PRAYER AND THE PULPIT – THREE MEN OF PRAYER AND ONE PRAYING NUN by Joan Foo Mahony
Smitten By Faith Issue # 000068 July 22nd 2023
Is the world not prayerful today ? Is prayer still relevant in the 21st century ? I would say that as long as there is religion – any religion – in the world, the act of private prayer is still one of mankind’s most important spiritual practices. When we pray, we communicate our deepest thoughts, needs and wishes to God; we connect with God. And, I find such joy that I am able to talk to God; directly communicate with God - through Prayer.
Where did the word ‘prayer’ come from? Some say it comes from the old 10th century French word ‘prier’ ( the modern French word is ‘prière’ ) which means an earnest request or entreaty as we commune with God. In medieval Latin, the root word to pray is ‘precari’ which is to ask earnestly of God.
There are no special formulas or words for prayers or a perfect way of how to pray. By the way, as you can see, I mention the word ‘pulpit’ in the title - using my love of alliteration for the letter ‘P’. But I would like to clarify here that Prayer is NOT just for the Pulpit. Prayer is not just for preachers encouraging or inspiring their congregations from their ‘pulpits’ so to speak. Prayer is for you and me. In fact, praying is a very personal and private act. And praying for someone else is surely the most humbling form of prayer. This is what we see in the three men of prayer and one praying nun below.
I am prompted to write this article today because so many people I love and care for are very ill or have been suddenly struck down and left our earthly world for eternal life. For those who are sick, I am concerned about their suffering and pray continually for their full recovery; for those who are gone, I am saddened; I miss them but I am also comforted that they are at peace. At all times, I have never felt totally powerless because the one thing that I cling to which gives me hope and comfort is my faith, and that the one thing I am able to do is fall down on my knees - and pray for them
Right : St. Paul the Apostle Praying in Prison, oil on canvas by Rembrandt ( 1606-1669); Staatsgalerie in Stuttgart, Germany
Left : Hands clasped in earnest prayer
St. Paul the Apostle and Evangelist who energetically spread the teachings of Jesus far and wide in the first-century not only prayed all the time; he actively advocated praying. In St. Paul’s Letter to the Thessalonians, he said,
“Rejoice always; Pray continually. Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.”
(1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)
And in St. Paul’s Letter to the Philippians, , this great Evangelist said,
“ Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
( Philippians 4:6-7)
Since Genesis, the beginning of time and the many thousands of years thereafter, there must have been hundreds of thousands of writings about PRAYING and Prayers from the prophets, the Apostles, Saints, priests, preachers, theologians etc. Today, in my article on ‘Prayer and the Pulpit’, to highlight the relevance and power of prayer, I have decided to focus on some 19th and 20th century persons.
Here are just three extraordinary praying men and one woman of prayer.
The men are :
Charles Hadden Spurgeon – an English Baptist preacher
EM Bounds – an American Methodist preacher
Saint John Henry Cardinal Newman – the great Catholic theologian and priest
The woman is :
Saint Mother Teresa of Calcutta – the great Albanian Catholic nun and humanitarian
Left : Charles Hadden Spurgeon
Centre : E.M Bounds
Right : Saint John Henry Cardinal Newman
CHARLES HADDEN SPURGEON
I include here some joyful inspirational words from a wonderful and humble 19th century English Baptist preacher, Charles Haddon Spurgeon ( 1834-1892) who changed the lives of millions of ordinary Protestant Christians in England and for that, he is also famously known as the ‘People’s Preacher’ in the United Kingdom.
“If any of you should ask me for an epitome of the Christian religion, I should say it is in that one word—prayer.”
“All our perils are nothing, so long as we have prayer.”
“If you believe in prayer at all, expect God to hear you. If you do not expect, you will not have.”
“ God will not hear you unless you believe He will hear you; but if you believe He will, He will be as good as your faith.”
E.M BOUNDS
Edward McKendree Bounds or E.M Bounds ( 1835-1913) was a wise, quiet and passionate American Methodist Episcopal Church pastor who was convinced of the transformative power of prayer. As an author, among the more than 11 books he wrote, 9 were on the subject of prayer which was a fervent subject for E.M Bounds.
“No man can do a great and enduring work for God who is not a man of prayer, and no man can be a man of prayer who does not give much time to praying.”
“ If God is not our first thought in the morning, He will be an afterthought the rest of the day.”
“Faith gives birth to prayer, and grows stronger, strikes deeper, rises higher, in the struggles and wrestlings of mighty petitioning.”
“Prayer should not be regarded as a duty which must be performed, but rather as a privilege to be enjoyed, a rare delight that is always revealing some new beauty.”
SAINT JOHN HENRY CARDINAL NEWMAN
The impact of the philosophical, theological writings and preaching of Saint John Henry Cardinal Newman (1801-1890), a late convert to the Catholic faith has been far-reaching and enduring – in both the Anglican and Roman Catholic Churches. He studied at Trinity College, Oxford, going on to become an Anglican priest and then later, with his conversion to Catholicism, became a prolific and passionate Catholic theologian and priest whose profound and eloquent writings ( more than 40 books and 21,000 letters ) have lit up the teachings of the Catholic church.
On cultivating the habit of ‘continual prayer’, Newman said that the life of a Christian is a life of faith.
And what is faith “but the looking to God and thinking of him continually; holding habitual fellowship with him, that is, speaking to him in our hearts all through the day.”
Saint John Henry Newman also composed a very beautiful prayer with peace and eternal rest at the heart of it :
“O Lord, support us all the day long of this troublous life, until the shadows lengthen, and the evening comes, and the busy world is hushed, and the fever of life is over, and our work is done. Then, Lord, in thy mercy, grant us a safe lodging, a holy rest, and peace at the last.”
SAINT MOTHER TERESA OF CALCUTTA
Saint Mary Teresa Bojaxhiu MC ( 1910-1997) better known as Saint Mother Teresa, was an Albanian Catholic nun and the founder of the Missionaries of Charity dedicated to the poor and destitute in India. She was born Anjezë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu in Skopje, Macedonia. At the age of 18, she moved to Ireland to join the Sisters of Loreto from where she was then immediately sent to their school in Calcutta, India where she lived and died. At the time of Mother Teresa’s death in 1997, her order included hundreds of centres in over 90 countries with more than 4,000 nuns and hundreds of thousands of lay workers.
Mother Teresa prayed every day and she had this to say about prayer :
“God speaks in the silence of the heart. Listening is the beginning of prayer.”
“I used to believe that prayer changes things, but now I know that prayer changes us, and we change things.”
“Prayer is not asking. Prayer is putting oneself in the hands of God, at his disposition, and listening to his voice in the depths of our hearts.”
AMEN
When Christians conclude our prayers, we say “AMEN”. The word, ‘Amen’ can be found throughout the scriptures at the end of prayers. The word emphasizing something important, or if someone is in agreement. The word “Amen” carries within it not only faith, but certainty and steadfastness. It is often used in psalms, prayers and blessings as a simple : “yes, this is true.”
AMEN - YES, I DO CERTAINLY AGREE !
© Pen and ink drawing by Dr. Melanie Yeoh
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