ROOM FOR PRAYER
A question that we should be continually asking ourselves is whether we make sufficient room in our life for prayer! As Christians we are a people of prayer and we believe in the power of prayer. From our earliest days we are taught the words of “The Lord’s Prayer” – words given by Jesus. As we read through the Bible we witness Jesus at prayer, often alone and, in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus prayed to God that this “cup of suffering” might be taken from him. Yet Jesus acknowledged that if it were not to be, then God would give him the strength to face the next few hours of torture and crucifixion.
As a minister, I am often asked to pray for people as I am sure most of you have. This, though, can be daunting to folks. What to say? How to say it? When? Well, my advice is to be natural. Don’t try to copy what you hear on a Sunday morning, as that’s “Public Prayer”. Our prayers do not need to be grammatically correct or in poetic form – our prayers only need to be genuine! However, the biggest issue with prayer is finding the time or making room in our hectic lifestyles for prayer.
This month the local churches under the “Hope” banner repeated last year’s week of prayer event. For seven days, 24 hours a day, 8-15 November, there was a room in the centre of Strathaven where all were invited to pop in when it suited and spend some time in prayer.
With every good wish
Shaw J Paterson
