Religion, Sex, and Politics

OK, I'll just be blunt and get to the point. I think most of the corporate praying we do in church falls far short of God's intention for our prayer life together. We squander the opportunity that prayer affords. Week after week, we remain "small minded" in our prayers, focusing on the "discomforts of the moment" in our lives or the lives of those we care about, while the great issues of God's saving work in the world go unaddressed. And, I believe, this habitual abuse of prayer trains our people to remain immature and small-minded in their own prayer lives.

On any given Sunday, what does most of our prayer time look like?
- Praying for people who are sick.
- Praying for people who are facing surgery.
- Praying for people who are injured (broken arm, bad knee).
- Praying for rain when it's too dry.
- Praying for people who are having a tough time (home fire, unemployed, etc.)

And what is the essence of our every prayer? "Lord, fix it. Make the discomfort go away. Make the illness go away. Remove the struggle from our existence. Give us what we think we need."

Shallow, selfish, short-sighted, small-minded... maybe you're catching on that I detest this abuse of congregational prayer.

In contrast, what did Jesus pray about?
- The choices that would shape his ministry (like choosing disciples).
- The spiritual strength of his followers.
- That others would see God's glory, hear God's truth.
- That we as God's people would be unified.
- The spiritual protection and growth of his followers.
- That the Father's will would be done.

Jesus clearly cared about sickness and suffering. Otherwise he would not have done so much healing. But shouldn't the salvation of the lost rank a little higher on our concern list? When I die, it's not going to be a tragedy but a victory. And when we pray for those who are suffering, do we ask God to mobilize US to help, or are we just trying to skirt any ministry and dump the responsibility on God?

And what did the Apostle Paul pray about?
- The spiritual insight and discernment of his Christian friends.
- The growth of God's people in love and ministry.
- Strength for his friends in times of trial.
- Praise for God's work in the lives of new believers.
- That God's will would be demonstrated in Christian's lives.
- That the gospel of Jesus Christ would spread.
- That God's people would bear spiritual fruit.

If I were an outsider, using the communication between God's people and their Heavenly Father to figure out what was most important to the church of Jesus Christ, what would I conclude? Wouldn't it seem that the mission Christ gave the church was to promote Christians living physically healthy and pain free for as long as possible? And wouldn't it seem that Christians don't think THEY bear responsibility for caring for the sick, but only for telling God what to do about it?

How long before I would hear a passionate prayer asking God to guide us in addressing...
- those who live without Christ and without hope,
- neglected children,
- sexual abuse,
- poverty,
- the exploitation of the weak,
- crumbling marriages,
- the needs that surround us in our community,
- our need to know God more deeply,
- our responsibility for the sick, imprisoned, hungry,
- our need to surrender ourselves to God's will...
...and in all of these, a clear emphasis on "God, what is it you want us to do - this group of people, in this place, on this day - to demonstrate your active love and concern for the needs around us" vs. a passive "God, you take care of it, because I'm too busy."

Let me invite you to respond by listing those things YOU see us neglecting that are most certainly on the heart of God. And, you Hillsboro folks, maybe you'd like to also write it down on that "prayer request" slip in the bulletin and drop it in the offering plate: "Please pray for Hillsboro to act against predatory lending."

I'll be checking the comments box and the notes in the offering!