When I was first diagnosed with incurable cancer nearly ten years ago, I found great comfort and help in humour – most especially in watching comedy quiz and panel shows, such as Have I Got News For You? and the wonderfully funny Would I Lie to You? Being able to laugh felt important to me, almost healing, and I continue to value it just as much today. Those of a certain age may remember the anecdotes that used to appear regularly in Reader’s Digest magazines, under the title, ’Laughter, the best medicine’. How true that is. We should never underestimate its power, nor God’s ability to use it.
The following three prayers, taken from my 2004 book Prayerfully Yours, celebrate that gift.
Thanksgiving
Loving God,
I thank you for the things in life that make me laugh,
the things that bring a smile to my face.
I thank you for a sense of humour
helping me to see the funny side of life,
enabling me to share a joke even when it is on me.
I thank you for those with the special gift
of bringing laughter to others,
bringing a little light relief
into the seriousness of our world.
I know that there is a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a place for solemnity and a place for humour –
help me to get the balance right in my life.
Teach me to appreciate your gift of laughter,
and to share it with those around me.
Amen.
Petition
Lord of all, teach me never to laugh at others,
but, when appropriate, to laugh with them,
joyfully celebrating your gift of life in all its richness.
Amen.
A benediction
Gracious Lord,
send me out with laughter in my eyes,
a smile on my lips,
a song in my heart
and merriment in my soul,
and so may I share the joy that you have given me,
to the glory of your name.
Amen.