Praying for the world
There are many and varied worship styles in the chapel at St. Mikes and they are all from a particular perspective.
However, last Tuesday – praying for the world.
Half an hour of silent prayer, incense, candles, a map, book – operation world and quiet.
Choose a country and pray for it, lighting a candle and placing on the area.
Wonderful, silence and prayer.
I was though slightly more interested at the end of the short committal of prayers to notice the emphasis of prayer on the third world and developing countries or areas in in a time of war.
Now it’s not that these places don’t need praying for, but that, perhaps it is those areas or countries who perpetuate the poverty of the developing countries or those areas or countries who try to dictate to countries in civil war who need our prayers more.
Perhaps what I had thought of most looking at the map, was that our prayers were more along the lines of God please fix this rather than, enable us to stop oppressing others or help us to be more compassionate towards those in need.
The emphasis of prayer for me must be on the self or others for strength to do and act, rather than for others to be simply ‘fixed’.
