Prayer...for God's sake

At various times in my life, I've played on church softball teams.  I've always enjoyed such activities.  It allowed me to get to know church folks in a different context.  People seem more willing to be themselves when they aren't dressed for church, and people feel less incline to talk about churchy stuff.  At the end of each game, the teams would trot out onto the field, circle up, and pray.  When it came time to pray, everybody would look at the sky, kick the dirt in the infield, and inevitably someone would say, "Hey, Alan, you're a minister, why don't you offer up the prayer?"  I'll be honest and say that sometimes I didn't feel like praying.  I'm a competitive person, and if we had just lost a lead or been unable to mount a comeback, my honest deep-down-in-my-heart prayer was for my enemies to be smited.  If we had won the game, I was probably feeling smug and not in the most reverent place either.  Regardless, as I read the passage for this week about not practicing your religion in front of other people, I decided Jesus would not be a fan of the public prayer at the end of softball games.

While we shouldn't exactly be shocked anymore, Jesus' advice about prayer seems to stand in opposition to some of the most hallowed traditions of religious practice in churches all over the world.  After all, isn't the pastor supposed to offer eloquent prayers in worship so that everyone can grow closer to God through those words?  Aren't the youth who volunteer to pray at youth group granted special status?  

And what about all that secretive giving Jesus advocates?  How am I supposed to see my name in the program at the symphony or in my alma mater's newsletter if I don't submit my full name on the donation form?  Just how are churches supposed to raise funds for that new hymnal if we don't agree to put stickers with donor names on the inside cover?

To be sure, we are called to gather with other believers for corporate (meaning communal) worship, and I don't think Jesus would be disappointed in those of us who include The Great Thanksgiving in our communion liturgies.  However, maybe Jesus' challenge to make prayer and worship a daily practice in the privacy of one's home and one's heart is made so that we might not be distracted by some need to "get it right" in front of others.  In the template for prayer that Jesus offers, the focus is entirely on God.  May our prayer life reflect that focus.

Matthew 6:1-15

6 “Be careful that you don’t practice your religion in front of people to draw their attention. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.

² “Whenever you give to the poor, don’t blow your trumpet as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets so that they may get praise from people. I assure you, that’s the only reward they’ll get. ³ But when you give to the poor, don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing ⁴ so that you may give to the poor in secret. Your Father who sees what you do in secret will reward you.

Showy prayer

⁵ “When you pray, don’t be like hypocrites. They love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners so that people will see them. I assure you, that’s the only reward they’ll get. ⁶ But when you pray, go to your room, shut the door, and pray to your Father who is present in that secret place. Your Father who sees what you do in secret will reward you.

Proper prayer

⁷ “When you pray, don’t pour out a flood of empty words, as the Gentiles do. They think that by saying many words they’ll be heard. ⁸ Don’t be like them, because your Father knows what you need before you ask. ⁹ Pray like this: 

Our Father who is in heaven, 

uphold the holiness of your name. 

¹⁰ Bring in your kingdom 

so that your will is done on earth as it’s done in heaven. 

¹¹ Give us the bread we need for today. 

¹² Forgive us for the ways we have wronged you, 

just as we also forgive those who have wronged us. 

¹³ And don’t lead us into temptation, 

but rescue us from the evil one. 

¹⁴ “If you forgive others their sins, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. ¹⁵ But if you don’t forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your sins.