I was squeezing in a few tunes between stops and my I-Pod started playing a Randy Travis gospel rendition of “Jesus on the main line, tell Him what you want.” This theme was repeated again and again. It was a foot stomping, hand clapping, finger popping, EEE-Haw song that I really enjoy listening to if I don’t listen to the words.
If I pay attention to what is being said it becomes an example of pagan prayer.
Some people feel that prayer is just a cosmic Amazon.com using someone else’s credit card. They think that the whole purpose of prayer is to “tell Him what you want.”
I beg to differ.
Prayer is communication with God. It is sharing my heart and mind with the Creator. It is a dialogue. It involves me listening as well as talking. I spend a lot of time in prayer but very little of it is listing all the requests that I have. Sure I share my concerns. I pray for people out of work and people struggling with physical issues. I pray for the kids I teach and the teachers I rub elbows with. But that is not the major focus of my prayer.
Think of how you would respond if that is how people talked to you. Maybe they do and you don’t need to think about it.
Share your heart. Listen to His. Leave your list on the refrigerator.
homo unius libri
Are you sure "pagan" is the word? I would think more along the lines of "immature." He does say that we have not because we ask not. Of course then there's that less quoted part "or you ask amiss" (or something close).
ReplyDeleteI had thoughts about my choice of "pagan." What I think I am seeing is more and more of the values of the pagan past creeping into what is called Christianity. Superstition is a belief that we can manipulate the world by magic mantras and special words. It is a belief that if we do something enough times or the right way we can control the supernatural. Much of the prayer I hear falls into that category. If nothing else it may get someone's attention.
DeleteGrace and peace.