On Prayer

For the two of you who follow this blog, you know that the church I'm a part of Community of Grace, meets in the evenings. In the mornings, I attend Lake Harriet Christian Church in Minneapolis. I interned there during seminary, and came back in 2004 as a member. Since the fall of 2004, I've been part of the bell choir which has been fun. We've started a practice of ending our Wednesday night rehersals with prayer. And when the time comes to pray, guess who get's asked?

Well, not just me, but the other another person in the room who is the associate minister.

I don't have a problem with praying. But I always find it interesting that people have a problem with praying in public. I think that we're all afraid to say the wrong thing, and people will get angry, or maybe that God will strike us down for saying the wrong words or something like that.

I have to admit that I worry about saying the wrong things. But you know what? Prayer is a lot like walking, you put one foot in front of the other. You pray that those who are ill find comfort and strength. You show solidarity with those looking for work because you've been there too. Just because I'm a minister, doesn't mean that it's easy to pray, but you learn that it isn't as hard either.

I would love to hear some of my fellow bell ringers pray. I don't expect fancy words, I expect heartfelt words coming from people who care for one another and I know this community does care for each other.

Just some thoughts to share on a Wednesday night...