Pocket Prayers for Troubled Times
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About this ebook
John Pritchard
John Pritchard was born in Wales in 1964. His NHS career began with a summer job as a Casualty receptionist in his local hospital, after which eye-opening introduction he worked in administration and patient services. He currently helps to manage the medical unit in a large hospital in the south of England. ‘Dark Ages’ is his fourth novel.
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Pocket Prayers for Troubled Times - John Pritchard
Other books in the series:
Pocket Celtic Prayers
compiled by Martin Wallace
Pocket Graces
compiled by Pam Robertson
Pocket Prayers for Children
compiled by Christopher Herbert
Pocket Prayers: The Classic Collection
compiled by Christopher Herbert
Pocket Prayers for Advent and Christmas
compiled by Jan McFarlane
Pocket Prayers for Commuters
compiled by Christopher Herbert
Pocket Prayers for Healing and Wholeness
compiled by Trevor Lloyd
Pocket Prayers for Marriage
compiled by Andrew and Pippa Body
Pocket Prayers for Parents
compiled by Hamish and Sue Bruce
Pocket Words of Comfort
compiled by Christopher Herbert
Church House Publishing
Church House
Great Smith Street
London SW1P 3AZ
ISBN 978 0 7151 4195 3
Published 2009 by Church House Publishing
Introduction, compilation and individual prayers copyright © John Pritchard 2009
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or stored or transmitted by any means or in any form, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system without written permission, which should be sought from the Copyright Administrator, Church House Publishing, Church House, Great Smith Street, London SW1P 3AZ.
email: copyright@c-of-e.org.uk
Designed by www.penguinboy.net
Printed in England by Ashford Colour Press Ltd, Fareham, Hants
CONTENTS
Introduction
Work, unemployment and money
Hard times
Money worries
Working at God’s pace
Drudgery divine?
‘All shall be well’
Home life and relationships
Home life
Breakdown
Bringing up children
Fractured friendships
Our broken world
A world at war
Peacemakers
Our responsibilities
Four major issues
Seeing Christ
Lord of all hopefulness
Our fragile earth
The joy of the earth
Earth-abuse
Sustaining the earth
Not statistics but people
Blessing
In times of illness
When illness strikes
For the sick and those who care for them
Challenge to faith
Staying open
Beatitudes for disabled people
Dementia
Mental illness
Trust
In times of bereavement
Desolation
Letting go
Farewell
Hope
Our future
Into God’s hands
Commitment
Moving on
God’s blessing
The destination
Index of first lines
Index of authors and sources
Acknowledgements
INTRODUCTION
For all life’s beauty and fascination, none of us go through life unscathed. We all bear the scars of bad experiences, whether they be of illness, unemployment, financial anxiety, damaged relationships, or even global insecurity.
In troubled times men and women have always taken these problems to God, and they have not done so in vain. Through prayer they have found the resources to cope, to handle or even to overcome those problems.
Sometimes our prayers are too deep for words, and it is then that the Holy Spirit will be interceding for us when we can’t do it for ourselves (Romans 8.26). Sometimes, however, it helps to have the prayers of other people as we struggle to articulate what we feel or need.
That is what this book is for. The prayers may not exactly echo what is going on within us, but they may come close to doing so and enable us to pray more easily for ourselves. Moreover, it may be good to remember that it’s all right not to know what to say and that quiet listening, and attending to our ‘deep thoughts’, is as important as speaking. Some people even think of prayer as simply ‘thinking in the direction of God’.
A specific resource for praying in troubled times is the book of Psalms in the Old Testament. All human life is here, including a rich vein of prayer in distress. Psalms such as 6, 51, 55 and 69 all speak with fierce honesty from dark places. Those of a nervous disposition may want to brace themselves before trying Psalm 58! When we think we’re alone in our desert experiences, we may well find that the psalmist is