When I think about prayer I sometimes think that I don’t have time to pray or I don’t know what to pray or even why I should be praying.
But today – in the midst of Covid – all those questions are answered.
I do have the time. I do know what to pray. And I do know why I should be praying.
So now it comes down to when and how.
Do it first thing
There’s no time like the present, my mum used to say. And she was right. You can’t do things yesterday. You can’t get on and do things tomorrow (at least, not until tomorrow comes.) You can only do things now.
There’s a wonderful amplification of my mum’s old adage – made by John Trusler in the 18th century – who said “There’s no time like the present - a thousand unforeseen circumstances may interrupt you at a future time.”
Indeed. Even in these strange and slow times, there are still constant interruptions and distractions – otherwise known as your children, your pets or the internet.
So make prayer the first thing you do when you get up in the morning
Keep it simple
And keep it simple. Just say thank you for something and please help me with something. Keep a list of names of people who most need prayer at this time and say them out loud.
Your morning prayer might look like this.
‘Thank you, Lord, for another beautiful day. The sun shining on the trees outside my window.
Please help every tired and anxious nurse making his or her way to hospital right now. Those in the middle of their shifts. And those, exhausted and distressed, making their way home.
And for [Anna, Carmen, Marco, Pete, Ramesh, Wang, my Mum and my Aunty Isla] – insert here your own names!
Your prayers DO make a difference
Prayer is important. Prayer does count.
When we pray, we are connecting to the essential and undergirding I AM of all existence.
At a time like this, more than ever, we need to do this. To connect both with God and with each other.
Of course, we can’t be physically together with our community and colleagues. But we can be spiritually together. And this is what is happening when we pray.
The world needs our prayers. The world needs our love.
So let’s pray.
And let’s do it now.