesday! I Rejoice in the fact that there is a God who is present and at work among us.

Liturgy for those in the medical profession

At Church at the moment we are looking at the names of God and this Sunday we are looking at Jehovah Rophi the God who heals. I'm not sure what the Sermon will about exactly but at JMC blessing others and the community is important to us and so we will be praying for and blessing the medics in the Church. Because of my experiences in hospital due to my illness I was asked to have a go at writing some prayers for the service... let me know what you think... (the last section is taken from the Jesmond Blessing.)

In the medical units that are staffed to see a particular number of patients but instead see almost twice as much, we pray for the medical staff who see more patients they are staffed for and still expected to provide the highest standard of care,

We pray to the God who says, “I Am” will be for them the God who provides strength, endurance and patience and when the strains and stresses become too much be for them Jehovah Rophi and bring physical and emotional healing.

In the waiting room when the patient who has been waiting sees another who came in after go before them and becomes agitated, we pray for the medical staff who have to calm the situation,

We pray to the God who says, “I Am” will be for them the God of wisdom and guidance and protector so that the situation is resolved peacefully.

When faced with the patients who come in suffering from wounds sometimes inflicted by others or by themselves and sometimes where they are just bad accidents we pray for the medical staffs that regularly see the results of the worst of human nature.

We pray to the God who says, “I Am” will be for them the Suffering God who not only understands and shares the emotional burdens that come from seeing such sights, but also experienced the pain and anguish they see so that he could bring healing and comfort to the patients and medical staff alike.

For those in the medical profession whose future is uncertain, who are on short term contracts or face potential redundancy.

We pray to the God who says, “I Am” will be for them the God who remembers them and does not forget their needs so that no matter what the future holds they will be provided for.

We pray for the people in the NHS who have to make the difficult decisions, to balance the budget and still meet targets and provide a high quality of care while the decisions seem like trying to pick the best of a bad bunch.

We pray to the God who says, “I Am” will be for them the God of wisdom and sound judgement so that they can make the right decisions for the right reasons.

When wrong decisions are made and the consequences adversely affect patients or staff, we pray for the people in a position to take a stand against the injustice done to themselves and others,

We pray to the God who says, “I Am” will be for them the God of power and might and provide them with the confidence and authority to challenge the people in power and fight against the injustices implemented by these people.

We pray for the future of the NHS. For the areas in medicine which is seeing a decline in the intake for new doctors and nurses due to them not seeming as glamorous or rewarding as other areas or because of how much harder they appear to be, and for those studying medicine and other health care courses who are making decisions on what to do next.

We pray to the God who says, “I Am” will be the God who calls, leads and directs; so that the right people will be in the right places and the areas that are low on numbers and stretched will be provided for so that they can run effectively and offer the highest standard of care.

We bless the doctors, dentists and other health related practitioners in our community. We bless their study and practice in the arts of healing and to the prevention of disease and pain. We bless them in the Name of Jesus, that by their ministries the health of the community may be promoted and your creation glorified.

Amen

More than a name

This Sunday I am leading a contemplative service based around meanings of names and whether God can speak to and bless people through the meaning of their names. This is something I feel God has been talking to me about and I thought why not share it.

I found a website which gives the meanings of names and so I decided to look up my relatives names and some friends but wont include them.

Timothy Arthur Coleman: Honoured by God, A follower of Thor, and works in a coal mine

Sally Ann(e?) Coleman (Richardson): Princess, Gracious, works in a coal mine, (son of Richard)

Paul Micheal Coleman: Small, who is like God? works in a coal mine

(figure I can leave out the last name for the rest)

Emma Louise Coleman: Whole, famous in battle

(me) Christopher Timothy Coleman: Christ bearer, honoured by God

Joanne Lois Coleman: God is Gracious, Famous Warrior

Jonathan Mark Coleman: Gift of God, Warlike

and as he's basically family

David Ruben Sankey: Friend, behold a son, no meaning found for his surname.

it was pretty good fun finding that out (well it passed the time) but I believe a name is more than just the thing people call you or you respond to. In the Bible particularly in the Old Testament the names of the characters convey meanings throughout the scripture for example the genealogy from Adam to Noah when you take the meanings of the names basically gives the message of the Gospel,

Man (is) appointed mortal sorrow; (but) the Blessed God shall come down teaching (that) His death shall bring (the) lamenting rest.

I could go into this more but the point I'm making is that God speaks through names, he reveals his plans and his promises. He changes Abrams name in genesis as a sign of his promise and blessing and does the same again with Simon who He calls Peter. For me I can see the promise for my life from John 11:4 demonstrated in the meaning of my name but also I should be praying the blessing of asking God to honour me as I am bearing Christ in my daily life or looking at whats going on around me and trying to see where He's already doing that. I'm not sure but its something that's really been on my mind recently.

For the service I'm going to share a little of this but the main point of it will be getting people to find the meaning of their name(s) and to pray and seek God in the meaning and then with others pray God's blessing from the meaning into each others lives. I'll let you know how it goes. If it feels right (if anyone has read this) maybe you could look up the meaning of your name and see if God has anything to say to you through it.