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Bulletin 103 Date : 10th Jul 2007
Praying for Madeleine

A few weeks ago, my wife and I visited Rothley, the home town of the McCann family whose 4 year old daughter, Madeleine, was abducted whilst on holiday in Portugal earlier this year. This tragic incident attracted media attention from across the globe. Gerry and Kate McCann even had an audience with the Pope and enlisted his prayer support. The village square in Rothley was covered in yellow ribbons, soft toys and hand-written prayers or tributes from well-wishers from across the country.

Here we are, some months later, still waiting for some news on Madeleine’s whereabouts and the McCann family’s faith has been stretched to the limit (Kate is a Catholic). Faithfully, week by week, people of all faiths have been praying for Madeleine’s safe return. For many people, this whole incident begs the question, “what’s the point of prayer?” Why is it that a God of love and mercy seems to sit back like an absentee landlord while the world prays and the McCanns grieve? Does God intervene in the affairs of the world any more? Is prayer merely a therapeutic exercise which actually achieves very little more than a good book on the power of positive thinking?

I don’t need to unpack all the things that prayer is not. Most Christians have moved beyond the notion that prayer is a ‘wish list’ or a means of twisting God’s arm or even a means of waking God up to the sufferings of the world. We know that God, as creator and sustainer of the cosmos, already knows the suffering of the McCann family and, presumably, the whereabouts of Madeleine. So what is prayer and can we give any consolation to the McCann family?

Firstly, all intercessory prayer needs a kingdom focus. When Jesus taught his disciples how to pray in the Lord’s Prayer, he stressed the importance of focussing upon the coming of the Kingdom and for God’s will to be done on earth as in heaven. Anyone who has read the teachings of Jesus will know that abductions of this kind would never happen in God’s Kingdom. This is an evil act and the perpetrators have violated God’s rule for life.

Secondly, the resurrection shows us that God will ultimately overturn evil with good and that God’s desire is for those who have abducted Madeleine to understand their failings and return her to her family. God works in our lives through the Holy Spirit to convict us of our wrong-doings but this can be a slow and painful process, even for those of us whole claim the title ‘Christian’. It might not be completed this side of eternity.

Thirdly, Madeleine’s abduction may, in the long run, strengthen the resolve of godly people, to create a more compassionate world for all its inhabitants. Children are dying in their thousands every day through war, famine and disease. We, in the West, are largely oblivious to the scale of suffering experienced in many parts of the world. Sadly, this puts into perspective the loss of a single child but will not ease the pain the McCanns continue to feel.

In summary, intercessory prayer is about the establishment of God’s Kingdom and the overthrow of all evil. This includes the callous acts of whoever abducted Madeleine, the atrocious acts of aggression in times of war, acts of terrorism and the hidden sins which we all carry around within our hearts. Changing the world into a better place has to start somewhere and that somewhere is right here, in your life and mine. We may not be able to bring Madeleine back to her parents but we can enter into the grief which the McCanns are experiencing as we look across the globe at the sufferings of millions and the part that we play through adopting an opulent life-style. We can also remember the circumstances which led to the crucifixion of the One who was without sin and recognise that he bore the pain in an attitude of forgiveness (Luke 23:34). For the Christian, life is about experiencing the sufferings inflicted by evil, knowing that Christ has been there before us and will restore us one day (Romans 8:17).

“Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as in heaven” (Matthew 6:10).