Magazine for July 2010
The Way of Prayer
Many years ago, a poorly dressed lady walked into a village shop and in a most humble manner asked if she could have some groceries which she would pay for at the end of the week. She explained that her husband was very ill and unable to work.
The shopkeeper shrugged his shoulders and was about to tell her to leave when he realised that there were no other customers requiring attention. So decided to have some fun at the poor lady’s expense. He asked whether she had a shopping list and she said that she did.
He glanced at the weighing scales (this was long before present-day self service and pre-packed food) and smiled to himself. “OK” he said. “put your list on one end of the scales and I will give you whatever groceries it balances at the other end”.
She hesitated a moment, and then quickly scribbled something on the back of the list before putting it on the scales. The shopkeeper placed the first item, a bag of sugar, on the other end. Nothing moved. He added a loaf of bread. Still nothing. He continued to put more and more groceries on the scales, until there was no more room. The scales never moved.
The shopkeeper, in utter disgust, grabbed the list from the scales and turned it over. The lady had written “Dear Lord, you know my needs and I am leaving this in your hands.” In stunned silence the groceries were put in a bag and she left the shop.
When the next customer arrived at the till, the shopkeeper discovered that the scales were broken. So only God knows how much a prayer weighs.
P. E. Archer