The "barbecue summer" that some in the Weather Centre had predicted has failed to materialise. Indeed our weather has been so wet (not even one totally dry day since August 15th) that there is a real fear in the farming community that the harvest may be lost. This fear has prompted the Bishop of Ferns in County Wexford to ask that "prayers for fine weather be offered at all Masses during the month of September".
In asking for prayers for this particular intention the Bishop is conscious of the difficulties being faced by many involved in agriculture generally. The difficulty cased by the rain he believes “constitutes a threat to the livelihoods and well bein
g of many in rural areas”.
For the believer, whether Christian, Muslim or Jew, to name but some, prayer is an important part of their spiritual life. Indeed many believe that prayer is a lifeline. Prayer can take many different forms: Thanksgiving, Petition and Praise are among the most common forms. The Bishop of Ferns is asking people to petition God to send good weather so that the harvest may be saved.
For the believer Prayer has always been seen as indispensable. Right from New Testament times, a follower of Jesus has been understood to be someone who gives regular time to prayer. The very first Christian letter that has survived insists: “Pray continually. Give thanks whatever happens; for this is what God wills for you in Christ Jesus”. (1 Thess 5:17-18)
Of course, as is the case with most things in life, one can also construct an impressive case against prayer. Some such arguments could be that it would be better for people to spend the time given to prayer helping other people. Surely we are reaching out to God and in real contact with God when we work generously for others?
From the very beginning of the Church’s history, the life of the baptised has always shown two basic signs, which characterize the community they enter. Their new orientation towards God expresses itself in the practice of worship and prayer (a vertical sign) and in loving service toward others (a horizontal sign). To the extent that the vertical or horizontal sign is missing in the life of the Christian, their discipleship is lacking.
One of the popular Christian hymns proclaims “they shall know that we are Christians by our love” This hymn does not mention prayer yet in reality the neglect of prayer will bring a “power failure” in the life of faith and love. In the long run, a faith that shows itself in love will not persevere when prayer is regularly neglected. This does not mean that prayer is easy, but the fact that something is difficult does not mean that it is not worth doing. In the Old and New Testaments prayer is taken for granted. Nobody invents prayer – it is taken for granted that human beings pray and should pray.
In our modern and complex world many people who claim to be followers of Christ find that they have little or no time for prayer. It may be relegated to a few short words or in many cases totally neglected. Yet most of us find time to eat our meals and watch our favourite soaps on television. If prayer is important then we must make time, as we do for the soaps and meals.
The first and perhaps the most important thing with regard to prayer, I believe, is having some definite timetable for our daily prayer. Unless we fix some place and time for prayer, we won’t pray regularly.
