Tag Archives: film

Films from prayerscapes which feature contemporary prayer poems, creative imagery and modern soundtracks.

What We Have Is Enough

I love the “in between” bits in life. Those very ordinary days amidst the many plans, engagements, commitments and occasions. This song sprang up in one of those moments. Believe me, I wrote what I needed to hear! “What we have is enough” was penned as I had just survived another festive season. Christmas is always a time I intend to navigate better, only to find that once again I have exhausted myself with present planning, buying, wrapping, not to mention balancing everyone’s expectations, getting the home looking right, the food correct and the all the cards sent! So I find that I need to remind myself to “be”, to “breathe” and to enjoy the small moments! To feed my heart on the “in between” times in life and relax in the calm and intimacy that is there. To be “full” instead of falling into the snares of comparison, and to be kind to myself instead of feeling like I’ve not made everything happen.

May I embrace this treasure that is freely available. I don’t need the perfect house, family, party or meal to fill me up! What I long for is peace, security, fellowship, intimacy and rest. I hope this simple song helps to calm your heart in the way that it somehow calms mine!

What We Have Is Enough

What we have is enough
All that riches and stuff it don’t mean
All we think that it does
When success is a bubble that blows
Far away as we find
That it’s drifted from sight

For what we have is enough
All the castles we build crumble down
As they’re made of mere dust
Dare to stop and you’ll find the small things
That we cherish are here
Free to all, held so dear

Dream, breathe, shine
The treasure that we seek,
Is one our hearts can find
Sing, walk, unwind
The precious jewels of life
Are hidden deep inside.

What we have is enough
All we cherish and love is like gold
Running deep within us
And the more that we share it we find
That it just multiplies
Given love grows in size

Dream, breathe, shine….
What we have is enough

“What We Have Is Enough” is out now and available on all major digital platforms. Click here to listen on Spotify or Apple Music.

Freedom in Grace

We wanted to share with you the inspiration behind a track that we’ve recently released called “Freedom in Grace”. About a year and a half ago, just before the pandemic hit, I felt God was speaking to me, and to the world, through Isaiah 40 “A Comfort to God’s People”:

“Prepare the way of the LORD. Make his roads straight. Every valley will be filled, and every mountain and hill will be made low, and the uneven will be made level, and the rough places a plain. And the glory of the LORD will be revealed…” (Isaiah 40:3b-5a, NHEB)

I felt that God wanted to proclaim hope and proclaim restoration to the lands and this song, this prophetic film and outpouring is a way of praying, a way of calling out and declaring that God is a God of restoration, God is a God of love and that He wants to pour out His Holy Spirit at this time to bring new blessing, new restoration into our hearts and our lives right across the world:

The landscape across the world is changing but God has chosen to work with us, not apart from us. And our prayers, petitions, actions and hearts all create landing space for the Holy Spirit to bring a new wave of restoration and healing across a broken world. We have all experienced the suffering together and our prayer is that we will all see the restoration together too.

“Freedom in Grace” is out now on all major streaming platforms, including Spotify and Apple Music.

Freedom in Grace

Singing hope across the desert
Singing healing for the broken
Singing shelter for the lonely
Singing life across the ruins
Strength to lift the weary

Singing hope, singing life
Singing freedom in grace
Singing hope, singing life
Singing freedom in grace

And the people rose to pray, hearts awakening they knelt down low each day
Hands that couldn’t touch displayed, unity to build a deeper love again
And the valleys laid with grief, filling gentle streams of grace and empathy
And the mountains toil with fear, bowing low as voices join to intercede

Singing hope, singing life…

Barren land felt gentle rain, growing soft to hold new seeds of hope again
From the ground such beauty came, rising up were Kingdom treasures free to reign
And the light shone in the dark, chasing shadows to reveal the Father’s heart
And the people rose to see, the Lord of heaven and all earth was now revealed

Singing hope, singing life…

New springs of life so fresh and full
Soak tender shoots of Kingdom truth
And rocky places smooth to lead
Creating pathways, helping heal

Singing hope, singing life…

Praying when Life is Desperate

Today I want to ask a tough question. What happens when life throws us a curved ball and we find we can’t cope anymore? How do we find God, how do we connect with him, when life is desperate?

Firstly, if you are in this place my heart goes out to you. I truly believe that our heavenly Father responds directly to the distress of his children, so in an instant God is with you. He will understand by his Holy Spirit that your distress has frozen your responses, he does not need you to pray, but if you find the strength to cry out to him, he longs to listen. It breaks his heart to see you in such trauma, so much so that he has already covered and restored that very hurt, through the death and resurrection of his son Jesus. Always try to remember that God is outside our time frame, he sees the beginning and the end, he sees your future and inheritance in Christ and your place in eternity.

I can think of a few times in my life when I believe God has literally carried me through moments of extreme brokenness and suffering. He has, I believe, at these times held me together and taken all my weight upon himself to carry me. You may ask “how do I know Jesus carried me”? because I am here writing this today. The Holy Spirit is at work in us, around us and ahead of us so no matter how dark life feels. The Lord of love, truth and hope is with us. I’m going to share with you three times in my life when I know this to have been true.

The first was a time of trauma suffered as a child. I did not pray, no one else knew to pray, so I just reacted and responded in a disjointed frozen way which became embedded in my soul. Yet I can testify that the Holy Spirit led me through many dark times and placed so many people ahead of me that I eventually engaged in counselling and found freedom in my thirties. God uses us all to lead others through such darkness into light. I am so thankful for the faithfulness of those who helped me through this journey.
The second time was at the birth of my first child. Things were not going well for me or the baby during the labour and my husband and I were too distressed to pray. The Holy Spirit woke an old friend of mine at that precise time who did not know I was in labour and told her to pray. She prayed that I would have the strength to deliver the baby. I did, and he was OK, much to the surprise of the doctors and nurses.
Lastly, I had suffered a complication after childbirth that meant many years of pain, three procedures and one operation. I was anticipating a second operation hoping for healing, when I was prayed for by a gentle elderly lady at a church meeting and was healed instantly. I have had no pain for many years. I give this testimony tentatively as for six years I was prayed for but wasn’t healed. I know many of you will find yourselves in a similar place, but I can see the ways in which God saw me through that dark time. He will carry you, and we are told we should never stop asking for healing, and I trust you will know this hope.

By the grace of God, I pray that all those in a desperate place can feel loved and cared for by God, by friends and family and by their brothers and sisters in Christ. If you do feel alone in your suffering do seek out someone to speak with. Don’t suffer alone, the church is the very hands and feet of Jesus. Seek out the help you need. I thought I would share the following film “Tomorrow came”. It is my song of testimony that I wrote with my husband. There are times when we feel that tomorrow won’t come for us, but as you watch and draw near to God, as you seek out his people, there is new life and everlasting hope for you. I promise.

Thanks for connecting with us today at Prayerscapes. Do you have any encouraging stories of finding God in dark times? If so, please do write them down below. We’d love to hear them. And until next time, may God hold you in the palm of His hand.

An Inspirational Blessing Prayer

Hi, having spent many years crafting prayers, songs and films for Prayerscapes, it feels like the right time to open up and get closer to those of you who have always responded to our creative offerings. So, in these short films, we will share with you some of our journey, prayer ideas, inspiration and wisdom we have found as we have sought to reveal the love and light of Christ. If you have not yet subscribed to our Youtube channel do take a moment to do so, as there are many more inspirational videos in the pipeline that we would love you to see and experience.

When we wrote and recorded ‘May The Road Rise Up to Meet You’, we could not have imagined the ways in which it would have been received, used and cherished by others. We’ve been overwhelmed by the emails and messages we’ve had about how this song has touched people, whether it be at baby dedications, or marriages, or as a blessing at funeral of a loved one. All this made me think – why has this simple Celtic Blessing been so powerful in effecting so many people?

I think one of the reasons is that proclaiming this blessing over another is a very powerful and releasing thing! We bless others with the authority that Christ gave us as children. Blessings change, they renew, and they create security and sanctuary. In a world filled with comparison, judgement, jealousy, competition, criticism and envy, it is a wonderfully unexpected thing! This simple prayer is such an inspiring blessing which rolls out like a beautiful and holy land, ahead of loved ones, soft grace soil on which to tread.

My husband wrote this little blessing song for me when my second son was a baby. For those of you who have lived through a similar season, you’ll know it’s messy! At the time I was often walking out very early in the morning with a crying baby, so as not to wake the rest of the household! It was just one of those seasons where I felt vulnerable, I felt ashamed to be pacing the streets in the dark mornings, not to have the answers, not to be the perfect family. I often felt myself welling up with tears as I pushed my baby boy around. I just trudged on as we all do sometimes. I remember I did cry as he sang me the song and its words did hold and keep me through that time.

So, if you are in this hard place, through illness, anxiety, grief, trial or loss, I sing this to you…. allow this little song to lay a soft blessing under your feet. And then go ahead of someone else and lay this blessing for them. It will become for them a lullaby, soothing and gracious. It might be that the Holy Spirit leads you to physically be this blessing to soften someone’s walk with service, understanding or generosity. And why not say the blessing in unexpected ways? Say it behind another, soaking your thoughts and feelings for them in love. Receive this blessing, give this blessing, be this blessing, live this blessing!

Thanks for connecting with us today. And as I said earlier, we’ve lots on new videos coming soon, so if you haven’t already, do subscribe at Youtube, and we look forwards to seeing you real soon in our next film!

A Birthday Blessing

The way we celebrate each individual on the day they were born into this world is a beautiful thing. Some of the most magical birthdays I can recall are the early birthdays of my children. When a child is one or two years old there is no past for them to worry over, no future for hopes or fears to enter, no anticipation, expectation or disappointment. The overwhelming feeling of wonder for them is enormous. The candles, the gifts, it is all received in great joy! Then maybe tears…. but great joy again! I guess this is the way God would like birthdays to remain for us all, and how he loves to bless us on our special day.

Sadly, I think that the fallen world and our fallen feelings and thoughts tend to ebb away some of this jubilant emotion. If we are honest, it is much easier to celebrate other people’s birthdays than it is our own. This starts quite young. Even young children start to feel the slide. Sometimes it is a toy that’s advertised to be the best thing ever that is a let-down or the party girl who sees another friend’s dress to be prettier than hers, or the lad whose friend had a puppy for his birthday. Suddenly the Scalextric is second best! It is not long before comparison kicks in. By our teens it has morphed into self-rejection, and the feeling of not matching up. As we reach adulthood it will probably have grown up into a more rounded awareness of one’s own failings, mixed with a pinch of regret, and a bucket full of anxieties about finance, relationships, health or world affairs!

So how do we reclaim the birthday feeling our Abba father intended for us? Here are three suggestions that may help you:

Firstly, let’s include Him from the moment we wake, then take time to open our bible and hear His voice in scripture. Allow God your Father to fill your mind with hope and truth and light. Do this in the way that is most natural for you. Also, remember to take care of yourself! For some of us, sometimes the traditions of gathering together with family and friends, receiving gifts, birthday cake and surprises can feel like an onslaught. If this is hard for you, focus on how much others like to give to you, and try to enjoy it for their sakes.

Secondly, build in something into the day that is a moment just for you. It needs to be tailored uniquely around your preferences, whatever they are – a walk in the country, playing your favourite song etc. – a blessing that is just for you.

Lastly, there will always be four loved ones present with you on your birthday, no matter how lonely your circumstances have become. The Father, Son and Holy Spirit will be celebrating the day you were born! Open your heart up to them. Allow them to guide you and have your own little celebration. The truth is, you are worth celebrating, for you are unique. There will only be one of you who walks on the earth and there is a place for you in heaven that only you can fill. That is good news!

If you have a friend or loved one that is about to have a birthday, you might like to consider sending this blessing to them. You can even receive these words for yourself when your special day comes round!

Here are the words in this film:-

A Birthday Blessing

May happiness and love encircle this day,
And every blessing from heaven come your way.
May the warmth of loved ones lift your heart,
And your cup overflow with the love they impart.

May fond memories bring you great joy and peace,
And hope fill your sails with the promise you seek.
But most of all, may you truly know,
How you’re treasured and loved wherever you go.

Prayer for my Family

Family is the most incredible place to reside, yet it is also the most difficult place to navigate. Living in close fellowship with others always requires us to become more real, more forgiving, more giving and more mature as individuals. There is much to be gained in terms of intimacy, security and nurture, yet also much at risk in terms of conflict, resentment and loss. It is as sons and daughters of the living God that we find the craving for this union, the search for oneness and the need for exclusivity. For we read in the bible that we are made after the image of our maker (Gen 1:27). Our very desires to be one in marriage echo the oneness that is central to the Trinity. And our longings to create a family and have children mirror the creative nature of the Holy Family (Gen 1:26).

Yet family is more than flesh and blood. It is those whom we walk with daily, the ones that get to know the real “us”, those with whom we feel bonded to and devoted to. The following prayer is one that covers and encircles those whom we call family. It is a blessing prayer, it rolls forever like a beautiful ocean wave over our dear ones. The extraordinary thing is that when we invite Jesus into our lives, he inhabits our daily family life by the power of his Holy Spirit, and his father becomes father over our families. May I encourage you to speak out this prayer of belonging, blessing and keeping over your loved ones now:-

Download this film in HD for a small sum by following this link.

Prayer for my family

Lord be beside us, every day
Guiding and leading us gently always.
Lord be above us, help us to see
The hope of the future, of all we could be.

Lord be beneath us, carry us when
We’re too shattered or tired to really have strength.
Lord be ahead of us, smoothing our paths
Protecting and blessing the places we pass.

Lord be behind us, healing our wounds,
Forgiving our mistakes and making us new.
Jesus, be within us, this family is yours
Now and forever, you are our Lord.

Prayer for a Friend

How can we pray for a friend who is currently having to contend with a very difficult life experience? It might be they have just lost their job, or perhaps it is a serious illness or even a bereavement in the family. Sometimes it is a friend whom we are in fellowship with, the two of us walking beside Jesus, where much prayer will be needed. In this situation, no matter what the storm is, it is essential to remain sure of “Immanuel”, that God is with us. You will find yourself praying for them at many times and in many places. They will rest so close to your heart that every thought of them will be a prayer.

However, it is much harder when your beloved friend is yet to know the fullness of Christ. Here it is the presence of God in us that will be Christ alongside them. Christ dwells in us, we are a temple for the Holy Spirit and there are many ways for the Spirit of God to prompt your prayers, actions, words and being to bless them.

He will not abandon us or them.

He is the beginning and the end.

He will call us all home.

Sorrow will end.

Pain will cease.

He is peace.

He is grace.

He is all love.

He is with you.

I have written the following words as an “anchor” type prayer. Here a remind myself of when Jesus was in the boat with his friends, in the middle of a great storm. With just these three words “Quiet! Be still!” the winds and lashing rains were calmed. It will be hard “heart” work to carry, support or lead a friend through difficult trials. But in the middle of the tempest we shall rest in the very breath, heartbeat and essence of Jesus.

You can download and keep this film for a small sum by clicking here.

Prayer For a Friends Strength

O Lord,

You know how much I long to see my friend restored.
You are with us all, at all times, and in all places.
Your love gives us the strength to endure,
And breathes hope into our lives.

So I pray for rivers of your love to be flowing in their life.
Through the care of friends and family,
Through the beauty of creation,
Through your life-giving words and healing Spirit.
Everlasting Father you promise to be our strength in times of weakness,
So I trust my friend into your hands.

Please lead me as I pray and care for them,
So that I may reveal more and more of your great love and grace.

Amen.

Prayer for Youth

When I look back on my own “youth years” I realise now what an extraordinarily difficult period it was – the explosion of hormones, the pressure to be in the “in” crowd, the stresses and expectations placed upon you – it all seemed to come together at the same time! When you are a teenager, you have no concept that this cauldron of racing thoughts, emotions and confusions will settle down. You have no idea that ahead lies easier seasons and that life is not all or nothing, “living the dream” or complete failure, but that there are many pathways and possibilities for happiness. At this age I remember how my life would see-saw between great moments of maturity and then complete meltdowns just hours later as though I was a toddler! Yet amidst all this I remember chinks of clarity, times of connection and flashes of faith forming in my soul. Nurturing and sometimes nursing a young adult through these years can be a roller coaster of a ride. As we seek to care for our in-betweeners, let’s remember the challenges of life as a teenager and extend fountains of grace to them as they navigate their way through.

The following prayer seeks to bring order and hope into this maze of teenage existence. It recalls all the different elements that bring inspiration and meaning to life and offers these beautiful things back to God in love and service. If you are a young person, use this film now as a space to hear and connect with God and his heart for your life. And if you are of an older generation, please use this video as a prayer for someone you know who is going through this period of great transition in their lives, and ask for God’s presence and voice to be with them: –

Prayer for Youth

Dear God,

Thank you for the amazing world you have made.
Help us to care for every aspect of your creation.

Thank you for the wonders of physics, medicine and astronomy.
Help us to engage with each facet of the universe.

Thank you for the power of the creative arts.
Help us to pioneer new vision and sounds in our generation.

Thank you for our incredible minds and bodies.
Help us to become all we could be as individuals.

Thank you for our family, friendships, community and relationships.
Help us to accept, nurture and forgive one another.

Thank you for all these great things in our lives.
May we play our part in bringing peace, prosperity and justice to all.

Amen.

This film can be downloaded for small sum by following this link.

Closing Prayer

I find that there is a unity that arises through worship that it is difficult to express in words. We sometimes encounter glimpses of this when we are joined together in hymns and worship songs, as we fix our eyes on eternal things and are in awe again of Jesus, our remarkable redeemer. I’m sure that the first disciples must have sensed this very powerfully when the Holy Spirit came to them at Pentecost, where we read that “they were all together in one place” and many heard them “declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!” (Acts 2:10, NIV)

The Holy Spirit gathers us together by being present with each believer in a personal and unique way. As we enter this inner sanctuary as the bride of Christ – the church in all its vulnerability, brokenness and fragility, we open the door for an outpouring of God’s love into our hearts. We find balance, acceptance and a place to dwell in worship. No matter how tough my life is, or how distant I feel from God, I find I always benefit from pushing closer in worship to our eternal Father.

The following closing prayer reflects this filling, this outpouring, and this transformation as we pledge ourselves to give out. We can rest in the Holy Spirit’s work in our hearts and allow the love and goodness of Christ’s legacy to seep out of us into every area of our lives. It becomes a never-ending story of receiving and giving, as we become like dancers moving in time with the heart of the Father.

Closing Prayer

Lord, thank you that we are a family in Christ. Help us to share his love and legacy with everyone that we encounter this week. May we lavish Christ’s abounding goodness upon our families, friends and colleagues. Holy Spirit, come and equip us in our workplace, guide us in our school life, and inspire us in our neighbourhood. May we be your hands and feet to the needy, your words of affirmation to the oppressed and your arms of comfort to the lonely.

Thank you for choosing to use us to bring your kingdom here on earth.

Amen.

It’s possible to download this film in HD for a small sum by following this link.

Harvest Prayer

Our lives go through many seasons, and there are times when it is natural and easy to be thankful at harvest time. So, if you are in a relaxed place and able to drink in the goodness of God and his provision, it is a joyful and special time to give thanks! However, as Christians we all face times where it is harder to be overflowing with praise. Our heavenly Father knows us, and loves us just as we are in the valleys as well as on the hilltops, so allow yourself the grace to engage with this festival in the truth of your own circumstance and feelings.

What is amazing about the seeds of peace, hope and love that God plants by his Holy Spirit into our lives is that it is often in the hardest and darkest times that we reap the fruits of these seeds. For to grieve daily yet to still love is a beautiful fruit, to be hurt and broken yet to still forgive is an abundant reaping and to struggle with pain or ill health yet still to engage with others and enter into the hope in Christ is a remarkable harvest. These are kingdom blessings that shine so brightly to all around you.

Wherever you find yourself this harvest time, we hope this prayer will help you connect with your heavenly Father: –

Harvest Prayer

Father, as we celebrate this season of thanksgiving, we give thanks for the blessings of food, provision and nourishment.

Please grow in us a harvest for the world. Come sow a seed of hope within our souls Lord, that we might yield goodness, patience and kindness in abundance.

Sow a seed of peace in our lives Lord, that we might bear the fruits of forgiveness, compassion and righteousness.

Come sow a seed of love in our hearts Lord, that others would reap the blessings of family, friendship and community.

May each seed of hope, peace and love grow within us into a harvest that can be feasted on by all.

Amen.

(Prayer by Julie Palmer)

You can download and keep this film in HD for a small sum by following this link.