God! He Doesn't Speak for Me!

"And whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, so that they may be seen by others.... But whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.... When you are praying, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do; for they think that they will be heard because of their many words.  Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him."  Matt. 6:5-8

I distinctly recall the first time I heard an offensive prayer.  I had returned to visit my college alma mater and was attending a church service there.  One of my former schoolmates was offering what we refer to as "the Pastoral Prayer," (hear that in sonorous tones) the one during which everyone kneels reverently while the designated person in front prays publicly on behalf of the congregation.  When I was a child, I was of the opinion that these prayers went on forever, perhaps hours and hours, the petitions taking their time to completely encircle the globe and all the needs it has for God's intervention.  Either I have gotten a better grasp on the passage of time, or those prayers have shortened up since I was a child.

In any case, the way in which my schoolmate addressed God left me angry.  His prayer can only be described with words such as "haughty," "flowery," "self-absorbed," and "pompous."  Oh, and did I mention "snotty?"  He was clearly impressed with himself, and was endeavoring to make sure we were all of similar mind.  There was not a wisp of humility, true confession, or a sincere recognition of our need to surrender all our "filthy rags" with gratefulness to the One who has offered to cover those with a His perfect goodness.  At the end of that insufferable prayer, I wanted to shout out, "God!  He doesn't speak for me!"

It was then that I first understood what Jesus was talking about when he referred to religious people who "get their kicks," so to speak, from praying in ways that bring attention to themselves, and actually say very little to God.

I have now lived long enough to find a few more memorable prayers to resent, a few more situations in which I inwardly shouted at the end, "God!  He doesn't speak for me!"  These are the flowery prayers, the goofy prayers, the rambling prayers that wander in search of a home, the wait-let-me-think-of-another-sentence-quick! prayers, the I'm-a-comedian prayers, and so on.  The point is, none of those prayers speak to God as Jesus told us to speak:  simple, direct, confessional, recognizing ourselves as flawed humans in need of redemption.

Some people might argue that there are cultural issues at work with some of these.  I would disagree.  The current culture with young people in my area is a somewhat rude, let-it-all-hang-out culture.  That doesn't mean we should have to put up with the "God!  Hey thanks Dude for the sunshine, and by the way I have to pee" prayers. Culture is not a sacred thing which should be immune from critique. I imagine God can take the let-it-all-hang-out prayers just fine from us in private, but it's unfair of us to represent a whole group in that way in public prayer.  In fact, God can endure the goofy, the flowery, the I'm-a-comedian, the rambly ... and all those kinds of prayers, I am certain. He is able to take a whole lot from us, and has done so over the centuries with grace. However, I don't think pray-ers should make a group endure such self-centeredness or insincerity when representing a group in public prayer.  People aren't stupid; they will recognize that it's all about the person doing the praying, and not about God.  And they will end up resentful.

So what should public prayer be like, if it's to faithfully represent a group of people coming before Almighty God?  Can we not be lighthearted together?  Can we not revel in the beauty and complexity of language?

While my message here might seem simplistic, I think it's on the right track if we remember that public prayer must represent and respect the human condition in all its complexity while also representing the lone human standing before God in his or her unique circumstance. In public, we must pray with a sense of gravity, aware of the thoughts and feelings of the man who is grieving the loss of his wife, the parent rejoicing in her child's behavioral victory, the leader who is discouraged, the single woman wondering how she will cover her bills, the man delighting in the briskness of the air and the glory of the sunshine as he walked to church, the lonely student wondering how to get through this day and the next, the hopeful graduate sending out resumes into a less-than-idea job market... and so on.

What an array!  How do we speak for them all?  I'd suggest, for starters, that we have a great (and beautiful) model to study:

"Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.  Your kingdom come.  Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.  Give us this day our daily bread.  And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.  And do not bring us to the time of trial, but rescue us from the evil one."  Matt. 6:9-13  

God, He speaks for me!