5th June 2024
Mayday
This is the tenth in a series of studies on the subject of prayer
But when [Peter] saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, ‘Lord, save me!’ Matthew 14:30 (NIVUK)
The word Mayday was conceived as a distress call in the early 1920s by Frederick Stanley Mockford, officer-in-charge of radio at Croydon Airport. He had been asked to think of a word that would indicate distress and would easily be understood by all pilots and ground staff in an emergency. Since much of the air traffic at the time was between Croydon and Paris – Le Bourget Airport, he proposed the term mayday, the phonetic equivalent of the French m’aidez, meaning ‘help me’ or m’aider, a shortened form of venez m’aider, ‘come [and] help me’. 1
Today, Mayday is recognised as an international distress call the world over. It’s one immediately answered by a ship, or aircraft of any nationality.
Sometimes there are situations in our lives that call not for the disciplined prayer over many months or years, but a sudden cry of ‘Mayday’ – ‘Come and help me, Lord’.
One such example of this in Matthew’s gospel is when Jesus was asleep on board the disciple’s boat on the Sea of Galilee and a sudden storm took hold and threatened to drown them all. The terrified disciples woke Jesus and cried, ‘Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!’ (Matthew 8:25). The need was serious and obvious. The request (prayer) to Jesus was simple and urgent (there was no time for a lengthy, verbose monologue). The answer was immediate and complete: ‘Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm.’ (v.26)
One great lesson from this incident, and from the incident of Peter sinking while walking on the water, is that even when we are in a desperate and immediate crisis, nothing catches Jesus unaware or fazes him. With him there are no unforeseen circumstances, no panic stations. He is always tuned in on the ‘Mayday’ waveband, ready to hear and answer our emergency calls.
How encouraging it is to know that nothing is outside of God’s ultimate control. No wonder the writer of Hebrews says, ‘Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.’ (Hebrews 4:16 emphasis mine).
Prayer
Help us, dear Lord, hear our cry, visit us in our distress and give us peace and calm. In Jesus’s name, Amen.
Study by Barry Robinson
About the writer:
Barry Robinson is a minister in Grace Communion International and Regional Pastor for Southern England, the Midlands, and Wales
Local congregation:
Grace Communion West Hampstead
Sidings Community Centre
150 Brassey Road
West Hampstead
London
NW6 2BA
Meeting time:
Sunday 12.30 pm
Local congregational contact:
Gordon Brown
gordon.brown@gracecom.church
Word of Life contact:
wordoflife@gracecom.church