And whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, so that they may be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. But whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
“When you are praying, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do; for they think that they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. Matthew 6:5-8
This is one of the teachings that comes a little too close for comfort. I pray aloud...in public...all the time. Do I love to pray? Sure. There is a peacefulness, joy, and power that I sense when I try to give voice to what is in my heart and what I think is in the hearts of those listening. Are my prayers too long? Perhaps. Prayer can become like a checklist in my mind and make sure I cover "all my bases" asking God to help with violence, environment, health concerns for people, the church, etc. I wonder about transforming prayer in the church I serve. How do I create space so that I am not the designated pray-er? How do I empower and equip people to practice prayer on Sunday morning so that they might do the same every single day? The harder...read more vulnerable...question is, "How is it with my soul, my life, my connection with God?
Jesus says go in the room. I've always lived in a place where at least some of the space was mine, even when I shared a bedroom with my brother growing up. We tend to take this instruction literally. I should go into a room and actually shut a door. But in Jesus' day, many houses had only one room. What do you do then? The room that might be sectioned off was the dressing room. What would it mean to go into a space and place where you usually were naked to pray? Was Jesus suggesting that you need to strip down the clothing and stand naked before God? Perhaps. Or perhaps prayer is about striping down the wallpaper we usually post to Facebook and to stop fantasizing about our lives. To be naked before God is the original state of our relationship with God, it echoes all the way back to Genesis 2.
As for the empty phrases...well I think we can all be guilty of that. But words matter in prayer. Some words in prayers bother me. I am not a big fan of the over use of "just" in prayers. We just want to... As if, it was a small, simple request for God to get us something...like let's say world peace. But I know for others reading this blog, you like the word "Just"...find it very meaningful in prayers and have a different take. We all pray differently. We all need to use our words authentically and not try to imitate another...which is why it is good to strip away all pretenses and that which we use to cover ourselves before attempting to pray.
I find it interesting that the very next verse is the Lord's Prayer. Jesus does not just tell us what NOT to do, he offers images and thoughts on what to DO. That is valuable. I will not say much about the Lord's Prayer...but this Lent I encourage you...if nothing else for the rest of Lent, pray the Lord's prayer. Let the words linger around you and within us. Let the thoughts form images that guide your connection to God. I pray that as you continue the journey that takes us to the reality of the cross and beyond, you will sense more than a trace of God's grace.
Amen and blessings ~
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