More thoughts on prayer

Been thinking more about the whole prayer thing. The good news is I don’t totally not believe in it. I think I have problems with certain types of prayer. At the moment, I can cope with a more generalised prayer. Its kinda specific prayer that I find hard. Its really hard to explain. For example, I guess I would have problems if someone prayed that God would heal my arm (which still in a cast). Maybe because I am sceptical. And maybe because I equate that with some kind of immediate result. On the other hand, if they prayed that my bone would heal well, I might find that easier to take (not that the prayer is directed to me anyway).

Being in christian ministry, I end up going to many meetings. It seems customary to end Christian meetings (the committee/planning kind) with prayer. I am uncomfortable with that because it almost seems like a shopping list prayer, as you pray about what you talked about. It seems too much like a habitual Christian way to end a meeting. At the moment, I feel more able to start with a prayer cos at the start you’re feeling a bit more vulnerable than at the end, when all decisions have been made.

Maybe what I struggle with is what we have made of prayer. The whole ‘ask-and-it-shall-be-given-shopping-trolley’ type prayer. Maybe I struggle with that because I don’t have enough faith. Or am too sceptical. But prayer with a sense of our helplessness, a prayer to someone who is bigger and more able. And I guess as Stu has mentioned, prayer as a foolishly faithful act – in our vulnerability, abandoning ourselves to God. That kind of prayer I find strangely comforting. Maybe it is a product of foolish faith.