A local Christian dropped a letter into our church post box last Thursday. He had taken the trouble to write out two short prayers from the Book of Common Prayer that seem particularly appropriate to our present circumstances. The first was for a plea to the God of grace for help and deliverance in time of sickness and mortality; the second a plea for God to be gracious in answering to the needs of those in hospitals and places of care, whether the sick or those looking after them. I was grateful for the letter... Apart from the value of the prayers themselves, the letter served as a timely reminder of something that seems so lacking in our day. Why are we hearing so few calls for prayer at a time when our nation is groaning under affliction? It is a sign of how God is not in our thoughts, which is not a sign of human progress and maturity but, rather, of regress and folly.  

Christians know that God Almighty hears prayers - when we come to Him as those trusting in Jesus Christ as Saviour. Christ has opened the door for us to come to God. Our first prayer ought to be, 'God be merciful to me the sinner!' Once we have experienced His saving graciousness, then we know we can keep on coming to Him with our prayers and requests.