Thomas Wilson

The Isle of Man is situated between England and Ireland. This island, with a population of 84,000, has a temperate oceanic climate. Its highest recorded temperature is 84 degrees.
Thomas Wilson (1663-1755) arrived at the Isle of Man with his wife and children in 1697 to serve as presiding bishop of the Church of England. He quickly endeared himself to his people. When he went to prison for refusing to pay an unreasonable fine, the people gathered in the courtyard outside his jail cell to hear him preach through the prison bars. He was also something of a farmer, planting fruit trees on barren slopes to earn money to rebuild churches and care for the poor. He was the only doctor on the island, opening a dispensary to give free advice and medicine. He served in governance, advocating for laws to protect the rights of tenants from unreasonable landowners. He was offered positions in wealthier districts in England but declined—staying at his post, hardly ever leaving the island for fifty years. He said that he could accomplish more in a little place. If he went to a larger, more prosperous district, he might forget his duty to God. He wrote a book of prayers for family use. After his death, his private devotions and prayers were published in Sacra Privata. He wrote of prayer, “If we have not what we pray for, let us believe, either that we have not asked as we ought to have done, or that it is good for us that we should not have the thing we prayed for.” His prayer about anger in his private devotions caught my attention. Tell me we do not need this prayer!