Life & Work Magazine
Life & Work Magazine


6 mins

The Big Question

The Rev Norman Afrin, minister at Glasgow: Sandyhills
Gordon Pennykid DCS, Prison Chaplain-HMP Edinburgh

“Prayer is such an important part of the life of a Christian.

“I remember my youth leader once said: ‘Prayer is like oxygen for the soul.’ In prayer we get the chance to communicate with the creator of the heavens and the earth – the great I Am Himself.

“For prayer to be integral in my ministry it first has to be a core foundation in my life.

“My wife and I start every morning in prayer with our two boys and we also pray at bedtime with them. In our family devotion we use a resource called devotional dippers as well as reading Scripture.

“Outwith family patterns I pray at different times throughout the day. Before I go into any meeting I ask for God’s wisdom and protection.

“This may look like me spending just a couple of moments in the car praying in the quietness of my heart.

“I also spend time praying everyday by myself, praying about ongoing situations, our congregation and the sermon that’s coming up.

“In this time I put on worship music and spend time praying in God’s presence. I also think it is important for God’s people to gather and pray and this also shapes my prayer life.

“A number of us gather on a Sunday morning before church and pray, we also gather weekly at 7:15am on a Wednesday and pray for an hour. There are about 15 people who gather at this time.”

“I am reminded of a children’s song which we learned years ago at Spring Harvest ‘riding on my bike, riding on my bike – I can talk to Jesus while I’m riding on my bike’.

“My simple answer to this is everywhere and anytime – however it seems these days to be particularly when travelling. This is probably a good thing as it keeps me awake… other attempts throughout my life to find a time or a special place to pray have all too often resulted in my falling asleep!

“It is my privilege to work with many people at their most vulnerable. That often includes a time of prayer both with and for prisoners. That daily cycle informs my prayer life more than anything else. Walking around the prison wondering who I will meet next and asking God for guidance – is my usual prayer.

“My journey to and from work has become key to this in regards my personal prayer life – praying about the plans for the day and who I will encounter, interrupted by travel bulletins or a familiar song! Knowing what is planned for the day my prayers include staff who are maybe facing particular troubles or challenges at home or at work.

“The journey home is an opportunity to release myself of the stories from the day and hand them over to God. The privilege of Prison Ministry might easily become a burden without this time. Taking the time to remember the conversation, the silence or the tears.

“Thankfully God hears them all!”

The Rev Jim Murphy, Faith Services Leader, Justice Services
Fiona Devoy, Reader, Edinburgh
The Rev Anne Stewart, Chaplaincy, The Shack, HMP Castle Huntley, Longforgan

“My first prayer of the day is at 5.30 am when I am walking the dog.

“It is so peaceful and what always comes to mind is ‘Be still and know that I am God’.

“It sets me up for the day ahead to have a peaceful time alone in prayer with God.

“I always include the Lord’s Prayer in my first prayer of the day and in my last prayer when in bed at night.

“I remember a few years ago sharing with a congregation that I was most annoyed with myself because sometimes I would fall asleep whilst praying in bed at night.

“There was a retired minister in the congregation.

“As I was shaking hands with everyone at the door after the service, he said to me: ‘Jim, what a beautiful way to fall asleep, talking to God.’

“When I arrive at HMP Addiewell, before I start my day I always go into the sanctuary and stand at the cross and pray.

“I think it is a very humbling way to begin every morning by returning to the foot of the cross.

“Prayer is very important in my daily life in the prison as I often spend time in prayer with individual prisoners and in groups.

“I am involved in many situations in prison where I pray for the strength, wisdom and words to reach people in traumatic situations.

“I always tell people, never underestimate the power of prayer.”

“As a young Christian, I was taught that every believer should have ‘a quiet time’ every day, preferably before breakfast.

“I struggled with this for many years – I’ve never been a morning person!

“I eventually gave up altogether, feeling like a failure.

“However, I came to realise that prayer is a very individual thing, and that there are as many ways of praying as there are ways of relating to God.

“Prayer these days is a bit like talking to my husband, ranging from the functional (Can you put the bins out?), to deeper conversations about the things that affect us.

“I pray on the go, for things such as the day ahead and for people in need.

“When I have more time, I read a bible passage, and pray based on that.

“I like the website sacredspace.ie run by the Irish Jesuits. And then there are the rarer occasions, such as Advent, when I spend a longer and deeper time with God.

“I usually pray in my living room, or the garden.

“I have realised that I need solitude and silence for any kind of concentration. I pray to God rather than Jesus, and find St John’s image of God as light especially meaningful. I like visual images, too, as aids to prayer, such as a couple of Russian icons I am especially fond of.

“I think we all need to find our own rhythms with God, without guilt or pressure from anyone else.”

“Long before I was a prison chaplain, I heard a man in Glasgow give his testimony. His life had got into a terrible mess with alcohol and paramilitary criminality. He felt utterly trapped and cried out to God, ‘Help me. Ma bottle’s went.’ That moment was his turning point; God rescued him from his situation and he went on to become a great help to many others with similar problems.

“I often think of him and reflect that God doesn’t need our prayers to be fancy or long – or even grammatically correct!

“A lot of my prayers are very short. ‘Please help me.’ ‘Please help so-and-so.’ ‘God you’re amazing.’ ‘I’m sorry for my sin.’ That sort of thing…

“I wish I was better at having long times of prayer. Having a short attention span, I’ve always struggled with that. I’m more likely to pray, ‘Dear Lord… Oh look there’s a bird!’ I feel this is an area of failure in my life.

“But I do pray all the time in short ‘arrows’ aimed at heaven. That has become as natural as breathing.

“In my work, even as a prisoner is telling me his story, I am often praying silently, ‘Help him’, or ‘Help his family’, or ‘Help his victim’, or ‘Help me know how to respond to this’.

“I love hillwalking and Scottish scenery. Often I stop and worship God as I take in the awesomeness of His creation. If there’s no one around I might even do that aloud.”

This article appears in the February 2020 Issue of Life and Work

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This article appears in the February 2020 Issue of Life and Work