The Faith of Mr. Rogers, Week 2

This year I've been going through a new book, "The Simple Faith of Mr. Rogers." Written by Amy Hollingsworth, a minister and friend of Fred Rogers, it chronicles nine simple lessons she learned about faith from him. I've read it through a couple times, and have been looking at it with my Sunday School Group. Over the next few weeks, I'll be offering short reflections on what I've learned from each segment.

The second Toast Stick of faith is "A Presence Transformed by Prayer." And I think prayer, and a rich life of prayer, is both the most important and most difficult thing for us to get to as Christians most of the time. And reading about the example of prayer offered by Fred Rogers was equally humbling. He once exhorted Amy, "When I asked for your prayers, I didn't mean to be vague about the need." Indeed, Fred Rogers didn't just pray for his friends, he prayed for the specific needs of everyone on his list.

And I know what you're thinking: That must take a long time. That's the other thing that stood out, Fred Rogers began each day in prayer. It said he awoke at 5 a.m. and began in prayer. The next activity in his daily routine was swimming at 7:30 a.m. That's a two and half out gap, and while he likely had time to prepare for a swim, travel, etc., that means he spent more than 5-10 minutes in prayer. Which is why he richly remembered all on his list, including those who'd passed away. It was a dedication to begin his day in connection with the Lord.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 says, "Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." Pray without ceasing. We hear it often, but do we reflect it in our lives? I have to say I fall far short of that standard, especially when considering someone like Fred Rogers.

Not only did he begin his day in prayer, he bathed the rest of his day in prayer as well. He prayed for everything he did, and as a part of everything he did. It was truly the embodiment of Pray without Ceasing.

Above all being a Christian is about a relationship. How can you be in relationship if you never speak? You really can't. Prayer is out talking to God and listening for His voice. It requires time to nurture, as all relationships do. And the model we see from Fred Rogers in this chapter is a life spent trying to earnestly nurture that relationship. It's an example of how it can be done.

Now I don't think any of us can go from zero to 60 (or even 5 to 60) overnight. It takes work. I think the big takeaway from this chapter, for me, is to try and find some dedicated time in my day to nurture that relationship. For Fred Rogers it meant starting with prayer each day. Maybe that time frame doesn't work for all our schedules, but the point is if you don't make it a priority, it won't happen.

And it needs to happen. So I that's my goal, to find a dedicated time to pray and stick to it.