Thoughts & Prayers

Hello Dear Readers!

Two hands working can do more than a thousand clasped in prayer

Anon

Sunday morning’s sure have changed.

Once upon a time Sunday would start with a leisurely morning involving a snooze, a double fried egg sandwich and, if I was feeling extra extravagant, a second cup of coffee.

Recently though, this has changed. This idyllic routine has been interrupted, replaced by a new regime, one that entails rising early, eating a quick breakfast (one coffee at a maximum), and even, most terribly of all, getting  fully dressed and leaving the house (I do find it wise to do the former before the latter. It saves so many complaints.)

So what could possibly have caused this sudden change in behaviour, you ask? Well the answer is simple. You see, dear readers, for the last three weeks I have been trading in my egg sarnies for a visit to the local church hall.

Preaching To The Choir

Now long term readers will know I’m not big on religion, (see Don't Say A Prayer For Me Now for instance), and, no, I’ve not had any kind of Damascus moment to change this. I’m still as sceptical as ever, still waiting for anyone to supply me with some verifiable, non-anecdotal evidence for the existence of any kind of deity, (and then of course for the identity of said deity).  No, the reason for my recent membership of the congregation is far more prosaic.

My wonderful wife, Tina, has been making remarkable progress in her recovery from her recent illness (see Different Strokes), and part of that recovery has entailed getting back to something like normality. Now, obviously this is a slow process, but some of the cornerstones of Tina’s life is her Christianity, her fellowship at the Salvation Army and of course the many close friends she has as a result of said fellowship and, although we may have our differences over the first of these things, I’d be a pretty shoddy husband to allow this to affect the last two.

Thus it has been that the last three Sunday morns have seen a slightly apprehensive blogger sitting beside his lady wife whilst hymns, bible verses and prayers whizz merrily over his head. In fact Prayer was itself the subject matter for this week’s sermon. It wasn’t one that really resonated on any level with myself however.

Although I have my criticisms of organised religion in all its varied flavours I can appreciate the feelings of fellowship within a chosen group that it can inspire. I can appreciate how, on a personal level It can help people through life’s trials, perhaps motivate them to try to live up to an ideal, and promote reflection in a busy world. Prayer mystifies me though.

Not A Prayer

I’m not talking about someone praying for personal strength, peace, or patience but the kind of prayer mentioned today,  one that is designed to bring about real measurable results for either the person praying or some third party. The first thing that puzzles me is as follows. If a perfect god has a perfect plan (as I’m led to believe) then any given outcome would be part of that plan or... not.  Prayer then would be either useless or would imply the plan and therefore the deity is less than perfect.

The congregation was also asked today how they felt when someone tells them they are praying for them. Tina shot me a look at this point and made her own whispered enquiry as to what I thought prayer represented. I believe my reply was ‘The bare minimum.’
  

                            
via GIPHY

Now before anyone gets too offended allow me to elaborate. 

Walking The Talk

As a non-believer, prayer ranks alongside wishes for good luck, happy thoughts, and positive vibes unless, and this for me is the important bit, unless they are backed up by concrete, real world actions. A prayer may work, it may not. To the best of my knowledge there is no compelling objective evidence in it's favour, but YMMV. An offer to help however? Well that is something that has a very real and very measurable effect. 

Now, I’m not going to lump all religious people together here and, from Tina’s recent troubles, I know that there are people out there who will back up their thoughts and prayers with a hospital visit; an offer to walk the dog,or even look after her for a few days; or the offer of  a much needed chat to allow Tina to vent her frustrations. I also know that there are people who are too far away, too busy, or too embroiled in their own struggles to do much more than to pass on their best, and that is how it should be. 

So what am I saying here then? I think that what I’m saying is that if you are a believer, thinking of offering up a prayer, or even just leaving the word in a passing comment then perhaps think instead of becoming the answer to that prayer. Offer help, donate to a charity in the wake of tragedies, be an ear to someone’s troubles.  You may not be able to do a lot but you may just find that the little you can do makes a huge difference.

Until next time…