Down Memory Lane

From time to time in my work, I go somewhere completely new, only to arrive at my destination and recognise the building or the location of the loading yard.  I don’t remember the journey, but I now realise that I have been there before, albeit several years ago.  Many more are regular jobs where, if told just the name of our customer and the destination town, I know exactly where I’ll be going, even down to the face or name of the person I’ll see when I get there.

Repetition doesn’t actually add to knowledge but it does embed it firmly in the memory.  This is true of relationships, too.  If you meet someone daily or weekly, you can pick up where you left off; you’re both part of the same ongoing story.  You know what is happening in your friend’s life, and they in yours.  By contrast, consider the experience of a friend who told me a few weeks ago of his visit to a primary school reunion.  He met people there whom he’d not seen for over fifty years.  ‘After a few minutes, learning what trade or profession each other has followed and how many grand-children we have,’ he told me, ‘there’s nothing more to be said, and you move on to the next former fellow-pupil.’

In his ministry, St Paul naturally developed close ties with the churches he established.  But these ties had to be nourished by communication.  When he wasn’t still with a community, he wanted to know how they were getting on; if he heard nothing for a while, he sent one of his colleagues to find out and report back (I Thessalonians 2:17-3:10.)

We can be just as close or distant with our Maker, too.  There is no doubt about His love for each one of us: “I have called you by your name, you are mine” (Isaiah 43:1), and His concern for the minutiae of our existence “Even the very hairs of your head are numbered.” (Matt. 10:30.)  The uncertainty comes in the fickleness of our regard for Him.  Our attentions are often a matter of convenience, but I’d like to suggest two key disciplines that can enrich and boost our devotion.  One of these is a regular pattern of prayer and worship which, once established, can be adapted and strengthened at any time!

The other is to use a prayer remembered from childhood.  One I recall is a bedtime prayer: Lord, keep us safe this night / secure from all our fears / May angels guard us while we sleep / till morning light appears.  Because it’s so deep-rooted, once a key word is said, the remainder flows effortlessly from memory.  So, thinking caps on ... what’s hidden away in the depths of your memory?

Once pronounced, these unforgotten prayers can become living reminders of God’s presence and His love.