In the power of the Holy Spirit

In the power of the Holy Spirit

The sermon I heard on Sunday morning included the following......



Today has been another shift of unbelievable things. The first being a reminder that I never thought I would be able to set foot inside a hospital a few years back, yet here I am part of the team covering the huge hospital site in Brighton.

I also used to be so anxious about Norovirus and COVID but again, today, I find myself walking onto wards with affected patients. Why? To comfort them in their time of greatest spiritual need- not in your strength....


What do you say to the person who is so scared to die? And has been told that very morning they are now actively dying?....Realising you can't do something...let the Holy Spirit work through you......who am I to answer that question adequately? I haven't almost died, or died. Although we learn to “die to self” when we fully commit to serving God.

Psalm 23, a request of music which happened to be all about love, a holding stone with a cross on it and some prayers came to me for that patient. The most powerful prayer being the Lord's Prayer said together. We focused on the love and comfort there is when we are walking through “the valley”. That having faith means trust and we hold on to the love and happiness that awaits us beyond our understanding. We keep walking, and stumbling then carrying on the walk through the valley. God is within us. The Holy Spirit is there to comfort us. God surrounds us on all sides. Overall when I left that room, I felt that the patient had become aware again of God holding them in love. A love that is ever present and ever powerful. I don't know if I will see that patient again, but I know that God is walking with them always. Being able to be a part of a team providing care for the body, mind and spirit, working collaboratively to achieve that with the nurses and doctors is amazing.


Christ is here...... another room for end of life prayers. Again.... let the Holy Spirit work through you...... with a wooden holding cross placed in the patients hand I began the end of life prayers, the patient kept holding the cross upwards into the air- as if reaching out towards God, the reactions to parts of the prayers are always amazing to see - you know God is there working through you in those moments.

We ended with some music from the Poor Clares - Veni Creator Spiritus - “Come, Holy Spirit, Creator” - I left knowing the Holy Spirit was certainly in that room.


Another ward, another holding stone given - this patient chose the word “hope” they knew God but felt distant...... I don't know what came over me..... but with the power of a healing prayer and a Good News Bible the patients happy tears showed they had reconnected with God. The Holy Spirit at work again. And Hope for another day. A simple prayer to help with sleep...“In Peace I will lie down and sleep for you alone oh Lord will give me rest” alongside teaching a “tapping” relaxation technique and I was off to another ward.

I've just looked up those lyrics from the patient who requested a song about love “ A love so beautiful, a love for you and me, and when I think of you, I fall in love again” That's the message from today - people rediscovering God's love for them, knowing it's ever present, from beginning to end....



Psalm 23

The LORD is my shepherd, I lack nothing.

He makes me lie down in green pastures,

he leads me beside quiet waters,

he refreshes my soul.

He guides me along the right paths

for his name's sake.

Even though I walk

through the valley of the shadow of death

I will fear no evil,

for you are with me;

your rod and your staff,

they comfort me.

You prepare a table before me

in the presence of my enemies.

You anoint my head with oil;

my cup overflows.

Surely your goodness and love will follow me

all the days of my life,

and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.