Cars and colds 

‘Lord, bless us with a new car. Amen’ 

That is what I prayed last night. Not a bad prayer I guess, we need a new car. It is good to pray for these everyday things. After all, Jesus prays, ‘Give us today our daily bread’. God wants to be involved in our day to day lives. 

But when I started thinking about this prayer, I realised it could be dangerous. The chances are I will go on Autotrader, find a car, and drive it home. Unless I am careful, I will convince myself it was all down to me. I will forget I ever prayed, and forget to thank God. My comfort can breed amnesia.

Have you ever prayed to get better from a cold? I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve prayed for myself, or someone else, to get better from a cold. But I can’t think of once when I have given thanks that I, or someone else, has recovered from that cold. The prayer has been answered every time, but once healthy, well and comfortable, I instantly forget about God. Perhaps it is a natural inclination to not pause and count our blessings.

In Luke 17, Jesus had just healed ten lepers. ‘One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him—and he was a Samaritan.

Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner?”

Nine out of ten lepers forgot to thank God! Their comfort had led to amnesia.

Let’s keep praying for cars and colds, but let’s not let our natural inclinations, and comfort, make us forget about the amazing God who we are praying to.