that little prayer thing

I overheard a worship leader say (sarcastically), "after the little prayer thing we do" we will go into the next song. Hearing it just thrown out there like that, without a sense of realization of the way it sounded, threw me for a loop. To this I sarcastically responded "Oh yeah, you know, that little prayer thing where we communicate with the Creator of the universe and He actually stops and listens. Yeah let's just breeze right by that and get back to playing music!"

But sadly this is how American church culture thinks. We focus more on the worship music than we do the One we worship. We plan big events and do what we can to get people there instead of praying that God would bring increase. We make strategies to get to know people so we can talk to them about Jesus instead of talking to the people that are already in our lives that need Him.

I'm not saying that we shouldn't be prepared or doing what we can, but the thing that we lack the most is prayerfully considering God and His faithfulness. We live in a world that does not feel a need for God like many 3rd world countries do. Majority of people have enough food, enough money to get us by, a home to shelter us from the weather, and we are free to attend church without the threat of persecution. Having all of this threatens to give us a false sense of security in our lives. We forget that God has called us to "pray without ceasing" 1 Thess. 5:17.

At the beginning of the Grammy's this year, host LL Cool J began the night with a short prayer to acknowledge the sudden passing of Whitney Houston. As the camera panned across the crowd of celebrities with heads bowed and eyes closed I was shocked. Even the crowd of celebrities that are not known for their faith in God understand the power of prayer, even just to commemorate a fallen comrade.

A friend's blog provided me with a great example for this. I have never really been able to accurately put words to this phenomenon of a Christian's prayer life falling by the wayside. She likened a lack of prayer to having the Queen of England over for tea. Would you just go about your daily routine and leave the queen and all her royalty sitting alone in your kitchen. Maybe say a few words as you fly past her with laundry filled arms on your way to the basement. The Queen of England is important, but she is nothing compared to the Creator of the universe. He trumps her by a long shot!

Have you spent some time with HIM today?