The Extraordinary Power of Prayer

Fiona Robinson from Johnsonville Corps in Wellington shares the impact of everyday prayers, a mixing bowl and trusting God.

I was born in England in the London suburb of Hillingdon and was christened as a baby at our local Anglican church (or what we call Church of England). As a child, I don’t remember having a particular moment of enlightenment about God. He was always just there.

My mother decided to send my brother, sister and me to a Catholic primary school. While I learnt a lot of things there, I also had many questions. I would come home from school and ask Mum: ‘How can this be?’ and ‘What does this mean?’ I remember one assembly where non-Catholic children were asked to stand up. There were only four of us. We were then told that unless we were confirmed as Catholic, we are not going to go to heaven. I went home to my mum and said, ‘This happened at school today, is it true?’ My mum reassured me and regularly started to take us to an Anglican church. My mum has had a big influence on my faith journey throughout my life.

After secondary school I studied English literature at university in Scotland. I came to New Zealand in 2003 on my own, with one bag and two pairs of shoes. I planned to have a gap year before I turned 30. I ended up staying in New Zealand and moved around for work—Christchurch, Tauranga and then Wellington. I met my husband at a dance class in Wellington.

Faith journey

My faith has always been a part of my life, but it wasn’t until 2014 when I started an Alpha course that I had the space to ask questions and find out more. The next year they asked me to lead the Alpha course. Following this, our community churches joined together to run the course with The Salvation Army in Johnsonville. Alpha deepened my faith as a student and as a teacher. I’m pretty sure I learnt as much from the people who came along to the course as they learnt from me, and I still consider myself a learner to this day. We had an Alpha graduation at the Johnsonville Corps, then I came along to a Christmas Eve service, and I really liked it. I started coming regularly in 2023.

Like everyone, I have had times of enormous challenge in my life that have caused me to question God. I really doubted my faith when my dad died. I asked God, ‘How can you do this to him and our family?’ With hindsight, I can see that anger and questioning are normal, especially in difficult circumstances.

Many years later, the process of having a child was not easy for us. I prayed a lot for a baby. I kept believing. Three years later we were given our precious little miracle, and we became a family.

I don’t consider myself particularly holy, but I try to live out my faith every day. When I’ve had a challenging day at work, I play worship songs on my commute home to shift my mood and to help me show up at home a happier mum. Having a faith helps me to approach others with compassion and empathy. When people are stressed, I have learnt to be kind and patient, and if their behaviour isn’t great, I remind myself that they are human and that they are hurting. I once had a boss ask me: ‘How does your faith show up, as a leader?’ That really made me think. I had compartmentalised my work and my faith. It prompted me to think about how my faith might contribute to my work and all aspects of my life.

In the mix

Early last year our corps officer at the time, Captain Robert Adams, was preaching. He invited us to write prayers on pieces of paper and to place them in what I called ‘the mixing bowl’. He was referring to Scripture from Ecclesiastes about a golden bowl, but it immediately reminded me of an identical bowl from my childhood. I wrote prayers for three things: I prayed that my child, who had recently been diagnosed with ADHD and learning difficulties, would have a good relationship with his teacher and be happy at school; I asked God to help me find a way to visit my family in the United Kingdom, who I hadn’t seen in nearly five years; and I also wrote a prayer for a new job that would give me a strong sense of purpose and allow me to experience more balance in my life. My prayers felt simple and little bit selfish—I wasn’t praying for world peace—but I felt called to place them in the bowl. These prayers stayed with me, but I wasn’t worried anymore. I had handed them over.

I am not someone who feels comfortable going up the front to ask for prayer in church, but for some reason I did. Karen, one of the leadership team, prayed for me and and then all these strange things started happening. I had been looking for a new job but hadn’t received any interviews for a while. The next week, I was asked to interview for three jobs. I was offered a role, which I love. It provides me with purpose and the balance I was seeking.

My son had a fantastic start to the school year and built a positive relationship with his teacher. He is now engaged in his schoolwork again. I had accepted that I wouldn’t be returning home to see my family, as airfares were too expensive. Then out of blue I received a call from a travel agent with an affordable solution. We spent an Easter Sunday enjoying a roast dinner with my family in England.

I feel like I am a fairly ordinary person, and I’m always learning about God and faith. My prayers that day felt like very simple prayers, just for me and my family. What I learnt was that God cares about all our prayers. All three of my prayers were answered. Placing my prayers in that bowl helped me to stop striving and trying to control things. I learnt about the power of prayer, letting go and trusting that God has our best interests at heart.