Another tries to get in touch with the immanent spirit of the world all around, or possibly within oneself. The third brings together the sense of awe at the transcendence of the God who made the world, with the sense of intimacy that this same God wants to be in personal touch with his human creatures.

This third sense is what we find in the Psalms and elsewhere in the Jewish scriptures; and it is this that comes to full expression (from the Christian point of view, of course) in and through Jesus. For the Christian, prayer is simultaneously the adoration and wonder of contemplating, and thanking, God the creator and redeemer, and the awareness of an intimate and loving relationship bubbling up from within, which shapes the character and the content of prayer so that it reaches out to embrace the suffering world – and all kinds of particular needs and problems within it – and finds that it embodies the presence and healing love of Jesus himself as it does so.

Yes, I pray – to this God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. I pray for all sorts of things, but especially for the great issues our world is faced with just now, and for those who make difficult decisions that affect the lives of millions; and for many individuals, near and far, who need God’s help, protection and love.

I also pray, of course, for the churches for which I am responsible, and those who worship and work in them. And I pray for forgiveness for my many faults and failings, for strength to resist the power of evil at every level, for provision for my needs, and for wisdom in the many tasks to which I am called.

I also pray, by the way, for those who read what I have written, that anything I have said that is less than helpful may be taken away from people’s attention and that anything I have said that is useful and helpful may stick in their minds, not as from me but as a gift from God.