Reading this story about a Christian nurse who offered to pray for a patient has left me torn.
According to the BBC, Caroline Petrie offered to pray for an elderly patient after visiting her at home and changing some dressings. The patient was not offended, but contacted the local health trust because she felt that others could have been offended by Mrs Petrie's offer of a Christian prayer. Mrs Petrie has been suspended pending an investigation.
The thing is, Mrs Petrie probably meant no offence. She was offering her personal, spiritual aid to complement the medical aid she was giving.
However, she was employed for medical purposes only - to change the patient's dressings, not to offer spiritual succour. And I know that if I was lying ill in hospital, for example, I would hate for someone to be praying over me. Unless they were Pagan. Or a family member. Or a friend.
Perhaps the problem is that it was unsolicited prayer from a stranger, with no thought as to the faith or personal beliefs of the patient. We don't know if Mrs Petrie first enquired if the patient was Christian/Baptist, but if she did, then perhaps its more understandable...
How many of us pray for people without asking their permission? Does it really matter? What if that person belongs to a different faith? Does it matter more? Or does it give you more of a right to pray for their 'salvation'?!
Could all my friends please give me permission to pray for them? Otherwise I'll try to remember not to.
