Ash Wednesday seems like an especially appropriate time to talk about prayer. When I talk with children (and sometimes youth and adults) about prayer, I always tell them, “You can pray anywhere, anytime and about anything.” God is accessible to all of us. We do not need eloquent words or a seminary degree to pray. If asked, most Christians would agree with these statements. And yet…
I have noticed unwillingness on the part of many people to pray out loud in a group setting. (Interestingly, children are often more willing than youth and adults to pray in front of their peers.) Last week as I was leading a meeting I shared an opening devotion and then asked for a volunteer to lead us in prayer. Although there were only six of us, certainly not an intimidating crowd, you can imagine what happened. There was a rather awkward silence during which the other five group members avoided making eye contact with me. I am sure that many of you have found yourselves in similar situations, on one side or the other.
Since that meeting, I have thought about that incident many times. I understand the reluctance to lead a group in prayer. Although I am comfortable speaking in public, it took me a long time to be willing to pray aloud in a group setting. Mostly though, my thoughts have led me to wonder if we, as church leaders are enabling the idea that praying in public is not something that just anyone can do.
Ask yourself the following questions:
- When your church community gathers for worship, who leads prayer?
- Is your church in the habit of praying together when gathered for Sunday School, Bible study, committee meetings and other events? If yes, who leads these prayers? If no, why not?
- When your church community shares a meal together, is the pastor always asked to pray, or is the responsibility of leading prayer shared?
- Within the ministries of your church, are there opportunities for persons, other than the pastor, to lead group prayer?
It is not that I believe pastors should not lead prayers. However, I wonder if our prayer practices are unintentionally sending the message that only the pastors and a few leaders can lead group prayer. If we really believe that anyone can pray anytime, anywhere and about anything, it is time that we become intentional about empowering people to do so.
If your church encourages people to lead public prayer and provides opportunities to do so, post a comment and share your ideas with others.
~Sally Hoelscher