FIFTH WEDNESDAY IN LENT
Last night I heard a story about Bishop Desmond Tutu. When I first met him he was just the father
of a student at Berea College and the friend of a friend of mine Father Henry
Parker. Since then, like a lot of other
people, I have only seen him from afar.
But on one of his trips he was being shuttled from an airport by a
driver. Suddenly from the back seat
there was this quick request to stop. On
a freeway, the driver wondered whether there was something wrong with the
Bishop, or had they left something at the airport, or some other unmentionable
need for urgency. As he maneuvered the
car to the highway shoulder, he looked over his shoulder and asked what the
emergency was. With his trademarked
twinkle in his eye, he said, it was time to PRAY. The Bishop’s practice is to pray four times a
day. Somehow with him it’s easy to see
how in the midst of a traffic clogged drive to an engagement, the praying of
the daily office takes precedence. In my
public contacts with him he has almost always been bubbly and light hearted in
his comments, but beneath the surface and embedded in the words is a deep
understanding of his continuing relationship with God.
Luke 11:1 He was praying in a certain place, and after
he had finished, one of his disciples said
to him, "Lord, teach
us to pray , as John taught his
disciples." 2 He said
to them, "When you pray , say:
Father, hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come. 3 Give
us each day our daily bread. 4 And
forgive us our sins,
for we ourselves forgive everyone indebted to us
. And do not bring us to the time of trial."
How often do you pray?
Is it regularly scheduled?
Is it daily?
How can the church help you with your prayer?
How can we help each other with our prayer?
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