Monday, September 29, 2008

Pots, Pans & Prayer


Have you every had to pray in front of a group and either just not wanted to, or thought long and hard about how you were to pray. I must confess that there are some times that I have tried to turn a prayer into a production, to pray in a way that others think "wow he is a really good Pray-er" or "wow, he must be close to God, listen to how he prays." Which in hind site seems really stupid. No I mean really really stupid.
I posted this video because I think our prayers are a lot like that, a bunch of banging noises. Anyone that doesn't know and love my kids were probably cringing after the first couple of hits (if not the first.) To me it was beautiful, it was one of the best symphony's I have ever heard. Why? because I wasn't listening to the instruments- I was listening to their hearts. They would say daddy daddy listen. I would try to leave the room and they would say "daddy come back" over and over and over. After playing a line they would stop and look up at me waiting for my approval, as I clapped and cheered their smile got even wider than when they were bashing their drums.
God is not impressed by our eloquence or articulation of prayers, in fact he already knows what we are going to say before we even speak a word. What he does love is when we are focused on him and look for his attention and affirmation in our prayers. If you ever get a chance to pray in public, I want to challenge you to freak people out and just talk to him like he was a friend who was standing beside you. Regardless of how bad we bungle our words and trip all over ourselves, God enjoys the symphony of an honest prayer. So take God up at his word (the book of Hebrews) when he says "let us approach the throne of grace with confidence." I am going to take a serious look at my prayer life especially how I pray in public.

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