This week we began our Lent study with session one of the Prayer Course. Pete Greig, who made the videos is an engaging and down-to-earth guide to prayer and both groups - in person on Wednesday morning and on Zoom on Monday evening - had some great discussions about his three top tips for prayer - Keep it Simple, Keep it Real and Keep it Up!

One of the things that struck me was when he compared prayer to one of his small son’s attempts to write before he’d learned to write properly. When his son asked him to ‘read’ his scribbles, Pete Greig said that he could interpret them even though he could ’t read them, because he knew his son so well. And he compared our prayers to these scribbles, saying that whatever sense we do or don’t make, God will be able to interpret them because he knows and loves us.

I’ve thought about that image a lot during this week, as I’ve watched the news in grief and horror at the war on Ukraine and the suffering of its people. I’ve been feeling that I don’t know how to pray in this dreadful situation - and that any words I can find fall so far short.

But maybe I don’t have to find all the words. Maybe it’s enough to cry out ‘God - help!’ or ‘Make it better!’ or ‘Lord, have mercy’. Maybe it’s fine to ask ‘how could this happen?’ or ‘why don’t you stop it?’ or simply to admit’ I feel so helpless’. If God can interpret our inarticulate and inadequate prayers, and know the desires of our hearts and the longing of our souls, maybe we don’t have to find the right words. God will hear and understand our prayers, and will use them - to give courage and hope to the people of Ukraine, to change the hearts of those who pursue war and violence, and to make us generous in offering help and hospitality.