This morning I heard an opera singer  being interviewed and he said the following , "I am absolutely not religious but before I go on stage I do say a short prayer." I know what he meant and I think this is a feeling shared by many people. There are a lot of people who would claim to being "not religious" they don't worship regularly and don't really let faith play a big part ,if any, in their lives. Yet there is no doubt that at times when we face something frightening we want there to be someone in control we can turn to.

 

There are a lot of scary moments aren't there, when illness out of the blue changes our lives, or someone we love dies and the bottom falls out of our world, or when we have a job to do and it seems too daunting to handle, at such times even if at no others, many people will offer up a prayer. I am convinced that God hears them equally well, I believe he hears that singer, we know he heard the thief on the cross beside him who in his last hours asked to be remembered. I don't think God only hears the prayers of those who are "model Christians" I like to keep the image of the prodigal in my head and that as we turn to him out of desperation , or last resort, he still runs towards us with open arms.

 

Jesus said

"I will never turn away anyone who comes to me..." John 6 vs 37