How To Pray

One of the nice things about our congregation is that we have people who compose prayers to share each Sunday. The stand up and deliver a prayer each week and we say, "Lord, hear our prayer," after each petition. I've always been kind of envious of those who do that. The are really good at sharing their inner most thoughts out loud with us and most times we can relate to the ideas of praying for peace in the world or asking for comfort for the sick. One of the reasons I don't do this, as much as I love to stand up front, is because I don't feel  I have enough reverence about me. I have a tendency to want to make people smile or laugh and the Prayer of the Day is not the time for a punch line, at least that's the way I look at it.

But I was thinking today about the way we do go about praying for things. Anne Lamont says some of her most fervent prayers are simply, "help me, help me, help me!" I imagine a child asking God to help him with the next spelling test or help in removing the splinter in her first finger which is bothering her. I know I have prayed that there be retribution for the guy who zoomed in the non-existent right lane in order to get to the light in front of me and six other cars. What do we think God will do in these instances? Instant gratification I assume. What if instead we prayed for patience or wisdom? What if we asked God to help us understand the actions that seem stupid to us, but maybe under difference circumstances would be perfectly understandable?

So I have decided that even though I will still ask for peace in the world and help for the sick, I will ask God to help me out with the patience thing and the wisdom thing and those grander, nobler goals. I may still ask about the splinters, though. The really are quite bothersome.