Wednesday, May 29, 2002
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Wednesday, May 29, 2002 |
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Prayer: Private or public? By JOHN HATCHER I don't necessarily believe that a "family that prays together stays together." I have seen in more than 25 years of ministry that often times the "family that prays together" has a whole bunch of anger that eventually pulls them apart. Prayer is not a talisman that will keep a family together. Nothing replaces honest communication, genuine intimacy, and a willingness to handle conflict constructively. Please don't get me wrong, however. I believe in the power and blessings of prayer. We should pray. We should acknowledge Jehovah Jireh (that is in the Hebrew: God our Provider) every time we sit down to eat. Who else but God provides for our food? It's certainly beyond us to take a seed of wheat and make a loaf of bread. Only God can do that. It's beyond us to take a potato seed and make a batch of whipped potatoes. Only God can do that. Or, to take a seed of corn and make a bowl of grits. Only God can do that. That's one good reason we pray: to acknowledge to God that he, indeed, is the provider. I love the prayer I learned from my Catholic relatives: "We thank you Lord for these thy gifts that we are about to receive through thy bounty through Christ our Lord." The prayer that I was brought up on as a child and often prayed, "God is great, God is good. Let us thank Him for our food. We bow our heads as we are fed; thank you God for daily bread. Amen." My friend, Rev. Richard Green of New Covenant Metropolitan Church, takes a different tact as he prays before a meal. He implores God to sanctify the food that is about to be received. He contends that hardly anyone knows the exact condition of the food placed before anyone; so, it is appropriate to ask God to make the food acceptable and nourishing for the body that the body may be strengthened and not adversely affected (how many of us wished we had prayer such a prayer before eating some tainted meat?). Sanctifying the food makes it holy and pleasing to the body. In recent years we have heard prayers that acknowledge "the hands that prepared the food." This is a gracious inclusion for prayer: not only to thank God for the food but to thank God for those who made the efforts to prepare the food over hot stoves. I am sure that such a line in prayer has blessed many a hard working housewife who worked long and hard over a meal consumed in only a few brief minutes. There again, the cook is a provision of God. But so many eat many of their meals out in restaurants. What about restaurant prayer? Is it appropriate? Yes, prayer is always appropriate. Yet, I am counseled by Jesus who looked with suspicion on religious folks that sought to be seen praying in public places in order to put on a spiritual sideshow. Often, I employ Rosalind Rinker's method of open eye prayer, looking at everyone around the table and saying, "Are we to thank God for the food we have before us?" In effect, asking for a response, to which most usually around the table respond, "Yes." Bottom line, I do not believe or practice that restaurant prayer is the time or place to call attention to the dubious fact of how spiritual one might be. Remember that Jesus talked about entering one's closet and praying in private. I have a good idea that people who genuinely pray in their closets are the people who can maintain genuine relationships.
The Rev. Dr. John Hatcher is pastor of River's Edge Community
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