Читать книгу Pocket Prayers for Troubled Times - John Pritchard - Страница 7

INTRODUCTION

For all life’s beauty and fascination, none of us go through life unscathed. We all bear the scars of bad experiences, whether they be of illness, unemployment, financial anxiety, damaged relationships, or even global insecurity.

In troubled times men and women have always taken these problems to God, and they have not done so in vain. Through prayer they have found the resources to cope, to handle or even to overcome those problems.

Sometimes our prayers are too deep for words, and it is then that the Holy Spirit will be interceding for us when we can’t do it for ourselves (Romans 8.26). Sometimes, however, it helps to have the prayers of other people as we struggle to articulate what we feel or need.

That is what this book is for. The prayers may not exactly echo what is going on within us, but they may come close to doing so and enable us to pray more easily for ourselves. Moreover, it may be good to remember that it’s all right not to know what to say and that quiet listening, and attending to our ‘deep thoughts’, is as important as speaking. Some people even think of prayer as simply ‘thinking in the direction of God’.

A specific resource for praying in troubled times is the book of Psalms in the Old Testament. All human life is here, including a rich vein of prayer in distress. Psalms such as 6, 51, 55 and 69 all speak with fierce honesty from dark places. Those of a nervous disposition may want to brace themselves before trying Psalm 58! When we think we’re alone in our desert experiences, we may well find that the psalmist is a good companion.

One thing we can be sure of is that no prayer goes unanswered, inasmuch as God will take and use every prayer to bring as much good as possible out of our situation. The bottom line is that Jesus has promised: ‘I will be with you always, to the end of the age’ (Matthew 28.20, TEV).

Trust him.

+John Pritchard

Bishop of Oxford