Prayer for the Day

by Revd Canon David White

18th January 2026 - 2nd Sunday of Epiphany

God bless those who suffer from the common cold.
Nature has entered into them;
Has led them aside and gently laid them low
To contemplate life from the wayside;
To consider human frailty;
To receive the deep and dreamy messages of fever.
We give thanks for the insights of this humble perspective.
We give thanks for blessing in disguise. Amen.

This is perhaps the only prayer written for those who have the common cold – not the most serious of illnesses but one that does make you feel under the weather and miserable. As this prayer says, for those who have a cold it “gently lays them low”. This prayer is typical of Michael Leunig. He was an Australian cartoonist whose published drawings were sometimes controversial and got him into trouble. He was also a poet and a writer. His deep faith was less obvious but his published books of prayers reveal it. His prayers invariably take a wry and alternative view of those things that affect us in life and make us realise that God is with us in it all – though it’s often hard to explain exactly how. Perhaps the next time I have a cold and am feeling horrid and being grumpy I will try to “receive the deep and dreamy messages of fever” and search for the insights the prayer speaks of.