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We were headed to the city of Arusha, Tanzania. “Wait,” said our driver. “We need to pray first.” I raised an eyebrow at my husband, whose face bore the same surprised expression as my own. Our fellow passengers had already bowed their heads.
“Dear God, please keep us safe while we travel,” our driver prayed.
Although the details were different, the ride reminded me of the challenges of driving during rush hour through any of the major U.S. cities near our home. I could feel my heart racing as my brain contemplated the signs of genuine and potential catastrophe.
“That’s why you pray before you drive, huh?” I asked the driver, nodding to the congested thoroughfare. “To protect yourself from all of this?”
She leaned on the horn as a donkey stepped into the roadway.
“Oh, no,” she said. “I’m used to all this. I pray so I won’t forget: No matter what happens, God is with us. It gives me courage.”
Her response was a revelation to me. She was not praying so much to change the circumstances around her; she was praying to change herself.
This message is excerpted from “Closer to God” by Audrey West in the July/August 2018 Gather magazine. Today we commemorate Catherine Winkworth, 1878, and John Mason Neale, 1866, hymn translators.