The strain of modern life is making such demands upon our nervous resources that some method of restoring the balance is becoming an urgent necessity. A visit to the GP might provide you with a bottle of pills but those who use them often find they don’t really satisfy a deeper need. Attending wellness classes and practicing yoga is another option open to all of us and many find some benefit but many overlook a secret that many Christians have used for centuries. For health of body as well as of mind each of us must find some way of renewing our resources. By far the most effective therapeutic agent known to us is Prayer. No subject has been so misunderstood as the practice of prayer. We have all much to learn about how to be still. In such a very busy world where most things are available 24/7 how on earth can we find time to BE STILL? Yet, in reality it is so simple that a child can follow it. Prayer is simply getting into touch with God and realising His presence with us and in us. There may be speech or there may be silence. The decisive factor is the realisation of the Divine Presence. If our first waking thought is of God and His complete ability to meet all the needs we have for the day, we shall begin well. But we ought also to make time for unhurried quiet, during which we wait in His presence for half an hour or more. William Bridge, the founder of the Old Meeting House Congregational Church, certainly set us a great example – he often got up at 4 am and spent hours in prayer. We need to let His peace flow into our lives. It would be difficult to exaggerate the importance of this period of quiet waiting each day. Those who have practised waiting each day are immediately conscious of loss when for any reason the process is interrupted. In the quiet time the whole personality opens to the Divine life. Human life is linked up with eternal resources of clam and strength and the “divine renewing” takes place. Prayer is a necessity for health of body, mind and soul.
John.
