Remembering all of you

Barmston, East Yorkshire MJ2004

In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy.It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart. Phil.1:4, 7

Astonishingly, Paul, who met so many people on his constant travels, appears to have remembered the individual Philippian believers, holding them all in his heart, and 'longing for them with the affection of Christ Jesus' (v.8). He wrote to the Philippians from prison; yet, far from going on about his own problems, his concern was focused on them.

Innumerable people come into and out of our lives, year after year. But how many of them do we consciously remember? Of all the people that I have known, the one with the most phenomenal memory is John Stott. Over the years, in his teaching ministry, John met thousands of Christians all over the world. When a man from India, say, whom John had met three years before in Chennai, came to London to attend a course at LICC, John would welcome him by name, and then ask by name after his wife and children. An extraordinary memory and meticulously kept records, no doubt. But also an extraordinary love. A love that cherished every individual. A love that prayed.

The story is told of a young man who forgot an appointment with John. When he rang up, mortified, to apologise, John replied, 'I used to forget engagements too, until I started praying through my diary every morning'.

We are often embarrassed when we forget people - particularly if they remember us! But there is a more frequent - indeed, almost daily - forgetfulness, which is less excusable. When I forget a phone call, a neighbour's operation, or a colleague's child's illness.When my personal concerns stop me from listening to someone else's. isn't it often though a lack of prayer and a lack of love?

In a climate in which people don't really listen to each other, and so readily forget others' needs, an outstanding witness to Christian love is simply this: to remember and to ask: 'Is your wife better?' 'How did your son do in his exams?' 'How did that difficult meeting turn out?'

And sometimes one can say, 'Would you like me to pray for you?' And surprisingly often the answer may be 'Yes'.

Helen Parry (LICC)