To me, prayer shouldn’t be separate from daily life, but should arise spontaneously from it, inspired by the ordinary sights, sounds and experiences that surround us. That was the raison d’être behind my series of books, Touched By His Hand, Touching Down, Touching the Seasons and Heaven Touching Earth, supplemented by Calling Mars and Calling Venus, both written at the suggestion of Kevin Mayhew and aimed specifically at men and women respectively. In the following, for example, taken from Heaven Touching Earth, the early-morning sound of an alarm clock, with its summons to wake up, gives pause for thought.
The alarm clock
It woke me with a start,
its shrill and insistent beep breaking into my dreams
and forcing me to stir.
I’d have preferred to ignore it,
to turn over and go back to sleep,
but I’d the kids to get to school,
a bus to catch,
work to do,
so I stumbled out of bed in readiness for another day.
Rouse me to your call, Lord –
your summons to faith, service, repentance
and commitment,
however disturbing it may be.
Instead of sleepwalking through life,
ignoring what I’d rather not face,
may I hear your voice and wake up to your challenge,
ready to live each day for you.
Amen.