TRY PRAYING
The bus stopped at Argyle street, and I could read the
‘Writing on the Wall’, that is to say, on the back of the bus in
front, it said: ‘Try Praying.’ There was also a web site given
with that title. I didn’t know that God had His own Web Site,
but this should not surprise me, since we were told that ours
is in the making, at last.
The ‘Try Praying’ can also be read on a poster outside a
church in Edinburgh, as the bus is going in on the right hand
side. I remembered the little booklet with that title which was
given to us by Ulric, so I dug it out and re-read it. It had some very useful tips
on how to pray.
Praying isn’t just for the religious. Most people admit to praying at some
time in their life even if they have given up on it later. Jesus spent much time
in prayer and taught about it. On one occasion he said: ‘Therefore I tell you,
whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it and it will
be yours’. So prayers will be answered, just not always in the way you are
hoping for.
The classical definition of prayer is ‘the raising of the heart and mind to God’.
It isn’t just doing it; it is wanting to do it that is so important There should not
be anything sentimental or otherwise off-putting about prayer, and its subject
matter can be almost anything, from the rather horrible things that we would
prefer not to think about but know should be addressed to the delights of a
starlit night. The choice is infinite, the focus is ours and the work, ultimately,
is God’s. (Sister Teresa)
I admit that I do not follow a fixed routine for my prayers, forget about it
during daily chores until bed-time, but I delight in hearing the angelus bell
ringing from the catholic church nearby – these days it is still on winter time,
it should ring at noon and at 6 o’clock.- The first one I often hear when
pegging out clothes in the garden, and then I stop and say a rather childish
prayer which I learned from a German nursery, which led the children to
prayer at that time: “Where ever I go where ever I stand, dear God you are
with me, although I never see you, I know you are here.” It rhymes, in
German, and can be taught to little children and adults likewise. And a short
prayer is better than nothing at all. One young man once told me that he
used to pray in the bath, or in the shower at the start of the day. The booklet
‘Try Praying’ recommends: “Key. Every time you use a key today pray, ’God,
unlock my life to your influence’”. Another ‘bright idea’ was:” stone, carry a
stone with you and every time you put your hand on it, pray: ‘God, I want you
to be the solid thing in my life’.”
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