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.”

My Prayer Wheel

My Prayer Wheel

Before you get all upset about my using a Tibetan prayer tool, I have a story to share. Years ago when I was pastoring the Ark Church in Havre, Montana, I worked in a retail store part time. It was an opportunity to make extra income to support my family. It also gave me the chance to meet people in the community.

Cavaliers Men and Boys store employed me for the nine years. The owners, Tom and Doug, hired me even though I had limited experience in retail sales. You need to know that Tom and Doug were expert salesmen. They taught me how to sell. Their mantra was “ sell the customer what we have not what he wants.” Let me tell you, they could sell. Once I witnessed then selling a widow a burial suit with two pairs of pants for her deceased husband.

Besides learning to be a salesman, my other jobs included cleaning the toilets twice a week and vacuuming the carpet every morning. Growing up in a large family I knew how to do chores. The vacuum was an antique Kirby; heavy and awkward. It was a workout just pushing the thing around the store.

One day as I was vacuuming, this thought came into my mind: why don’t you take this “no brainer time” and pray. That started a daily routine of praying while I vacuumed. I prayed for family, friends, those in need, our church, our city and Cavaliers. I got so good at this, praying and vacuuming, that I enjoyed my morning chore. That old Kirby became my prayer wheel. The last time I was in Havre, I stopped by Cavaliers to see if the prayer wheel was still there. It was!

I confess that I miss those days working with Tom and Doug. They challenged me to step out of my religious comfort zone. They were gracious to let me study during slow times at the store. Most of all we became good friends.

The Bible says, “Be cheerful no matter what; pray all the time; thank God no matter what happens.”