"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