Use prayer for good

LISTENING to Radio 2 I heard a presenter praising a new record which was doing well in the charts entitled 'I will pray for you'…naturally I picked up my ears to listen to the song.

The gist of the story is [in country & western fashion] a relationship had finished and his love turned to hate... he remembers going to church many years ago and in his despair he drops in to a local church and the pastor speaks about praying for each other and so the song continues with words something like this:

‘I pray that a flowerpot will fall from a windowsill and hit you on the head… I pray that your worst fears will be realised… and so it goes on praying for all the most awful things to happen. It finishes with a line 'I feel so much better now’.

Quite a parody on the good advice to pray for each other, found in every major religion, and not least the Christian way of life.

This was not what Jesus intended when he taught us how to pray in the gospels. The bible is full of prayers, in Philippians 4 v 6 we read one of many prayers written by Paul:

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.”

When Paul was writing to Timothy he gave him this advice in 1 Timothy 2:1: “I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone... that we may live peaceful and quiet lives” and James reminds us that ‘the prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective’ [Chapter 5 v 16].

This record may do well and be fun to listen to but don’t take it seriously or copy its sentiment.

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