Not For Eavesdroppers

The other day I was in the room while someone was praying.  It was a public kind of prayer.  It was the kind of prayer which could be understood as one person praying for all the rest of us.  It reminded me of the Sunday morning pastoral prayers I used to pray during worship.  The intent of those prayers was to somehow catch up the needs, the hurts, the sorrows, the joys, the praise, and the hopes of all those gathered.  It sounds like an impossible task and it was.  Still is.  Praying for the masses is a difficult task as any one who prays can understand.   

When those public prayers are being prayed, it is not uncommon for those who are listening in and praying in their own spirit with the one praying aloud to whisper in the quiet chambers of their heart affirming words such as "Amen," or "Yes, Lord."  In that room where I was praying as a silent participant, the one praying suddenly ceased speaking to God which is the intent of praying and started offering a political statement.  It was not like a television message which said this is sponsored by a political party, but clearly, a line had been crossed which caused me to open my eyes, look toward the direction of the one praying, and cease praying.  

While it is tempting, making political statements in prayer turns prayer into something to be heard by others and not God.  At that moment what is being offered as prayer ceases to be prayer.  This is not to say that it is inappropriate to bring issues of justice, mercy, righteousness, and love into the moments we gather as the people of God.  Old Testament prophets such as Amos and more recent ones like Martin Luther King have sounded such words.  The point is that prayers need to be addressed to God and not to the ears of those who are eavesdropping on the conversation.