Comments on: Why is Prayer Weird?

By: Mallori Hunt

Mallori Hunt — Tue, 15 Oct 2013 21:29:23 +0000

This makes me think about my struggle of praying in a group setting. We, non- prayer warriors, are afraid to pray in front of other Christians and non-Christians because we may not do it “correctly.” Your post reveals that it is heart behind the prayer, not the order of the words or the words themselves. The power of pray is undeniable. Maybe next time I pray in front of others I should pray about it first! Seeing that my fear is not in my prayer but instead the people surrounding me. :)
Thanks David.

By: Hollie Gale

Hollie Gale — Mon, 16 Sep 2013 05:45:32 +0000

“we tend to pile instructions on top of advice. However, if we are missing out, the solution won’t come from better techniques, but from a clearer view of God. And when we glimpse the communicative self-giving love of God, isn’t our response to communicate back?”

David- so well put! I loved this article!totally made me laugh, out loud, watching reels of ‘instant replays’ flash through my mind ;)

You know, that last bit I quoted has been something I have been thinking about loads lately. Just recently having returned from my visit home, and enduring the worse case of homesickness I have every experienced, my prayers have been sooo wierd! Don’t worry- I haven’t gone all archaic ;)- rather its just more ‘hearty’ and sometimes there aren’t the words, so I just sit and enjoy Gods company! In the last few months I have felt a new depth in my relationship, like we do with one another the more we get to know others. Then reading your blog, I thought, that is it–!

Take a dinner party- if those attending don’t know one another, conversations are fairly scripted – how are you, where do you live, what do you do, do you have kids… All fairly informational. But then, imagine a get together of close friends! Sometimes just a ‘look’ says so much because these people can read you like a book! I laugh thinking about taking my ‘script’ into the latter dinner party– it is sooooo often what Christians do when we pray! It’s no wonder prayer is wierd! Our *religious* ways make it like that- but may our conversations with him be honest and tangable today. Thank you David

By: David Searight

David Searight — Thu, 05 Sep 2013 21:38:21 +0000

In reply to Heather Brain.

Heather, thank you for your comment. My blog offers not a critique of those that struggle to pray, but rather a critique of the strange ritual version of prayer that has become normal in some settings. I believe the ritualistic version of prayer that I’ve experienced, and I know many others have as well, reflects a view of God who is primarily distant and not the God of the Bible who is with us. The churchianity reflected in this formulaic prayer intimidates the very people you describe. All of God’s children should feel free to pray naturally with their God, just as they naturally communicate with their friends, spouses, etc, which will result in as much diversity as there is variety of people in the church. Some more will be eloquent than others, some more direct, or more wordy. How great is the beauty of Christ’s body! But the a-relational methods I mentioned above only cause people (especially those who are new to the faith or our not-yet-Christian-friends) to think “I can’t pray like that” or “I don’t want to say weird things like that.” So I completely agree with you: heart relationship expressed in response to a biblical view of God is the goal. And if we were able to consistently present a clear view of God, then it might be true that we would all know prayer is about the heart. Thanks for your helpful comment on this issue

By: Gretchen

Gretchen — Tue, 03 Sep 2013 22:21:26 +0000

Thanks so much for this post. Dave. It follows the same vein as several conversations I’ve had with my daughter lately about prayer. I love what you said, “the solution won’t come from better techniques, but from a clearer view of God.” And the best way I know to get a clearer view of God is to immerse ourselves in the Bible. It’s there that we discover the relationship with Him that makes prayer so natural and not a weird experience at all. Thanks for the good words!

By: Heather Brain

Heather Brain — Tue, 03 Sep 2013 20:42:05 +0000

“If this is true, and prayer is a duty” – you seem to be drawing a judgement on people’s hearts with this comment. We all know prayer is about the heart, regardless of language, grammar, etiquette, and eloquence. We all know we should pray how we feel led to pray – stumbling, faltering, organised, or archaic. I felt the tone of the article to be a little too critical for me to feel comfortable – We are brothers and sisters after all and let’s praise God for our differences rather than criticise others. Can there not be unity in diversity? Heart expression of a love relationship in a variety of forms – it’s just that my form may not be the same as that of others, and isn’t that alright?