Prayer Column - March 2021

Build on a strong foundation

We scarcely need telling, for we see it every day, but all is not well on Planet Earth. It is warming more than it should, and we can move less than we would. I could mention also pollution, resource scarcity, waste mountains, desert creep, wildlife extinctions, and human bodily and mental ailments galore – each clamouring for attention. What to do?

If God made the world, and these problems concern his world, then he ought to have views on all this. If so, then the Bible should be the place to look. Those were my thoughts which 45+ years ago led me to start Bible studies with environmental science students at Bradford University where I then worked. It has remained a focus of my interest ever since.

What I have come to see with ever-deepening clarity and conviction is: (a) when God made the world is was very good; but (b) humans, created and appointed as his stewards on earth, chose to disobey him, thinking they knew better, thus causing creation to malfunction seriously and widely; however, (c) God then embarked on a rescue plan which culminated in Jesus. Jesus was sent by God as the cure for all the world’s ills, but his ways are counter-intuitive when we think we know better. To join in his rescue we must recognise that Jesus’ way is right, not ours, and believe it to the point of actually doing what he says. Apart from him, he warned, we can do nothing fruitful; and if our efforts are not directed by him we continue to be destructive – for we are rebelling against God, which is how it all went wrong in the first place (Gen 3; Mt 12:30; Jn 15:5). We can pray: for forgiveness; for guidance; for faith to follow wherever he leads; for help on the way; and for each other.

Roy Lorrain-Smith

A prayer for each week

Re-creator Lord, who so loved your world that you sent Jesus to offer us and the planet a new and sustainable life, please forgive us for ever thinking otherwise. Amen.

Re-creator Lord, who made the world and knows all its inner workings, please direct our minds to read and grasp your word and our hearts to trust and obey it. Amen.

Re-creator Lord, who sends the Holy Spirit to be with and within us always, please give us the sense to ask for and accept the help he can give as we follow you. Amen.

Re-creator Lord, who offers new life to all who respond to Jesus, please bless all our companions on the way, that together we may build on your firm foundation. Amen.

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