Lord, Teach Us To Pray! Poem by Denis Martindale

A teacher asked everyone in her class to write a prayer
so she could read these out to them later that day.
When the teacher sat down to read the prayers,
the class listened until she paused at the final prayer.
Even before the teacher could say a single word,
she was visibly moved and began to weep.

The Christian boy who wrote the prayer knew why.
He stood up immediately and approached her.
He laid a hand on her shoulder to comfort her.
Then the rest of the class stood up and joined him, too.
When so many tiny hands comforted her,
she felt the warmth of true love upon her like never before.
She felt that she was the right person, in the right place,
at the right time, doing the right thing.

I saw this happen in a daydream, when I was at home,
lying on my bed, thinking about the power of prayer.
Then, to my great surprise, I began to weep as well.
I was taken aback by this emotion, until I realised why.
For I remembered how Jesus was on the Cross of Christ.
There He was, the right person, in the right place,
at the right time, doing the right thing.
There He was, for you and for me.
Truly, this man is the King of Love,
and our Saviour, yours and mine.


Denis Martindale, the 28th of March 2023.