Prayer

Prayer

Even for a Christian the mention of prayer can be a scary idea. You would think that after all those years of being raised in a God fearing environment that prayer would come naturally. What is it about prayer that makes some of us at a loss for words?

I grew up in a church going family. As a child I remember having family devotions around the dining room table praying. We were taught to say prayers before going to bed. Putting on our Sunday best and going to church to listen to others praying was a weekly ritual.

My seminary training immersed me in formal, written prayer. The prayer life of the institutional church did not encourage me to be spontaneous in prayer. By reciting the words of the prayer book, I was left with the impression that I was in direct communication with God. It didn't take long for those prayers to become rote and sterile.

When asked to pray without a prayer book, I found myself tongue-tied. How was it possible to take all this learned prayer and translate it into my words? Not only was I self-conscious but also embarrassed that as a preacher I needed a prayer book to pray. Finally, when it was explained that prayer is simply talking to God, I discovered that I had a lot to say to Him.

I still remember some of the prayer book prayers. When I have nothing to say to the Lord, I can at least recite my memory prayers. I continue to be in awe of those who can pray eloquently in public from their heart. My most frequent spontaneous prayer continues to be “Lord, I need help!”

There is an old African spiritual that capsulizes my understanding of prayer. “Not my brother, not my sister…not the preacher, not the sinner…not my father, not my mother…but it's me, it's me, it's me O Lord standing in the need of prayer.”