Christians at worship hardly notice what is most stunning, the moment that is sheer nonsense or else the most priceless jewel. On cue, we bow our heads, close our eyes, and mentally express love and concern toward a God we cannot see, and even on behalf of people we do not know. Even more strangely, we believe God hears, and cares even more than we do - and gets involved.
"Does prayer work?" is the wrong question, of course. Prayer is love, and love is never wasted. We love, and so we pray. God loves, and so God hears our prayers. Worship is proximity to the heart of God, and our concern is a hazy yet palpable reflection of God's heart.
To pick up an ancient image, in prayer we remind God to be God, and we in turn are reminded that we are the people of God. Public prayer, corporate prayer, is the invaluable gift that stretches me and my spirituality beyond merely praying, "Gimme, gimme, help me, help me." Thumb through the Episcopalians' Book of Common Prayer, and you will find prayers for schoolteachers, prisoners, justice, peace, the environment, industry, soldiers, doctors and nurses, the President, the hungry, handicapped and lonely. We pray for people in Sri Lanka, Lithuania, Biloxi, across the tracks in our own town, and on the other end of the pew. When we pray, we are part of something bigger than me and my little concerns; prayer is huge, enormous, as large as the heart of God.
Together we learn what Israel knew how to do: to cry out not just for individual needs, but also for issues that face larger bodies of people. When Israel as a nation faced tragedy or challenges, they fasted, gathered, and cried out with a single voice to God (Psalm 74). In worship we name the world's hurt, refusing to be sheltered from it just because our little corner of the world is comfortable.
C.S. Lewis once wrote, "It is far easier to pray for a bore than to go and visit him." Prayer is not an unloading of responsibility. We pray, "Lord, show us how we might in some way be the answer to our own prayer." If we pray for the hungry, or for peace, or for strangers, we cannot help but get busy doing something. If I am praying for anyone at all, my attitude toward that person is changed, softened, and infused with grace.
And so it is the pinnacle of God's largesse that, when we worship by offering up the world and our very selves, God listens and cares, and so we listen and care. Prayer matters. Prayer changes the world.
James
james@mpumc.org
Coming up:
eWorship20 - Repentance and Forgiveness
eWorship21 - School of Theology and Virtue
eWorship22 - Seasons and Years
eWorship23 - Holy matrimony
eWorship24 - Benediction
eWorship25 - Funeral
The complete eWorship series may be found on our web site.
