Perfect transition

OK, "perfect" may not be the best qualifier, but a smooth point of transition nonetheless. A side note: as I type this I have another window open listening to some of the songs on youtube.com that we will be doing in worship in the coming weeks... How Can I keep From Singing, Word of God Speak, Jesus Messiah, Nothing Without You by Bebo Norman, Mighty to Save, and others. Drop me an email if you want regular lists so you can sing at the top of your lungs on Sunday mornings.

So this seamless transition is all about prayer. The last week of the Christmas Conversations book deals with various questions on prayer and this last week our Sunday morning "New perspective" theme was on prayer. See, perfect transtion!

I promised in worship to share a prayer blunder from my life. It came in seminary in the one class that us pastors-to-be must take on worship. At the start of each class, a couple students would be called upon and given a specific prayer request. The goal for a grade was to pray for that request according to the format/formula we had been given. So my day comes. My name is called and I am instructed (not really asked) to pray for music teachers in Lutheran schools who are three years away from retirement and struggling with teaching kindergartners how to play the bongos, wood block, and xylophone to Twinkle, twinkle Little Star. OK, so I exaggerate a little, but only for effect. So I start praying in front of a whole class of pastors-to-be (The author of the Christmas Conversations booklet among those in the class) and under the observation of a professor holding a red pen and wearing a scowl. And I prayed and I prayed and I prayed... yeah, that formula we were instructed went out the window really early on. I remember walking back to my seat looking at the pity in the faces of my classmates and probably enduring a comment from the prof like, "Well, that needs some work."

I should probably pray every morning for music teachers in Lutheran schools to make up for the disservice I did them that day. Man, I really blew it. But we aren't praying for a grade on too regular of a basis and certainly never in God's eyes. I don't know that I am any better of a prayer crafter now, but I know I am a much stronger prayer. This process of starting a new church has forced me to depend upon God and cling to Him like never before. Prayer flows out of that dependence and that clinging. Sometimes there are words, sometimes not. God has grown me by praying with others in desparate situations where I know I will never say the right words to bring comfort. In those moments I can only hope to remind someone else of God's love for him and God's presence in her life. In those moments of praying WITH someone I know each time that we will walk away with a stronger and deeper relationship. I have prayed with people on-line, over the telephone, and in person. I have shared meaningful evenings with Crosspointe's Prayer Team.

I'm not going to give you a formula for prayer and I'm not going to tell you that I have the whole prayer thing figured out. But, as a pastor who probably received a failing grade in prayer in my seminary worship class, I will tell you this: you cannot blow it when you are praying. You don't need to worry about the right words and the right posture and the right timing. Just talk to God about your cares and concerns and know that He hears you with a love that will never run out.

I look forward to praying with you and growing in prayer together.