THE POSTURE OF PRAYER
This Fall, Mr. Erickson and Mr. Dierks, along with Pastor Fraker, Vicar Gumz and DCE Moore, attended a Prayer Retreat put on by the Texas District of the LCMS. This is an offering that has been enhancing pastoral ministry for the past 15 years or so.Pastor annually attends this "48" event- to be in prayer and WORD and rest.
I first attended the Prayer 101 Introduction five years ago and have attempted to send two teachers to this annually since.The alumni track this year had a neat Ephesians emphasis with daily interaction morning, noon and night, to lead into or reflect upon times of solitude with God, Bible, hymns and study guide.
One passionate discussion revolved around the posture of prayer. There were differing views speaking to the irony of how we teach young and request of old some variation of- "Please fold your hands, bow your head and/or close your eyes."-- According to those attending who dig into God's WORD heavily, this prayer posture is not mentioned ANYWHERE in the Bible...
With the best of intentions I'm sure this tradition is intended to keep busy hands and minds from distraction, BUT could this simple, well-intentioned human practice and tradition actually detract from some of the joy or freedom that the command and invitation to prayer that GOD and HIS WORD and Example intended for us?
Extremely interesting to me...Just another reminder to me in a world of busyness and distraction and humanity, that it is best for us to be regularly in HIS WORD- the only TRUTH guaranteed.All folks and institutions and traditions may have the best of intentions, but when and where sinners are involved, flaws are guaranteed, and can/will dull the point and pure TRUTH His WORD is really emphasizing.
So if prayer isn't a regular rhythm of regular chat with GOD each week for you and me- maybe we should lighten up on our perception of how serious and formal we think prayer time should be. And in a world of easy access to everything- if Bible read and reflection isn't something we choose to squeeze in for 5 minutes on our phone or computer on occasion when we constantly click refresh on Facebook and email updates- we might want to tighten up our perception of how important and beneficial being tuned in to Bible more than society and social updates truly is-- and don't tell me there's not an app for that...
Found a great, light book on a shelf at CAMP ALLEN in Navasota during this retreat sharing one woman's thoughts on prayer that was refreshing and thorough.Much of what my two prayer retreat experiences hit on was summarized nicely in this book. So if a "48" hr retreat doesn't work in your busy family life and work world, I might disagree.If you have interest, ask and I’ll lend you this quick book sharing one women’s walk with God in prayer.
Kevin Dierks,
Cross Lutheran School Principal
