Church of England

Isaiah 42:1-3 (ESV)
Behold my servant, whom I uphold,
my chosen, in whom my soul delights;
I have put my Spirit upon him;
he will bring forth justice to the nations. . . .
a bruised reed he will not break,
and a faintly burning wick he will not quench;
he will faithfully bring forth justice.

Sing to the Lord a new song, Church of England!
Declare his praise throughout the land.
The Lord goes out like a mighty man,
like a man of war he stirs up his zeal;
he cries out, he shouts aloud,
he shows himself mighty against his foes.

Church of England

Among the mighty men who came to David with a whole heart to make David king over all Israel was a Levite named Zadok, with 22 commanders from his own father’s house. (1 Chronicles 12:28)
Decades later, during Absalom’s rebellion, the priests Abiathar and Zadok carry the ark of the covenant as King David and his court leave Jerusalem. David instructs Zadok to return to Jerusalem and send him word. (2 Samuel 15)
Still later, when David’s age was advanced, another of his sons, Adonijah, attempted to claim the throne. Abiathar supported him, but not Zadok. David instructed Zadok and Nathan to anoint Solomon as king (1 Kings 1), and Solomon made Zadok high priest. (1 Kings 2:35)
Hundreds of years later, in Ezekiel’s vision of the new temple, the priests who have charge of the altar are the sons of Zadok, who alone among the sons of Levi may come near to the Lord to minister to him. (Ezekiel 40)

O Lord,
Let there be priests in the Church of England with loyalty to King Jesus, the son of David and Son of God, like Zadok’s loyalty to King David. May Your face shine upon them and their descendants. Amen.

Church of England General Synod

The General Synod concludes today.

Psalm 24:7-10 (NIV)
Lift up your heads, you gates;
be lifted up, you ancient doors,
that the King of glory may come in.
Who is this King of glory?
The Lord strong and mighty,
the Lord mighty in battle.
Adonai is our miracle in the Church of England. O King of glory, the gates of Hades will not overcome Your church.
Lift up your heads, you gates;
lift them up, you ancient doors,
that the King of glory may come in.
Who is he, this King of glory?
The Lord Almighty—
he is the King of glory.
Adonai is our miracle in the Church of England. O King of glory, the gates of Hades will not overcome Your church.

Matthew 16:18

Church of England General Synod

Isaiah 6:1-4 (ESV) Isaiah’s Vision of the Lord
In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called to another and said:

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts;
the whole earth is full of his glory!”

And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke.

Eternal God,
You are sovereign, majestic, high and lifted up. You are the God of the angel armies. You are the One who sent His Son Jesus, whose name is above all names. Your Word goes forth and does not return to You empty. Your presence is manifest in the General Synod today.
Woe are we! We are lost and a people of unclean lips.
Uproot that which the enemy has rooted in the General Synod and Church of England. Plaw a new field, and sow seeds of righteousness, truth, and love. Sow seeds that will bring life in the future.
Yes to Your promise for this church! Would that the train of Your robe would fill the Church of England. Amen.

Picking up loose ends–a reflection on prayer for the Church of England

Remember when God didn’t let Moses enter the Promised Land because he struck the rock rather than spoke to it? (Numbers 20:2-20) The punishment seemed harsh, but I believe God was trying to teach Israel the power of the spoken word when instructed by God’s Holy Spirit. Joshua seems to have caught on, commanding the sun to stop in its course in the military campaign against the five Amorite kings. The speed of that military campaign was stunning. (Joshua 9-10)

Regarding the heroes and heroines of the faith, scripture says

Hebrews 11:39-40 (AMP)
And all of these, though they won divine approval by [means of] their faith, did not receive the fulfillment of what was promised,
Because God had us in mind and had something better and greater in view for us, so that they [these heroes and heroines of faith] should not come to perfection apart from us [before we could join them].

God had us in mind for the completion of His promises to the heroes and heroines of the faith. In His eyes, we are connected to the generations.

In Revelation, John described golden bowls filled with incense, which are prayers of the saints. (Revelation 5:8, Psalm 141:2) Even though the saints have died, God can still use their prayers! The prayers have vitality. God says that when He sends out His word, it shall not return to Him empty, but accomplish what He purposed. (Isaiah 55:11) One wonders what the implications are for prayers guided by the Holy Spirit and birthed in scripture.

When we pray the prayer of St. Chrysostom, we cannot claim Chrysostom as a prayer partner because he is dead. What happens to prayers that have been prayed by many saints through the centuries? Is there a synergistic effect created by generations coming into agreement? Based on Hebrews 11:39-40, yes. When we join our voices to their prayers, we are helping to bring their prayers to completion, to perfection.

During the religious revival under King Hezekiah, the praise team was composed of the descendants of Samuel. The revival took place hundreds of years after Samuel died, not in Samuel’s life. The generations came into agreement, and a revival was born. Our God is a God of generations, of Abraham, Issac, and Jacob.

The prayers through the ages are like beautiful threads of gold and azure and scarlet waiting to be woven into the tapestry of God’s kingdom on earth as it is in heaven. The Church of England has a full repository of prayers for the church. In this season when the church is sore pressed, join your voices with the prayers of days gone by.

From St. Anselm, theologian and Archbishop of Canterbury:

“Hope of my heart,
strength of my soul,
help of my weakness,
by your powerful kindness complete
what in my powerless weakness I attempt.”

May it be so for Your servants in the General Synod and throughout the Church of England, dear Lord. Amen.

Some thoughts in this reflection came from “The Synergy of the Ages” by Dutch Sheets.

Church of England–open truth

2 Corinthians 4:2
But we have renounced disgraceful, underhanded ways. We refuse to practice cunning or to tamper with God’s word, but by the open statement of the truth we would commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God.

Our Father in heaven,

The Church of England is tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.

Your Son Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

We declare that at the name of Jesus, the spirits of cunning and deceit must bow their knees, in heaven, on earth, under the earth, and at General Synod. Amen.

Ephesians 4:14, Philippians 2:5-11

Church of England General Synod

General Synod is on February 10-12 in London.

Our Father in heaven,

May You inhabit the praises of Your people at the General Synod.

O Lord, may those who worship in the chapels and environs of the Synod surrender their burdens to You as they come into Your presence. Descend upon them, Holy Spirit, and stir their hearts to confess their sins. Father, in Your tender mercy, forgive them their sins and cover them with the Blood of the Lamb. May they come into Your presence with clean hands and pure hearts, in humility and truth.

May Your priests who minister there teach Your people the difference between the holy and the common, the pure and the profane, the clean and the unclean. May they follow Your laws and keep Your Sabbaths holy. May they honor Your appointed days of feast and fast.

May Jesus be their bread and Your word be their clean, sweet water.

May those who minister there speak Your word in the full confidence that it will not return to You empty, but accomplish what You desire and achieve the purpose for which You have sent it. May the angels, excelling in strength, bless You, do Your commandments, and hearken to the spoken voice of Your word in this place. May the heavenly hosts descend upon General Synod and do Your pleasure. Amen.

Ezekiel 44:17-30, John 6:35, Ephesians 5:25-27, Psalm 19:9-10, 22:3, 103:20-21, 119:103, Isaiah 55:11

Church of England–Justice

UPDATED
The House of Bishops has held facilitated conversations. Facilitated conversations are now being held throughout the dioceses, leading up to General Synod on February 10-12.

Luke 12:2
Nothing is covered up that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known.
Creator of heaven and earth and all that is therein, Your power is rolling through the ages, unresting, accomplishing daily those miracles that are Your will in the Church of England. The flow of Your love brings clarity, not confusion. We humbly implore You to uncover those things that are impeding Your justice throughout the church.

Amos 5:24
But let justice roll down like waters,
and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.
Come, Jehovah Sabaoth, to the dioceses as they approach facilitated conversations. Come like a swift-moving channel in the midst of the river of the love of God.
We call forth the angels to enter into the lives of the bishops, priests, deacons, and laity in this season of facilitated conversations and in the upcoming Synod. Jehovah-Sabaoth, we trust in Your strong arm. Amen.

Church of England menu of prayers

This menu of prayers was originally posted in Jan 2014, before the General Synod. Now there has been facilitated conversations in the House of Bishops. Conversations are taking place in the dioceses. General Synod is Feb 10-12.
Thank you, dear intercessors.

Church of England General Synod

The General Synod is in session.

1 Chronicles 15:22 (ESV)
Chenaniah, leader of the Levites in music, should direct the music, for he understood it.

1 Chronicles 15:27 (ESV)
David was clothed with a robe of fine linen, as also were all the Levites who were carrying the ark, and the singers and Chenaniah the leader of the music of the singers. And David wore a linen ephod.

1 Chronicles 26:29 (ESV)
Of the Izharites, Chenaniah and his sons were appointed to external duties for Israel, as officers and judges.

CHENANIAH– literally “established by God”

Our Father in heaven,
Your Son told the woman at the well,

“True worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”

We cry out for true worshippers in the Church of England. We cry out for the General Synod to worship in spirit and in truth. We cry out for the General Synod to conduct its responsibilities in spirit and in truth. We cry out for the General Synod to vote in spirit and in truth.
Mantle the true worshippers in Your authority! We cry out for true worshippers to be established by God as officers and judges. We cry out for the Church of England to be established by God, established in God, established for God.
We pray this in the name of Your Son Jesus, who is the Truth. Amen.

Church of England

The word nahash means “serpent” in Hebrew.

1 Samuel 11:1-2 (ESV)
Then Nahash the Ammonite went up and besieged Jabesh-gilead, and all the men of Jabesh said to Nahash, “Make a treaty with us, and we will serve you.” But Nahash the Ammonite said to them, “On this condition I will make a treaty with you, that I gouge out all your right eyes, and thus bring disgrace on all Israel.”

O Father,
Your people perish for lack of vision. Grant to the Church of England prophetic vision. Guard it and protect it from surrendering to Satan. May the Church of England bring You honor.
No disgrace, Lord! No treaties with Satan. Only with Your help can she do this, Lord. Only with Your help. Amen.

Church of England

Psalm 37:28a ESV
For the Lord loves justice; he will not forsake his saints.

John 14:18 CJB
I will not leave you orphans — I am coming to you.

We thank You for the promise of Your presence to the saints, dear Lord. May it be so in the Church of England. Amen.

Church of England

Exodus 38:8 (AMP)
He made the laver and its base of bronze from the mirrors of the women who ministered at the door of the Tent of Meeting.

Our Father in heaven,
In righteousness, the ministering women of Israel who ministered at the door of the Tent of Meeting sacrificed their mirrors to build the laver for washing.
Your Son Jesus Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her. Jesus sanctified her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.
We call out for the Church of England to be so. It is our hearts’ desire that the church be washed in the water of the word, that day and night Holy Scripture be read aloud across this land, that she lead the nation in biblical literacy and holiness of life. Revive the Church of England, Lord. Revive her, we pray. Amen.
1 Corinthians 5:26-27

Church of England

Proverbs 9:10a (NLT)
Fear of the Lord is the foundation of wisdom.

Hebrews 10:26-31 (ESV)
For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries. Anyone who has set aside the law of Moses dies without mercy on the evidence of two or three witnesses. How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one who has trampled underfoot the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has outraged the Spirit of grace? For we know him who said, “Vengeance is mine; I will repay.” And again, “The Lord will judge his people.” It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

Our Father in heaven,
You are a holy God, and You cannot share Your glory with lies. Your mercy is for those who fear You and reverence You and obey You, from generation to generation. We humbly ask You to pour down upon the Church of England, and especially upon her bishops, the spirit of the fear of the Lord. Amen.
Luke 1:50

Church of England College of Bishops

The College of Bishops is currently meeting.

Exodus 4:12 (ESV)
Now therefore go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall speak.

Let it be so with Your servants, dear Lord. Amen.