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"In Parenthesis" 'A Christian will find his parentheses for prayer, even through his busiest hours.' said Richard Cecil, a leading Anglican clergyman of the 18th and early 19th centuries.
What are 'parentheses'? We usually call them brackets,used in sentences. Examples: Use a pointed stick (a pencil with the lead point broken off works well) or a similar tool. Or Banging the wall and screaming (unrestrained by his father, I might add), Jack was acting like a brat. Or, from John 14:22 Then Judas (not Judas Iscariot) said, .
Words in parentheses break the flow of the sentence, but usually add some explanation, enlightenment or helpful comment on the meaning of the sentence. The original Greek word means 'put in beside'.
I think that's what Cecil meant regarding the 'parentheses for prayer' - it provides a needful and useful break in the flow of, or alongside, the busy day (or at the beginning of such a day) to enlighten and help us in the way we live that day. (Hallo! I just used a parenthesis. Oh, and this is another!).
It should be both an encouragement and a challenge to us to read in Mark 1:35 that 'very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.' Now, while we can't assume from that instance that this happened every day, it seems clear from other mentions in the Gospels that Jesus regularly took time out for prayer and meditation-his 'parentheses for prayer'.
William Wilberforce lived a
very busy life, and the first hours in the morning were all that he
could strictly call his own. He spent them in devotional exercises.
"I always find that I have most time for business, and it is best done, when I have most properly observed my private devotions. In the calmness of the morning," he observed " before the mind is heated and wearied by the turmoil of the day, you have a season of unusual importance for communing with God and with yourself."
Now I know that for some, particularly those with young children, it's a nice idea, but rather impractical to find time first thing. But as we have opportunity, we need to find our 'parentheses for prayer' to refresh us during the day.
The Bible commentator, Matthew Henry wrote: 'Let prayer be the key of the morning and the bolt of the evening.'
Steve Piggott March 2010
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