The ministry of prayer

On of the realities of life as a Methodist Minister is that one lives in a church-owned house.  In some ways that's a positive thing.  It means that if anything goes wrong with the house, or some remedial work needs doing, then someone else looks after it.  There are, however, two main downsides with living in a manse, the first being that because it doesn't belong to us we are not free to do what we like with it, as we would be if it was ours.  We are always aware that it's not our property, and after we move on someone else will come to live in it.

The second main drawback with living in a manse is the fact that it is not only our home but it is also the base for my working life.  When I worked as an accountant, after work I went home, and there was a clear separation between my work life and my home life.  Generally speaking, I could leave work issues at work; home was for my personal and non-work life.  Living in a manse, there is no such clear separation.

Partly with that in mind, some years ago Sue and I bought a little flat in Scarborough.  Our intention was that we could use it as a "bolt-hole," and when we lived in Doncaster we were able to nip up to Scarborough fairly regularly.  It's not so easy now that we live in Leicester, but perhaps because we get up there relatively infrequently these days, we appreciate the opportunities even more.

One of our tasks before we leave the flat to return home is to read the gas and electricity meters.  Reading the gas meter is a relatively straightforward matter; the electricity meter is somewhat more problematic, because it is situated in one of the other flats.  The day before we were due to return home after a recent visit, Sue nipped down to read our meter.  When the lady who owns the flat opened the door, they got into conversation.  We don't know the lady well, though have seen her and chatted briefly on occasions.  Neither do we know much about her background, but as far as we were aware she wasn't particularly a "religious" person.  

The lady shared with Sue about a particularly difficult and intractable health issue which she was facing.  Sue's response was to say, "I'm not sue what I can do to help, but I can certainly offer to pray for you."  With that, the lady collapsed into Sue's arms, gave her a big hug, and said "Oh, thank you, yes please!"  Sue was able, there and then, to pray with her about the situation she was facing.  The lady was so very grateful for the offer and experience of Sue's prayer.  It was a real expression of Christian love and compassion, and I'm not sure whether I would have thought to have even made the offer.

Over my years as a Methodist Minister I have met lots of people through funerals, weddings etc., many of whom have little or no church connection.  Yet in the vast majority of occasions when I have offered to pray before I leave, the answer has been "yes please."  I never force it on anyone, but most are delighted with the offer.  Prayer is such a wonderful gift to us.  Through it we connect with our Creator; through it God touches us in ways we perhaps cannot fully put into words.  To paraphrase a former well-known advert, prayer reaches things nothing else can reach!