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Good morning.  My wife is a trained librarian and has a wonderfully organised mind in which everything is carefully and logically arranged, and neatly filed away. I, on the other hand, have a dustbin mind which has accumulated vast quantities of miscellaneous material over the years, which means that just occasionally I am able to make creative connections between unlikely things. This does, however, cause a problem when it comes to praying for people. My prayers of intercession, though always sincere, are often shamefully haphazard. Usually I go through a string of prayer beads, naming and trying to visualise the person that I want to pray for as I touch each bead.<?xml:namespace prefix = "o" ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

Some years ago an Armenian Bishop made me Honorary Pastor to Armenians in Wales. This was a great and unexpected honour, but it also added to the list of those whom I needed to pray for. The result, inevitably, was yet more guilt about my untidy intercessions. Then I received an unexpected gift: a friend brought me a watch which had the words ‘Made in Armenia’ on the clock face.  Now, each time I look at it, I say a prayer for the people of Armenia. It also reminds me of the importance of being alert to the needs of those who surround me every day, so that they too can be remembered in my prayers.

Lord Jesus, forgive those of us whose prayers for others are so often chaotic and haphazard. Make up for our deficiencies through your gracious generosity. Help us to remember those who have asked for our prayers and all for whom we ought to pray. You know their needs even better than we do. Be with them and surround them with your love, comfort and strength, today and always. Amen.