Prayer

Suddenly, prayer is a live subject. People you would not imagne engaging in heartfelt prayer are asking God to help a premiership footballer survive heart failure. Patrice Luamba, aged 23, collapsed while playing for Bolton Wanderers and was rushed to hospital, the watching crowd at Tottenham, Hotspur's ground stunned into silence as he was treated on the pitch. Players from both sides were on their knees in prayer when they realised how serious his condition was. Muamba's heart stopped working for some hours, and at the time of writing there are reports that he is beginning to show signs of recovery, and has started talking again. Everybody concerned is at prayer for him, because that is all that people feel they can do to help. The professional skills of surgeons at the London Chest Hospital have obviously been effective so far, although their patient is seriously ill. Everybody else is still praying. One of the most moving messages is from his fiancee Shauna Muganda, writing on twitter: 'All your prayers are working, people.Thank you so much. Every prayer makes him stronger.'  A fellow footballer, Gary Cahill, unveiled a message on his tee shirt after scoring a goal. 'Pray 4 Muamba'. It is clear that prayer is still a huge part of people's lives when they face uncertainty about what else might help. Those of us who promote prayer as a normal part of the life of faith may be encouraged to see all this, and while joining their prayers for a young man in desperate trouble, will be intrigued to see that thousands who do not  appear to be people of prayer turn to it in extremity. Irrespective of  belief or religious commitment, they obviously think prayer 'works'.

Hammer

Morning prayer for me often centres on the BBC programme 'Homes under the Hammer'. It is a perfect illustration of the way God can take and transform a property, in my vision, the property being a human being.Two delightful 'priests' being Lucy Aexander and Martin Roberts find property in various stages of disrepair or even dereliction.  They attend an auction at which somebody puts in an offer for it. They discuss what needs to be done to make it habitable and how much it might cost. Later they go back to the property to see how far the transformation has progressed. Often what had appeared to be a hopeless house has been improved beyond belief, so that it is now 'fit for purpose'.  I picture the auction room in which  God makes the top bid so that the property becomes his own. The cost is what God pays for the property in suffering on the cross. Now it can be transformed and made a thing of use and beauty. A troubled person, in disrepair, can place their lives 'under the hammer' and  undergo a complete transformation after our Father puts in a top bid to make them his own. 

wind

The huge amounts of money being invested on wind farms is now making the government think again about the wisdom of extending the idea. An article in The Spectator by Matt Ridley questions whether wind power as an energy resource for the nation will ever work. Despite all that has been spent world-wide so far, 'the total energy generated each day by wind has yet to reach half of one percent... If wind power was going to work it would have done so by now.'  There are signs, says Ridley that the government is 'coming to its senses about the whole fiasco'.  One reason why wind power cannot be relied on to provide sufficient energy to replace other forms of fuel is that the wind cannot be relied on to blow with sufficient force. I am reminded of events in the Bible which speak of the importance of wind. Elijah at Mount Carmet was hiding in a cave at Horeb when he heard a gale so powerful that it split rocks. (Useful to find shale gas?) Isaiah was aware of the power of God that would sort out disobedient people through a 'scorching wind coming down from the heights'. Pentecost was anticipated by 'the blowing of a mighty wind from heaven' on the cowering apostles. Terrified disciples were threatened with a  'furious squall' on Galilee. Revelation 6 speaks of a strong wind removing mountains and islands. Are the 3,500 turbines now despoiling land and seascapes like the Golden calf which Aaron erected in defiance of God - a totally useless pieceof  idolatry. The Lord 'struck the people with a plague', it is reported. We are not told what it was... perhaps a total loss of power.