OF ENGLAND
Prayer of the Month
We read in Mathew’s Gospel (18:1 – 3), “ At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked ” Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” He called a child, whom he put among them and said, “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will not enter the Kingdom of Heaven.” “
Judging from the question the disciples asked, they appear to be unexpectedly ignorant, in spite of having spent so long listening to the teaching of Jesus. The answer to the question is equally surprising ― to be like a child? Yet after all we often pray to our “Heavenly Father”, not least when we say the prayer Jesus taught us. That prayer is, in essence, a statement of how to live out the Kingdom, a lifting of our hearts and minds to God. In it there are five distinct themes: Adoration and glorification of God the Father; Confession of sins and seeking forgiveness; Thanks for blessings, Concern for the welfare of others as well as ourselves, Asking for guidance on how to respond to the challenges in life that beset us
Here is a prayer in his own handwriting, by a child, John Livesley.
Although it is expressed in unsophisticated language as we would expect from a child, it does contain these five elements and it is very relevant to today’s world.
“ …………….Unless you change and become like little children………….”
John Livesley’s prayer is taken from “The Lion Prayer Collection” compiled by Mary Bachelor and published by Lion Publishing plc 1992.
Reg Bott
