27th November 2020

One of our favourite scripture passages are the words of Jesus “Come apart to a deserted place and rest a while.” Elizabeth and I apply that to our prayer time. We have to admit that is easier said than done and we recognise that for many of us prayer disappears from our daily life. We need to be realistic in our attempts to establish a specific time of prayer. If we fix a time to begin with which is on the shorter side, we are far more likely to succeed. Five minutes prayer no matter what happens is a good deal more satisfactory than any number of good intentions to pray for longer periods which, if not kept, only lead to a sense of failure, frustration and guilt.

Finding time is never easy and we need to look carefully at our daily routine. Our own ‘natural clocks’ may have something to say. Early morning is probably best for most of us, but some of us don’t come to until lunchtime! Family pressure times should be avoided. I knew of one young person who always managed to have her ‘quiet time’ when the washing up was being done!

If we make time to come apart and rest a while we shall find that our daily living is transformed as we view it from a different perspective. If we have managed to organise our time to develop our relationship with God it is likely that our whole life will become more organised. We shall find ourselves much more aware of the presence of God especially in these extraordinary days.

Prayer is God’s gift to us. The finding of space, the setting aside of time and our willingness to use odd moments are all indications of the degree of earnestness with which we seek that gift. We might learn to begin our day with “Good morning, Lord!” which I think is a bit better than “Good Lord, morning!”

Peter Webb