Tuesday 30th January 2007

“Dear God, give a bald guy a break.”

Continuing with my theme of the cartoon sitcom The Simpsons.

Homer prays. He believes in God, though largely avoids him. However, when things look bleak, or he’s desperate enough for something he turns to prayer. In the quote above, he finds a ‘miracle-cure’ for his baldness and asks God for help with the effects. Unsurprisingly, he doesn’t take time to thank God when, for most of one episode, his prayer is answered and he has a full head of hair.

Of course, this is a message that many of us have heard many times. Praying is not a wish list that we give to God and then hope for as much as possible.

I like the simplicity of Homer’s prayers. Mostly, he tells God what is on his heart. He doesn’t put on any airs and graces or try and be religious. I don’t like the way Homer thinks that God is little more than a good luck charm whom he can use or not use as the situation dictates.

Homer needs to realise that God is relevant to him. I think that this is the same need for many in society. Generally, people believe in God but consider him irrelevant. Perhaps, in practice, God seems irrelevant to much of our lives. He doesn’t seem to figure in our work or hobbies or home life.

A challenge for today is to make our prayer life relevant for the rest of our lives. Three things that might help with this:
· Firstly, fit prayer several times into our daily routine. The prayers don’t have to be long, but maybe when we’re at the photocopier or pass a certain billboard or advert.
· Secondly, make the prayers relevant to what’s going on in us and around us. Don’t make them just about you, pray for the people nearby or your customers/suppliers. Pray for the postman when he arrives.
· Thirdly, make time to listen to God, and act on what he says.