Try Praying

Did you hear that one about the vicar in his garden who heard the meowing of his kitten up a tree? He climbs the tree to rescue the kitten but it is too high and he can’t reach it. So he decides to tie a rope around a low branch, attach it to his car and inch away, pulling the branch down low enough to reach the kitten.

An ingenious plan. Except actually it isn’t. As the car moves away and the tree slowly begins to stoop, the rope suddenly snaps and the poor puss is catapulted (sorry…) high into the air.

The moral of the story is clear; never attempt to rescue a cat up a tree by pulling down the branch with a rope.

Anyway, a few weeks later, the vicar is out doing a bit of parish visiting. As he is welcomed into one home he sees, to his great surprise, his kitten alive and well. So he diplomatically asks the man who lives there “Just out of curiosity, how long have you had that cat?” “Oh, about two weeks, vicar. You’ll never believe how that came about.”

And he goes on to say that a fortnight ago, his daughter had been asking if they could have a kitten. She was given a categorical no, but she kept on asking. In the end, not wanting to upset her, he suggested that they kneel down there and then and ask Jesus about it – if it was God’s will, that he would provide them a kitten.

“You’ll never guess what happened next, vicar!”

The thing is, when people pray stuff happens. I cannot count the number of times God has answered my prayers, sometimes in surprising ways, though I have never asked him for a new pet.

Praying exposes unsuspecting people to the amazing, extraordinary, awesome power of our mighty God.

That’s what Try Praying is all about. This is the adventure of what happens when a person, who might never step into a church, prays an honest-to-God prayer every day for a week. Who knows what God might do?

The Try Praying booklets are a well-produced, non-threatening tool with stories of answered prayer, ideas of things to do and important information about how to connect with God and pray honestly. These booklets have already been used in over 120 locations in the UK and there are many really exciting stories emerging.

Use it yourself for a week. As you use the book, ask God about whom you might pass it on to in a week or two’s time. Someone you know who never goes to any church. Pray for that person. There are children’s and youth versions as well, so whatever age they are there are appropriate resources. Take a step of faith and pass the booklet on, telling your friend or neighbour if you’ve found it helpful or interesting.

And let’s see what God does.