OMG! A Bad Christian’s Book of Prayers

By Dave Tomlinson

Dave Tomlinson is an Anglican priest best known for How to be a Bad Christian… And a Better Human Being. His latest book is a collection of prayers that he has composed himself, mostly for his excellent Holy Shed podcast. 

The prayers are written in a natural, everyday language. Some are specific to Tomlinson himself – they refer to people he has known, or his own personal experience, and his personality, generosity and enjoyment of life come through all of them. But from these individual, personal prayers he expresses a universal message; every prayer is relatable.

A few are quite particular – ‘A Marriage Blessing’, for example, or ‘With Thanks for Harvey Milk’. But most are on a more general theme. ‘The Cheapest Therapy of All’ is about the small, easily overlooked pleasures around us in the natural world, while ‘Multi-Coloured God’ is about the infinite variety of creation, in all of which God is present. Several of the prayers are adaptations of the famous Serenity Prayer. Recurring themes include: embracing and celebrating life; seeking justice, compassion and inclusion for all; and the mystery and limitlessness of God. 

‘He expresses a universal message.’

Tomlinson’s words in a short chapter closing the book may chime with Friends: ‘No one owns prayer. No one can dictate how prayer should be offered, or by whom – anyone can pray: anywhere, anytime, and in any fashion they choose. There is no right or wrong way to do it, no required formula of words. Words may not even figure.’

Later in the same chapter he writes: ‘One of the hardest practices of prayer is to learn to be silent. We live in a world of constant noise and chatter, with little space for quiet. Indeed, for many of us, silence is threatening; we prefer to surround ourselves with noise and avoid sitting still. But embracing silence is a way of opening ourselves up. And this is what prayer is: the practice of opening ourselves to God, listening to our own heart, and being attentive to the pain and suffering of others.’

So Tomlinson’s approach to prayer seems very similar to that of Friends. We may not generally use written prayers, but I think many could find this collection comforting, peace-instilling, uplifting and encouraging – inspiring faith and hope.

Perhaps the best way to introduce this book, rather than describing it, is to offer an extract from one of the prayers within it. This is from a prayer called ‘Tikkun Olam!’ (A Hebrew expression translated as ‘Repair the world’): ‘What does it take, I wonder, / to build a great world house, / where folk of every colour and creed / live together in freedom and peace? / Where mother nature breathes easy / and creatures grow and thrive? / Wise ones say we must first repair / our selves – learn to nourish and /nurture the soul. / Locate within ourselves / that deep communion / with all your broken ones. / Tikkun Olam!

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