More on Prayer

I recently visited a church and found myself both bothered and entertained by the "Minister of Spirituality."  Are not all ministers to be ministers of spirituality?  Isn't that the basis of our faith?  For this man, one of his duties included the pastoral prayer.  His prayer lasted at least 10 minutes, and seemed like even longer.  The theme of the prayer appeared to have little to do with interceding on the church's behalf to offer their petitions to God, and more about correcting the sermon the senior pastor had just given.  It was a showdown in which the prayer was preaching his own sermon based on the theme the other preacher had followed.  He danced and strolled along the stage as he prayed, leading to the entertainment.  I could not keep my eyes closed as I watched him perform, and I felt like he wanted us to see him, anyway. This time had much to do with him, and little to do with God, worship and prayer.

I do not offer a pastoral prayer in my church, in part because I've heard too many prayers that were like the one mentioned above.  The intent seems to be mere performance at best, and sometimes downright gossip at worst.  At times the pastoral prayer sounds more like an excerpt from A Prairie Home Companion then a conversation with God.  Prayer is not intended to be showy.  Rather, prayer is intended to be conversation with God.  The pharisee who bragged about being different from the sinner was not concerned with God in his prayer; he was concerned that people see him and how good he was.  His prayer was a performance intended to make him look good in front of others.  In fact, the best prayers often are the ones that don't have flowery or spiritual words.  They come from the heart with simple, everyday language.  One of my favorite references to prayer comes from Paul, who says, "In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express."  (Romans 8:26)

How do you pray?  Are you concerned about what others will think when you pray?  Are you embarrassed by your wording and phraseology?  If so, then you may want to rethink your prayer life.  Don't worry about impressing others with you prayers; worry only about God.  And remember the role of the Spirit in prayer, to interceded on our behalf with sighs too deep for words.  Let your prayers be between you and God only; do not worry about what others think.  When you let go of the human aspect of prayer, then the Spiritual aspect takes over and you commune with God, and you experience God communing with you.

Grace and peace,

Michael