With thanks to Aaron Sorkin

Last night I was preaching on the topic of prayer from 2 Thessalonians 1 v. 11- 12. Almost without exception the people sitting before me were experienced Christians for whom the words ‘I’ll pray for you’ come as readily as breathing. That said, prayer is one of those things where familiarity can breed contempt and we lose our sense of wonder about it. At this point, enter Aaron Sorkin.

Sometimes video clips can be a lazy way for the preacher to make their material interesting. On others, though, they can burst the bubble of familiarity and bring all sorts of ramifications rushing out. In the clip below Harriet, a famous Hollywood actress, is trying to teach Danny, an influential Hollywood executive producer, to pray. Danny’s new fiancée is dying, her newborn baby is  in danger and a colleague’s brother has been kidnapped. You might like to invest 131 seconds in watching the video, and then think about the questions below…

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JlZr2FGbN-w?rel=0&w=560&h=315]

• Does Danny indeed make some ‘reasonable points’?
• Is his reluctance to humble himself a familiar problem with prayer?
• Could you show this to a friend who does not share your beliefs, and then have a discussion about prayer?