I have a couple of friends who have noticed that an increasing number of drivers do not know the width of their cars. Their observation is easy to test when you see an approaching driver stop a couple of feet in from the hedge on their side of the lane, and who then expects you to complete the passing manoeuvre. Some drivers even stop in the narrowest part of the road when a wider bit is only yards away. All this helps to explain the old saying, “There’s nowt’ as strange as folk”, and as I have travelled the byways of life, I am now confident that it is a truism.
Folk are strange, not just in their driving habits but also in the way in which they think about religion. It is almost eighty years since I was taught the Lord’s Prayer and so first began to think about prayer in general. Prayer has a fascination that has raised personal questions such as, “Am I wasting my time, ‘How can my prayers possibly matter to God, Am I just being selfish and self-centred, and how can Jesus possibly deal with so much conversation all at one time?” Technical questions also pop into mind such as, Are prayers dealt with one at a time or are they collated into groups and dealt with as a batch? I have also asked myself if prayers can be answered directly or obliquely. I have even wondered if a prayer has been answered although I had actually forgotten all about it. In fact, I have questioned prayer so much, that nowadays I rarely hear anyone tackle the topic from an angle I have not already covered.
I have however noted that most people will pray when frightened out of their skins, but very few pray when things are going well. I have also found that a lot of people want to ask questions but very few want to explore possible answers. This latter point in particular raises a question as to where people’s minds are centred when they pray, and I wonder if folk close their eyes and imagine a fuzzy image of God somewhere up there in distant Space. If so, an alternative occurs to me. How about it if maybe, just maybe, things would be clearer if thoughts were focussed nearer to home.
As children we learned that God’s presence is already within us, in fact the sacramental ritual of Christening reinforces that notion, and so for the rest of our lives we have an option to develop that presence through our thoughts and deeds and prayers.
What then about the idea that during prayer we can have conversation with the God already within us. Not a God out there but the God within. Maybe then, our prayers can be more quickly and easily understood and we ourselves can become a part of the answer for which we pray.
This column is not really a place for a detailed exposition of how many of my own prayers have been answered, although I will own to having seen lives enriched, situations made right and seen some die in solace, as turmoil and fear was replaced by confidence and hope.
Since the beginning, great thinkers have regarded religion as being a natural part of human nature and this leads me to feel that within its scope, each of us is able to fully express the vast range of emotions and intellect with which we were born.
Some readers may know the line from a hymn by the Berkhamsted poet William Cowper, (1731-1800) “Sometimes a light surprises the Christian while he sings. “, and I reckon the same is true of prayer.
Mention of surprise however, reminds me of a tale from New York and of a totally unexpected surprise for all involved.
A young lady was leaving a New York boutique when a burly man grabbed her handbag and ran off. The shopkeeper immediately called 911 and gave the police a very detailed description of the snatcher. Within minutes the man was caught and taken straight back to the store where the policeman read him his rights and told him to stand up straight for a positive identification.
Before anyone could react and without pausing for breath, the trembling suspect blurted out,
“Yes, officer, I’m positive that’s the lady I stole the handbag from.”
View from the Pew 