Thursday, February 07, 2008
Public Prayer
Mark Daniels recently write about praying with people. My favorite story in this vein is when I dined with some Jewish friends, offered to pray over the meal, and out of habit ended the prayer with "In Christ's name." I winced internally, prayed silently that no offense was taken and nothing was said. A few month later we were with them again and this time they ASKED me to prayer. Whew!
Mark's observation, which my story evidences:
But more, and especially in trouble situations like hospital rooms and funeral parlors, even non-believers are looking for "insurance." The old war-trench conversion? I think there is more there than that. I think it is a matter of that sense of God that is discussed early in Romans. People seem to instinctively know there is "something to" prayer. I think it takes and act of will and a bit of self-denial to be a deeply functioning atheist, even agnostic.
I also think this phenomena says something about how we reach people for Jesus. Genuine evangelism is visceral. When we are looking to really change lives, we need to look for that same spark in them that accepts prayer in this way and cultivate. We don't need a specific formulation of understanding, a mandated posture of humility, we need to reach the spark in each of us that says there us "something to" all this, then we need to nurture it.
This is relational, it won't happen through TV, it won't happen through magic words, properly spoken at the proper time. It will happen because people are good enough friends with people to know when it is the correct time to pull that string.
Have you made a friend today? Have you prayed with them?
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Mark's observation, which my story evidences:
In my whole life, I've never met anybody who minded it when someone offered to pray for them. It's the least offensive way a Christian can share their love of Jesus Christ. (Assuming, of course, that they will follow through on the offer and actually pray for the person!)Why do you think that is? I think there are two possibilities. The first is that political correctness demands that the other not quash your faith expression. There is some validity to that. Even people who are really anti-religious would hesitate to be quite this in-your-face about it.
But more, and especially in trouble situations like hospital rooms and funeral parlors, even non-believers are looking for "insurance." The old war-trench conversion? I think there is more there than that. I think it is a matter of that sense of God that is discussed early in Romans. People seem to instinctively know there is "something to" prayer. I think it takes and act of will and a bit of self-denial to be a deeply functioning atheist, even agnostic.
I also think this phenomena says something about how we reach people for Jesus. Genuine evangelism is visceral. When we are looking to really change lives, we need to look for that same spark in them that accepts prayer in this way and cultivate. We don't need a specific formulation of understanding, a mandated posture of humility, we need to reach the spark in each of us that says there us "something to" all this, then we need to nurture it.
This is relational, it won't happen through TV, it won't happen through magic words, properly spoken at the proper time. It will happen because people are good enough friends with people to know when it is the correct time to pull that string.
Have you made a friend today? Have you prayed with them?
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