Ruach Breath Of Life

We pray for all who are shocked and shaken by items in the news, and by the state of the world. Renew the focus of our hearts and our flow of prayer, that it may be neither the swathed in sentimentality, nor swayed by prejudice, but founded in the spirit of truth and focused on the Prince of Peace. Answer when we call to You, O righteous God. Grant relief from our distress and hear our prayers, and let Your troops be willing for the day of battle. As the commander of Adonai's army, deploy Your forces as best may be. Let the army of Young people whom You are raising up serve with vision and compassion. Keep their mission vision clear, and their hearts free from all the distractions the enemy may want to send, and from key relationships from turning sour. Let these Young men and women be as arrows in Your hand, pioneers and spearheads for Your kingdom, and true soul shapers for You. For those in mature middle years, to administer and oversee many aspects of the work of Your church with clarity and humility.

As we pray for the mission of each church and movement that You've raised up, and that's truly reaching out for You, we pray that You will guard them from the shame of sordid squabbles and senseless splits. Guide them through and beyond each setback. Let's pray now for all who are feeling mixed up and muddled and alienated from church, from those who are holding back because of hurtful things that they have seen or heard. Find ways to minister to them, Lord. It's ever Your nature to seek to restore and redeem. Keep wooing and reaching out to their hearts, and work in such a way as to bring them to the point where they are willing to forgive those who have made life so hard for them, and are free to experience the blessings of life together in community again.

Your love Lord reaches to the heavens, Your faithfulness to the skies. Your righteousness is like the highest mountains, Your justice like the great deep, Lord. You preserve both people and animals; Your unfailing love is priceless! So many take refuge in the shadow of Your wings. They feast on the abundance of Your house, and You give them drink from Your river of delights. For with You is the fountain of life, and in Your light we see light. Continue Your love to those who know You, Your righteousness to the upright in heart. May the foot of the proud not come against me, nor the hand of the wicked drive me away. Lord Jesus, You warned those who felt secure in themselves that hearts would tremble at the tossing of the sea and the roaring of the waves, because all that can be shaken is being shaken in the lead-up to the great moment of Your return. . . . for harvests will fail, and idle merriment and debauched revelry will come to an end before Your spirit is poured out from on high, before the desert

This is the sketchiest of sketches, musically speaking, but I was looking for something that would reflect and speak into the unsettledness of our times. Obvious examples spring to mind, such as the grim situation on the battlefront in Ukraine, and the endless grief in the heart of that nation - but may the Lord lead you where He and you together would go in prayer. And may the musical fragments serve in this process!

When I wrote this piece, Stillness and Joy, I ‘bookended’ it with the theme from that wonderful hymn, 'I bind unto myself this day’ – the great ‘Breastplate’ prayer for protection that is widely accredited to St Patrick.* The Greek words I used in the title are hēsuchia (stillness, rest, quiet, silence) and charmolupē, a remarkable compound word that St John Climacus, a 7th century monk of Sinai, coined, which means a combination of joy and grief. Only in the Lord can we bear heavy burdens in the Spirit that move us to tears, and yet still know the deep stirrings of the Lord’s joy in our hearts. We only read twice in the gospels of Jesus weeping. The first time is when John records Him weeping when He hears of the death of Lazarus. The second, in Luke’s gospel, is the occasion when Jesus weeps over Jerusalem, because it had failed to recognise the hour of its visitation, and would pay a terrible price for its blindness and deafness. There are many things in the world around us, and perhaps in our own im

Nebuchadnezzar's empire was as secure and far-reaching as any great world power in the ancient world, but in himself, the king was not at rest. Night after night, disconcerting dreams swirled round his head, robbing him of peace and well-being. Dreams not only reflect the preoccupations of our hearts, but sometimes contain within them significant prophetic pointers. By revelation, the Lord showed Daniel that Nebuchadnezzar had dreamt of an enormously large and imposing statue – which said a lot about what the king thought of himself and his works! All his energies had gone into building an empire that honoured his own name, and he was dazed and dazzled by his golden splendour. The Lord was less impressed, however, and drew Daniel’s attention to the image’s fallible feet of clay. Empires may dominate the world stage for a season, but flawed foundations make it impossible for them to endure forever, be they Babylonian, Alexandrian, Roman, Napoleonic, British, Third Reich or Soviet. Drawing on Daniel’s expe

The principle of Suffer-reign. In his first epistle, Peter frequently links the concept of suffering with glory. That's why I have coined the word 'suffer-reign' to describe this. In this far-reaching talk I am unpacking this precious and important theme. 1 Peter 2:11-25.

Mussorgsky - The Village by Ruach Breath of Life

Mussorgsky - The Oxcart (Bydlo) by Ruach Breath of Life

Teleman Allegro by Ruach Breath of Life

Telemann Largo by Ruach Breath of Life

Russian Hymn with words by Ruach Breath of Life

The scale of the depradations and sufferings in Ukraine has been astonishing as the result of Putin's invasion. These are offerings to help us keep all the citizens who are grieving at losing homes, families and loved ones as a result of the war. The suffering is by no means all one way. Whole Russian brigades have simply ceased to exist as a result of being wiped out in a war that they are not allowed to report to friends and family back home on pain of imprisonment. Could anything be more soul destroying? They too are bearing an immense cost. May the Lord meet with many on both sides of this demonically-inspired conflict. Can I suggest listening to the following as a piece of music and praying for as many dimensions to this whole conflict as come to mind? Then, when you have listened and prayed, hear it again in the next track called Russian Hymn with Words, in which it is revealed as an old Russian hymn from more stable times.

The Rock of Eternity and the age that is to come by Ruach Breath of Life

On both sides of the Conflict. Ongoing prayer for those caught up in the war in Ukraine by Ruach Breath of Life

With increasingly violent protests occurring on our streets in the UK, which once again greatly threaten people and properties, and stretch the police forces, let’s join in this prayer with considerable urgency. Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ . . . and if you call on Him as Father who judges impartially according to each one's deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile. [here on Earth](1 Peter. 1:13,17 ESV) With algorithms, news items and social media posts skilfully fuelling people’s prejudices, and so increasing their sense of outrage – and when even the spiritual discernment that enables us to recognise when things are not being built to according God’s plumbline – all such things can leave us feeling incensed rather filled with the passion of God – which itself includes righteous anger as opposed to mere rage. Each one of us faces the challenge o

What an extraordinarily rich account the book of Samuel is! It has all the flow and potency of an epic historical novel, as we are introduced to larger-than-life characters, and to the whole saga that surrounded the founding of the monarchy in Israel. What a wealth of pithy quotes and spiritual truths and treasures we come across, too: phrases that have passed into our common spiritual language rather as so many of Shakespeare’s quotes have become a precious part and parcel of the English language. As we listen to this talk, which Robert gave in church on the 14th July 2024, and which focuses on the wonderful theme of strengthening ourselves in the Lord as David did at a truly critical time in his life, may the Lord's power and presence come on us all afresh.

Well aware of how easy it is to fall prey to one or more of the satanic strategies that powerful spirit-beings design to catch believers out, Paul concludes his magnificent epistle to the Ephesians with a briefing on spiritual warfare and a call to don the armour of God. Given the sheer weight of issues that we all have to deal with internally as well as externally, the familiar passage in Ephesians 6 is a timely word for us to take time out to reconsider, and to see what the Lord may have to say to us through it. It is His armour, His weapons and His Kingdom that we are called to share in, and to fight for. We hope you will be really blessed by this talk that Robert shared on this subject at church recently.

Dobru noc - A prayer for each Ukrainian child forcibly deported to Russia As I listened this morning to this exquisite Czecho-Slovak folksong, I had a strong image of a mother, (along with another member of a Ukrainian family) singing an idyllic lullaby to their child in the warmth and security of their home. Half way through, a great rupture happens, symbolising the Russian invasion – and the child, along with nearly twenty thousand others, is separated from their family and deported to Russia. There in the pit of loss and despair, the child hears in his or her spirit the song of their mother reaching across the vast distance that now separates her from all she has known and loved – and from somewhere a voice comes, bidding the child not to give in to despair but to trust and hope: reassuring them that the Lord knows all about their plight, and promising that He has all eternity in which to make it up to them. May the Lord use this much loved lullaby to stir our spirits to pray for those separated from

This brief interlude of prayer and worship in the Spirit was recorded at the start of our 1998 conference in Malvern, ‘Symphony of Worship.’ May the Lord use it again now to still and prepare our hearts to soak in His presence afresh.