I Heard an Interesting Prayer

I recently heard an “interesting” (to note the least) prayer. The worship leader at church said, “… and Lord, we pray that we might pay attention” to what you have to tell us.

I suspect that the worship leader could have been more effective if he just called our attention back when our minds wander. A hardy “Hey, folks, listen up,” or “Pay attention, please,” would likely have made quite an impression. Any way you look at it, it is our own job to pay attention. I could better understand what is meant if someone asks for grace or strength or … (well, you get my drift) … to follow God’s will, but in the end is God even possibly responsible if we don’t “pay attention?”

I don’t intend to say that we always have to be absolutely perfect when we pay, or that there is no room for the simple, “Lord, have mercy.” God understands the seemingly incoherent prayer as well as the well-composed, well-spoken prayer. Once when I was a kid, I heard an amazing prayer at church camp by our camp doctor. It still speaks to me nearly 60 years later. Dr. Silvey, a physician from back home, was asked to say grace at the noon meal, and he prayed;

“God, we thank you for this good food, and we pray that you will help us to eat it all up. Amen.”

Sometimes when a negative memory comes up, I find myself saying, “God, I hate this,” or, “I want out.” I don’t have to even think a correction. God simply understands that prayer of embarrassment or pain in that memory. I don’t have to even think a prayer for relief. There are times when I simply pray, “God, it hurts.” Regardless of the composition, God gets it.

It still doesn’t hurt to take time to think through a coherent prayer, but that is mostly because I can sort it out better. I can come to a better understanding of why I feel the way I do about the memory, or my pain. I can get much deeper and kind of “answer” my own prayer by changing my thinking. God did give us that ability, you know.