Last Sunday I was making paper aeroplanes in church! So were the rest of us. It was fun! Admittedly it was a family service, but wait for the rest of the story. We were each invited to write a prayer to God within the aeroplane. Then, at the call from the front, we took aim and our planes flew over to others. We then opened any “plane” that had landed near us and prayed the prayer inside. Then altogether, we sent them off again, and repeated the process several times Were we trivialising prayer? After all, prayer involves the amazing mental leap of believing that a Creator God “up there” or wherever we imagine He is, can receive our thoughts and words . Or were we demonstrating how simple God has made it for us to interact with him?

There are different ways of praying. The business man takes “time out” to have a silent retreat in a local monastery. The innocent 6 year old says a few words believing that her mummy will get better. The man with back-ache lets others pray for him, and I have personally seen several backs healed . There is the abused woman who desperately cries out to God as her last resort. Yes I could name one woman who found God that way.

There is one thing in common. All these prayers are heard by God because he is like a good father to each one who calls on him.

Elspeth Jackman, a member of Christchurch, New Greens, St.Albans

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