Rambling Rector

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From the Rambling Rector 

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What do you pray for?

 

I watched the first episode of the latest series of Race Across the World and two of the contestants asked each other what they prayed for. The answers came back as follows:

    1. To win

    2. Not to break an ankle

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This is an interesting contrast and even two definitions of success, one is to achieve something above another person by getting to the finishing post before anybody else and the other is to just get by unscathed. 

This led me to think about what it is that we pray for. Do you pray to succeed or to just get through life? Previously I have met with professional footballers who think that they cannot succeed without praying. That always leads me to ponder if two people on opposing teams pray to win, both cannot have their prayers answered and is the winning team dependent upon the faith of its players rather than their skill. 

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On the world stage we are seeing the leaders of the super powers claiming God is on their side and their respective religious leaders are praying for them. This is prayers asking for one group of human beings to be superior to another and even claiming they then have a God given right to end the lives of others. It is in fact an abuse of religion for selfish gain and that is wrong and the opposite of all religions.

 

So what do you pray for?

 

Prayer is far more than asking for things. It includes acknowledging that there is a creator that made this world and us; confessing our sins and receiving God’s forgiveness; giving thanks for all that we have; and offering our pleas to God. This sometimes fits the acronym ACTS:

    Adoration - we acknowledge the greatness of the creator God

    Confession – we admit our own failings

    Thanksgiving – we give thanks for what we have

    Supplication  - we ask for things.

 

Supplication is asking for things and not demanding. A quick look in a dictionary defines it as a ‘humbly offered request or plea, directed toward God.’ None of this is bargaining, demanding, or negotiating.

The ordering of the above gives us a good pattern to follow, God first, then our failings, thanks for what we have and ending with our requests. 

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Whilst I have approached this article from a Christian perspective, the same applies to the praying of all religions that believe in a creator. The term God is just there and used as a way of referring to that creator. The actual name doesn’t matter. Christians refer to God as Father, Son and Holy Spirit and the relationship between three is a complicated piece of theology in its own right. 

 

I have been running a ‘say one for me’ campaign for several years, where I will add somebody to my prayer list if anybody asks. That is still going, and do send me your prayer request, or pop into one of the churches and leave a prayer request on the prayer tree that is there.

 

The last thing I will say about this subject is that the place and method of praying doesn’t matter. Pray wherever you are, it can be in the kitchen, on top of a hill, in a car, wherever you feel comfortable. Sometimes having a special place helps and this place is different for everybody.

 

Jesus himself gave us a example of how to pray and what to pray and it is a prayer that is used in every service and most of us were taught in school. It includes all of the things that we need to pray for in one prayer.

 

Lords Prayer

Our Father in heaven,

hallowed be your name,

your kingdom come,

your will be done,

on earth as in heaven.

Give us today our daily bread.

Forgive us our sins

as we forgive those who sin against us.

Lead us not into temptation

but deliver us from evil.

For the kingdom, the power,

and the glory are yours

now and for ever.

Amen.

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Rev Chris