Solitary prayer may hold answers

DEAR Editor, The leader of Birmingham City Council has called on religious groups to stop communal prayer in a bid to tackle the spread of coronavirus (Birmingham Post, Jan 21). People of the Abrahamic faiths understand the importance of ‘desert experiences’, and the value of solitary prayer in isolation.

An American airman, Jacob DeShazer (19122008) was captured following the famous ’Doolittle Raid’ of World War Two.

Japanese guards held him in highly testing conditions, including an extended period of solitary confinement.

During imprisonment he had a moment of spiritual epiphany, which altered the course of his life, so that he returned to Japan as a missionary after the war.