Today, as we continue our series of sermons about prayer we are going to think about the subject of praying for ourselves - or to put it another way, ‘praying for me’.  How do I pray for me?  How do you pray for you?  But first, we must ask whether we do remember ourselves in prayer.  If we do not then...why not? What is stopping us?

Do we struggle with prayer generally? Perhaps we think it is really rather self-centred or even selfish to spend time with God with ‘me’ as the subject.  Well, Jesus thinks enough of you to be your Saviour, so we really should follow his example and value the life he has blessed us with by including prayers for self in our times of prayer.

Inevitably, this is going to be quite personal and it is not for me to tell you how to go about this.  However, one story that I heard a number of years ago was a real help to me in this respect and I would like to share it with you this afternoon:

It concerns an elderly gentleman who lived in a small village in France. The parish priest noticed that he spent several hours each day sitting in the church. As it was a Roman Catholic Church the consecrated bread and wine, the Blessed Sacrament, was reserved there either to be taken out to the sick or for adoration by the people who called in at the church to say their prayers.  The priest said to the man, ‘you spend so much time in prayer...what do you say to God in all these times when I see you praying before the Blessed Sacrament?’

‘Well,’ said the man, ‘I look at Him and He looks at me.’  The prayers were wordless. He simply came to be with God. In his tradition that meant going to the church, but other people may find that they can just ‘be’ with God at home.  Clearly, the man felt spiritually nourished by this time apart with God. It made him feel good.

Someone else may prefer to use words, either their own or those from a favourite prayer book.  It is a personal preference and we should pray in ways that feel natural to us.  Some people enjoy contemplation whilst others must use words. I don’t think that there is a right way or a wrong way because how we pray is very much related to our personalities.  The important thing is to seek ways of remembering that we have a relationship with God. It may be very chatty. It may be quite formal. It may even have the same kind of gentle ease that exists between people who have known each other for some considerable while and are quite happy being in the same room without feeling the need to make conversation.

However we engage in praying for ourselves the important thing is that we find God’s comfort and are reminded of just how much we are loved.  Sometimes life can be very, very difficult and however much other people are part of our lives, sometimes even our nearest and dearest just don’t seem to understand us completely. But God does and that is where praying for ourselves is such a help.  Equally, not everyone will like us. When that hurts, prayer for self can be a defence against further wounds and a reminder of God’s unconditional love.

Jesus said, in Matthew chapter 7, verse 7, ‘Ask and it will be given to you; Seek and you will find; Knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.’

Jesus wants us to pray.  We know to pray for those in need, friends who suffer and the sick.  Sometimes we can even be quite good at sending up little arrow prayers to God when we really need some immediate assistance.  However, often our own personal prayer time needs just that...some more time...intimate time that is just between God and you.  God will know what to do with that time even if we aren’t too sure!

But we do need to knock on that door!  God isn’t going to barge into our lives. We are the ones who need to set aside some time and then invite God in and...yes, I will say it...enjoy the company...also the wellbeing and protection and guidance that all come through prayer.

So... praying for ourselves. Sometimes it will be very specific. At other times it will be a reminder that we all have a relationship with God.  We may not have the same relationship with the divine that someone else has, but that doesn’t mean we are alone and have no access to God’s comfort and wisdom.  God is there for us. Let’s not forget to visit!
(John Foulds)