Keep On Praying

"Are you a preacher?"  the stranger asked.  Since I had just offered the invocation at an event we were both attending, it was not too risky a question.  "So why pray," she went on, "if God already knows the outcome of the election and Jesus said to pray 'Thy will be done.'   Not much reason to pray, is there?"  All I wanted to do was kick back and listen to some locals play country music and suddenly this strange woman was making me get my clergy robe out of the closet.   

Hers was a good question.  As Wendell Berry has his character, Jayber,  saying, "Once you pray Thy will be done, what's left to pray about?"  It was easy to be "preacherish"  and quote a couple of Scripture verses like the one which says to pray without ceasing and another which tells us the prayer of a righteous person counts much.  But, as I soon realized, she wanted to tell me more about what she thought than to hear what I might think so I brought our theological discussion to a close with another not so profound observation about our motivation in praying,  "Is it about getting, or being?"   

My new friend probably walked off more satisfied about the way she confounded the preacher than satisfied with the answer to her question.  It was not one of those moments when there was time to get an end of conversation survey so I will never know.  What I do know is that prayer is a greater mystery than can possibly be unwound in a two minute conversation.  What I do know is that God in His mercy makes use of our prayers in accomplishing the work He intends to do.  What I also know is that I am going to keep on praying.