29th September - 5th October 2025
A few years ago, after a very heavy rain shower, the sewers near my home would back up and overflow into our garden. This was quite a shock for us as we had lived in our home for over 20 years and this had never occurred during that time. The mess was extensive and initially we cleaned it up ourselves but, as this reoccurred, we realised there was a bigger issue and so we contacted the Water Service. I have to say they were very helpful and sent out a team to clean and disinfect the area that had been contaminated.
However, the issue occurred time and time again after heavy rainfall. Each time we contacted the Water Service, and they duly came out and cleaned things up, but the problem kept returning.
Eventually, the Water Service decided to investigate the issue more deeply with a camera and, when they did this, they discovered a large piece of concrete lodged in the sewer, blocking the flow. Once this was removed with some specialist equipment, everything returned to normal even during heavy rains and flash floods.
In some ways that experience became a picture that challenged my spiritual life. Just like a sewer, I am meant to be a clear channel for God’s presence, love and glory to flow through so that he can use me as he pleases.
I recognised how easily blockages could build up in my own life – unconfessed sin, frustration, disappointment, bitterness and pride all hinder God’s desire to work in and through us.
For some time, I’ve lived with the knowledge that I am a flawed sinful person who God has shown mercy to and saved. Recognising I am a broken person in need of a restorative God has been transformational for me in my walk with God. So, recognising that at times deep obstructions can come into our lives and remain there until God shines his light on them, convicts us and leads us to an understanding of our need to confess and seek his forgiveness so that he can remove that blockage from our lives, enabling him to work freely through us once again.
David prayed, “Search me, O God, and know my heart… see if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting” (Psalm 139:23–24). Like that sewer camera, God’s Spirit searches our hearts and reveals what is hidden. And just as it took special equipment to remove the concrete, it takes God’s word, prayer, repentance, and the power of the Holy Spirit to free us from the sin that can so easily beset us (Hebrews 12:1).
The wonderful truth that we all need to discover and live in is that God desires to unblock every area of our lives so that he can transform us and use us in the way he wants, so that we can reach our full potential in him. He doesn’t expose blockages to make us feel bad about ourselves or leave us with a sense of shame, but his heart in doing this is to restore us. When the blockage is gone, his life can flow freely through us so that we can be channels of blessing to others, even when the storms come.
I wonder if you have ever experienced that sense of unresolved blockages in your walk with God? Can I encourage you to let God search you. Let him remove what is standing in the way and then you will be an empty channel, filled and flowing with his glory and being used to do the work that has been prepared in advance for you to do!
Written by David Mairs
MONDAY
“He reveals deep and hidden things; he knows what lies in darkness, and light dwells with him.” Daniel 2:22
Heavenly Father, you see what I cannot. You know the hidden things in my heart that block the reality of your presence and the work of the Holy Spirit in me. Today, I invite the Holy Spirit to shine like a light in every dark corner of my life. Reveal the attitudes, fears and sins that have taken root, even those I have ignored, forgotten or just given in to. Give me the humility to face what you show me and the courage to let go of anything that would hinder my relationship with you. Remove every obstacle that keeps me from living fully for you. Fill me today with your light so I may reflect your goodness and love to others without hindrance. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
TUESDAY
“Every valley shall be lifted up, every mountain and hill made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain.” Isaiah 40:4
Heavenly Father, you are the one who makes crooked paths straight and rough places smooth. I confess that too often I try to navigate life’s obstacles in my own strength instead of relying on you, in the understanding that only you can truly remove what stands in my way. Take away every sinful habit, destructive pattern and hidden hindrance that keeps me from walking in step with you. Where there is bitterness, remove, heal and restore. Where there is pride, identify it and humble me. Where there is fear, remind me that your word tells me to fear not and give me the courage to believe this truth. Level the path before me so that I may walk freely and joyfully in the way you direct. I pray this in Jesus’ name. Amen.
WEDNESDAY
“The Lord sets prisoners free, the Lord gives sight to the blind, the Lord lifts up those who are bowed down.” Psalm 146:7–8
Heavenly Father, you are the breaker of chains and the one who sets the captives free. I bring to you the chains of my sin, my regret and my shame that have bound me and hold me back from living in the freedom you desire for me. Enable me to break free from anything that holds me back from walking with you. Open my eyes to see the truth of your mercy, love and grace. Lift me up from places of discouragement and despair. Remove every blockage that keeps me imprisoned in the past or paralysed by the fear of the future. I trust in your power to restore me, renew me and release me into the fullness of your calling on my life. Help me to live for you in the power of the Holy Spirit, I pray. Thank you for saving me, help me I pray, in Jesus’ name. Amen.
THURSDAY
“The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world … they have divine power to demolish strongholds.” 2 Corinthians 10:4
Heavenly Father, I thank you for the power of the Holy Spirit that tears down strongholds. I know that some blockages in my life feel immovable, but I believe that you are greater than any fortress of sin or fear that would entangle me. So, I pray today that you would demolish every wall that keeps me from your presence. Remove wrong thinking, break unhealthy attachments and silence the lies of the enemy. Teach me to take captive every thought and to make it obedient to Christ. May my heart and mind be attentive to your promptings and, as I acknowledge you in all things, give me the victory over those things that are holding me back from living in the fullness of the life you have given me. Amen.
FRIDAY
“Cast your burden on the Lord, and he will sustain you.” Psalm 55:22
Heavenly Father, so often I carry heavy burdens that weigh me down and block the flow of your joy in my life. Today I cast those burdens upon you because I know that you love me, care for me and want to sustain me. Take from me the worries, anxieties and cares that keep me trapped in fear. Remove every vestige of guilt that clings to me and the expectations that I cannot carry alone. In exchange, will you give me your peace, that peace that passes all understanding. Help me to trust you with all my heart and to know that you are more than able to sustain me and that your grace is sufficient for every trial. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
SATURDAY
“He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.” Psalm 147:3
Heavenly Father, you know the wounds in my heart that I try to hide, the disappointments and feelings of brokenness. Some of these hurts have become blockages, hardening me and preventing me from trusting you as I know I should. Help me to let go of fear, uncertainty and doubt and to trust you completely. Heal my broken places, bind up my wounds, and pour your oil of comfort over my soul. I need to sense your presence with me today. Restore what has been lost or broken and soften what has become hardened. Teach me to forgive where I have held grudges and remind me that your grace is greater than my pain. Make me whole so I may walk freely in you, I pray. Amen.
SUNDAY
“I will make rivers flow on barren heights, and springs within the valleys.” Isaiah 41:18
Heavenly Father, I love this image that you are the God who makes streams flow in dry places. Where my life has felt barren, dry, or blocked, breathe new life into me again. Unclog the wells of my spirit and let your living water rise up within me. Refresh me with your presence so that I may overflow with joy, peace and love. Use me as a vessel through which your Holy Spirit flows so that I can be a blessing to others. Let every area of dryness become a place of fruitfulness through your restorative work in my life. Thank you that nothing is too hard for you and that you delight to restore what is broken. I love you, Father. Amen.