Mike's musings

A hard week

(backposting) It's been difficult this week. We've been fine, but a number of friends and family are having a bad time. Not things I can talk about, but my prayer life is being extended. It is, of course, never good to be in that position, but I think it's an important stage of my spiritual life. That shouldn't sound so strange: I'm grateful for the opportunity to be able to prayer for friends and family.

Labels: prayer

Theology, prayer and wider life

I'm finding it quite hard to be reflective and theological in the midst of trying to work out where my professional life is going at the moment. There's still a possibility of a job via Certicom, at RIM, but I'm having to work out what other opportunities will present themselves, particularly as a job I was hoping might come together in the next couple of months has disappeared - for now, at least. So, I'm reading around moving into contracting, which is one option, and following up other leads, too. Time to get back in touch with those friends I've not spoken to a while, and do some good old networking.

Having said the above about theology, I've come up with a plan for what to preach about when I'm over in Bocking for Pentecost, as guest preacher(!). "Strengthen ye the weak hands, and confirm the feeble knees" - Isaiah 35.

And, to crown it all, we had to take Miri to Colchester Hospital A & E because her elbow ligament popped out again. My fault this time. "Strengthen ye the weak elbows" is more like it...

Labels: job, miri, prayer, theology

Interesting reading(s)

The readings for Morning Prayer today were interesting: very thought-provoking, in fact. They were Deuteronomy 8.1-10 and Matthew 6.25-34. The first tells the Israelites that God didn't forsake them while they were in the wilderness for 40 years: they didn't go hungry, and there clothes didn't wear out. What's more, he's going to give them a land of milk and honey: "a land where you may eat bread without scarcity, where you will lack nothing". The second is the famous "consider the lilies of the field" passage, telling people not to worry about what they'll drink, eat and wear: God will provide. "So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today’s trouble is enough for today."

Although there have been mendicant orders through the ages who have gone out with nothing, and relied on others to support them, most people do accept that at least some planning is sensible, and particularly so, it would seem, in a recession. But the message seems to be that we shouldn't get hung up on worry, and that God _will_ provide. This is a hard thing to hear, particularly as God often doesn't seem to provide - at least what we want. And is it easier for those of us with jobs, and houses, and families and educations to accept this message? Or is it harder if you're always expecting your next meal, rather than being in a position where you've always known that that you can't expect it? So, today was one of those days when the Daily Office really spoke to me, and I honestly don't know what to make of it. Other than to realise that I don't understand, and I need to think and pray.

Labels: bible, money, prayer

Doing the job

I was driving to Frankie's baptism today, and came across a diversion - which nearly took me to Husborne Crawley, as it happens. As I went past it in the other direction, I suddenly realised that I was wearing my clerical collar, and I had to offer my services. I can't yet provide last rites - not until I'm ordained priest, and I'm only a deacon at the moment - but I could offer prayer and support for anyone who needed it. So, I went back, and was waved through when I offered to help. There was a fatality - who'd already been moved - and noone else involved, so in the end, I wasn't needed, but I was ready, and I think that's the important thing.

Labels: baptism, death, prayer

Prayers

I've been contacted by someone, out of the blue, on another topic, who's worried that her house is haunted and that there are spirits in her life. This is entirely out of my experience, and she doesn't even live in the UK, and I've encouraged her to find a priest - of whatever denomination - to help her, as it's something she's worried about, and she's worried that she's losing her mind. Please pray for her.

Labels: prayer

Prayers for Sally today

That's all.

Labels: prayer

Laptopery

Most stuff is working now. Can't get my machine to connect via 3G via my phone, but I've now got Skype working with my bluetooth headset, which is pretty nifty. /home and swap partitions encrypted, 2Gig RAM, SecondLife all there.

Jo decided to read me a story, and got a book out. "Stephanie and the bad hair day," she announced (she's into Lazytown at the moment). "Or Piglet is Entirely Surrounded by Water," I countered. "No, Daddy: Stephanie and the bad hair day." Fair enough.

I suggested we said a prayer after the light was turned off. I suggested praying for Mummy, Daddy, Miri and Jojo, but Jo came up with a lovely little prayer thanking God and Jesus for Father Christmas (and not just giving her presents, but everybody). She also reckons he brings Christmas trees, but hey. It was a beautiful prayer, and I was very impressed.

Labels: computers, geekery, Jo, prayer

12-10 (and some theology, at last)

There's a classic theological dilemma about whether it's right for Christian nations to pray to God for them to beat their enemies in war (everyone does, of course), but it's hard to see how people _can't_ believe in God when he sends a result like today's by England against Australia in the Rugby World cup. I can see that if you're Australian, you might take a different view.

On a serious note, though, this brings questions about what it's right to pray for. I _didn't_ pray (well, not consciously, at least!) for a win over Australia, though it's bl**dy marvellous, but that's not the point. Even praying for a parking space - which is likely to mean that someone else will be deprived of one - is an issue which has come up recently (after the Church of England published a se of prayers for commuters and travellers). I think this is one of those areas when we have to give up our prayers to God: in two ways. The first of these, of course, is to direct our prayers to God: that's what prayers are about, certainly prayers of intercession. The second is about realising that God knows better how to answer our prayers than we do. Here's the great prayer of St Chrysostom (as used at Mattins and Evensong in the Book of Common Prayer:

Almight God, who hast given us grace at this time with one accord to make our common supplications unto thee; and dost promise, that when two or three are gathered together in thy Name thou wilt grant their requests; Fulfil now, O Lord, the desires and petitions of thy servants, as may be most expedient for them; granting us in this world knowledge of thy truth, and in the world to come life everlasting.

The key phrase here is "as may be most expedient for them". Our knowledge is finite, and time-limited: God's, on the other hand, is limitless and outside time. So, is it OK to pray for things that we know may have a (negative) impact on other people? Here are my off-the-cuff guidelines:

• assuming that the prayer is heartfelt, then yes
• assuming that the prayer is not motivated by malevolence, then yes (e.g. when we actively _don't_ want somebody else, whether that person is a particular person or not, to get that parking space)
• assuming that we're willing to allow God to decide how to answer the prayer
• assuming that we're happy to accept God's decision

These may be difficult things to do, certainly all at once, and we're human, broken and fallible, so we might not managed them, but I hope (and believe) that God will understand and accept prayers offered in the spirit that I've outlined above.

Labels: prayer, rugby, theology

Prayers offered, prayers answered

First of all, please pray for Sally, and her son Chris. He's got serious heart problems, and went to the Brompton for tests today. He's got "atrial flutters, which apparently isn't good if you've only got one heart atrium left. So, prayers for them both and all their family and friends.

On a different note, I was just about to be driving past Si and D's house, and thought "Si's away this week - I know, I'll phone D and see how she's doing." So I did, and she told me she really wasn't well. She was waiting for the midwife (who was already running late), but told me she didn't want to come round: she'd be all right. So, I carried on, dropped off some dry cleaning, and decided to ignore her: I popped round. She wasn't well, and I decided to wait round for the midwife. Good thing, too - the midwife wasn't happy. So, I took D into hospital. Picked up Morgan on the way, Terry, his grandfather, picked him up at the hospital.

In the end, she's fine. Lots of prayers answered there. Si's back from Edinburgh (caught an early plane), and all's well. It's what friends do.

Labels: friends, prayer

Bredband

No, not a mis-spelling. This is how you say "broadband" in Swedish. However, it seems that my hotel misunderstood the term, and thought it was "bread-van", because that's about how fast the packets are travelling.

Prayers for Dean, Mel's fiancé - after thinking that he had a bad rib, it appears that he has a collapsed lung, and will be in hospital for a week. This really isn't very nice stuff.

Labels: prayer, travel

Theology

This has felt quite a long way away recently, but it's resurfacing. Tomorrow is a Synchroblog. Also, today we went out for a meal just off the Strip in Las Vegas. On the way back, I sat next to someone who works for us as a contractor, rather than full-time, and mentioned that I'm training to be a priest. He asked which denomination, and when I replied episcopalian/Anglican, he mentioned that this is where he'd been brought up, though he currently goes to a presbyterian church. He immediately asked me for my views on the homosexual question (pro-, in case anyone's missed it), and we had a very interesting conversation about honesty and integrity.

Meg is a little better today, but it's still touch and go.

Please pray for a colleague of mine, Paul, who's been off for several months, but who I've only just discovered has had a lung transplant.

Labels: honesty, prayer, work

Tomorrow - baby

Tomorrow we need to be at the hospital at 0730. We'll have a new baby by the end of the day, God willing. Please pray for us.

Labels: baby, prayer

Operation

Dad's operation seems to have gone OK, but we're unlikely to know for sure until a month away or so. Thanks for the prayers.

Labels: family, prayer

Baby Tommy

We've still not heard whether the operation to save little Tommy's life, which was due to take place yesterday morning, was successful. In my book, that still makes it worth praying about.

Labels: prayer