[Context: US President’s Inauguration]
The way prayer was used today was…hmmm…hard to hear.
Moments like this make it challenging to think of myself as a Christian. And then I remind myself of my imperfection. Do I have the right to criticize? In my criticism am I speaking a version of the Pharasee’s proud prayer, “God, I thank you that I am not like _”? (Luke 18)
What I’m clearer and clearer on is that prayer should never be used as a way to say, “We’re right and you’re wrong,” because prayer isn’t a conversation with each other, it’s a conversation between us and God. Based on the way Jesus taught his disciples to pray, there’s never a time our prayers should be used as a way to check each other; it is a time for God to check us and to say so much more. We’ll only hear any of it when we’re quiet.
We fear the quiet, that 3am type of stillness. It can happen at any hour if we’re willing to identify and turn off as much noise as we can. We need the quiet more than ever. There’s so much we need to hear that will make the noise less terrifying, less overwhelming, because what we desperately need to hear from God is how much he loves us. That his love never ends. That he never leaves us. That he longs to guide us. That even when he doesn’t hold back the consequences of our missteps and the missteps of others, he hasn’t deserted us. His love leaves room for our choices which is why we are where we are today.
Prayer isn’t a game. Prayer is a gift. We get to freely talk with God. That should amaze us. It should humble us. It should cause gratitude to pour out of us. Even when we don’t know what to say, the knowledge that prayer exists should encourage us to linger a little longer. It’s okay to only listen.