Prayer: Ordinary or Extra-ordinary?

Reflections from the Foreword:

Is prayer extra-ordinary or ordinary? 

If it is seen as only an extra-ordinary power, it is something that could be avoided because we realise how ordinary we are and realise it is a power way beyond us. 

If it is seen only as ordinary, we could be in danger of taking it for granted. Prayer needs to be seen as ordinary in the sense that it is "an integral part of the cosmos" - a spiritual "token of exchange" between the unseen world of the spiritual and the seen world in which we live. 

George Granger Fleming argues the world is short of prayer,  that Heaven cannot empty itself, because there is not enough of this "medium of exchange" between the unseen and seen. 

To be a "medium of exchange", Prayer must be both ORDINARY and EXTRA-ORDINARY. It needs to be seen as ordinary in the sense that it should be a natural and integral part of our day to day lives in this seen world, yet extra-ordinary in that it acknowledge the unseen parts of our world and invites the Holy Spirit to enter into the seen world in extra-ordinary ways. 

What better example is there to use of this ordinary, yet extra-ordinary nature of prayer, than from the life of the author. Something in the dedication of the book, to his grand-father, John Fleming, is testimony to the power of prayer of an ordinary man. 

George Granger Fleming writes:
"To the memory of my grand-father, John Fleming, .... , in the direct inheritance of whose prayers I and mine have the blessedness to be."

These few sentences tell me, that my great-great-great-grandfather, was a man of prayer - a man who prayed for this family. It also shows that the prayers of this ordinary man impacted his grand-children, and now continue to impact his family - five and six generations later. This is extra-ordinary. 

Though we may not see all the answers to the ordinary, day to day prayers we pray, let us not stop using this "medium of exchange" to bring extra-ordinary powers into our ordinary experiences of life. 

Introduction

"The Dynamic of All Prayer" was written by my maternal grand-father's father, (my great-grand-father) George Granger Fleming nearly 100 years ago, in 1914. It is not well known but it has a depth of insight and analysis which inspires me and teaches me new things each time I read it.

In 2008, it was re-typed by a friend of the family to facilitate re-publication and it is available on amazon.com as a kindle book. My cousin Ross Fleming has made that possible.

I picked the book up again this morning and was once again struck by the richness of the text as well as how the words and insights are still so relevant today (if not more so) than they were 100 years ago when it was written.

The purpose of this blog is that as I read through  "The Dynamic of All Prayer", I share my thoughts and insights on my great-grandfather's writing.

One of the most powerful messages to me about the power of prayer comes from the dedication of the book.

George Granger Fleming writes:

"To the memory of my grandfather, JOHN FLEMING, ... IN THE DIRECT INHERITANCE OF WHOSE PRAYERS I AND MIND HAVE THE BLESSEDNESS TO BE."

In other words, George Fleming recognises his faith as a direct result of the prayers of John Fleming. He was speaking the inheritance of faith through two generations. As the great-grand-daughter of George Fleming, I am five generations removed from John Fleming, and continue to share the inheritance of his prayers.