Prayer In Public

FRI., AUG. 9, 1985, 7:12 AM
FARM, STUDY

Prayer is communication to Me… or at least toward Me. It is a reasonably formal attempt to let Me know how you are, what you appreciate, and what you need. Prayer has many forms, from the incredibly repetitive to the bumptiously spontaneous; from the long discourse to the “short and sweet.” I like prayer, and I urge you, yet again, o son, to try to improve this aspect of your spiritual life.

The title I gave to you is “prayer in public,” and at this you do fairly well. You are not as good as many of the Latter Day Saints, but you are certainly above average for Presbyterians. The important remembrance when you are praying in public, for others, is that you must seek the right balance between what most of that public would say and what they should say. As you know public prayer can easily edge into a sermon, a discourse, even a harangue that truly departs from being a prayer. The mode of prayer should not be used in such a way, but I am interested more in the sincerity than in the content.

At one extreme the person who prays has something important to say to the people, and I may agree that it is important, and this prayer is the only medium available. So, in sincerity and sometimes in regret for using prayer thusly, the expository prayer is made. And I respond more to the spirit than to the “technical misuse”.

At the other extreme, however, are pray-ers who just want to make a speech in order to receive personal acclaim. Portions of the prayer are pure rhetoric, with only the guiding principle that the “people would love to be saying this.” I know the hearts of those who pray, and this kind of prayer is not a gift easy to receive.

Now, what do I think about the current controversy in your culture about prayer in public schools? Those who oppose this location for prayer range from the sincerely afraid to the foolish atheist. (Not all atheists are foolish, but some are, utterly.) Some are afraid of the establishment of a religion which would exclude them. This is always a possibility, but I am less concerned about this than about the establishment of “God is excluded from this place.” This is the foolishness of which I speak.

Though I love many who are outside of My folds, and I do want their return, I also am displeased with their often foolish proclamations and conduct in relation to prayer toward Me. They proclaim a commitment to freedom and argue, somehow, that prayer leads away from freedom. I assert, of course, that since I am the fount of true freedom, prayer to Me is a path toward freedom. To oppose this is, yes, foolishness.

There are many paths to relationship with Me. When some stridently and even viciously proclaim that theirs is the only way it can be troubling to those on other paths, particularly when such are obviously in the minority. Yet the best opposition to this is the gentle, persistent showing of another way. And prayer in public can do this.

As Jesus I did not do excessive praying in public. My best was short and sincere, in a time of pain and transition from this earth life… “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” And this could apply to many who oppose public prayer. They truly do not know what they are opposing.