It's been five years since the death of the enigmatic English singer-songwriter, David Bowie.
In one of his performances, a tribute concert for the late Freddie Mercury at Wembley Stadium, Bowie announced that he wanted to share a moment of remembrance for Freddie. What he did next took every one of the 70,000 people by surprise. Bowie dropped to his knees and earnestly recited the Lord’s prayer for Freddie and a gravely ill friend watching at home. It was as brilliant as it was surprising. You could have heard a pin drop.
You can still watch the video on YouTube, where the comments section is full of people in awe at the “bravery” of the man. It’s a fantastic reminder of the power of prayer.
In a podcast recorded just before Christmas, Emily Allen, Church Buildings Missioner in the Diocese of Chester, encouraged people to be bolder and braver in offering prayer to those we know and love, as well as those we don’t.
She says: “Although our churches are all but closed and we find ourselves physically apart from one another… spiritually, through Jesus, we can be together in prayer.
“Opportunities to pray for someone abound; we just have to recognise them and be braver in asking someone, ‘can I pray for you?’”
As the Bishop of Chester, Mark Tanner recently remarked when talking about prayer: “What higher responsibility do we have than to pray for our neighbours, communities, and nation. The thing about prayer is that you don’t have to be good at it, fired up for it, or go on about it… you just have to give it a go and God does the rest.
"Prayer makes a massive difference, and it is our privileged calling.”