Let Us Pray
Whilst I am very devoted to the truism of the immutability of God, However I note that He is very big on variety, and copes well with human changes.
It has been my joy to be part of the evolving moods and methods of the expressions of devotion in worship and prayer that God is in the midst of from generation to generation.
I sometimes think with amusement at the changes!
I am of the generation when the church ladies made prayer cushions and we all knelt in prayer. Oh my! We were so pious.
One by one around the kneeling circle LONG sometimes very long prayers were offered to God.
My soul was enriched in those meetings, and I learned quite a vocabulary of theological words!
We then started standing in prayer meetings where the one praying was accompanied by a chorus of quiet praying in tongues.(not always quiet.)
We then started walking up and down the church building, each one praying individual prayers out loud on a given subject.
I notice that today we often have a prayer leader with a microphone praying out front and sitters, standers, and walkers join in with agreement to the prayer.
Background music is an addition.
The clamour in prayer meetings has increased considerably.
Modern youth prayer meetings may take on repetitive fervent yelling: ”Souls! Souls!. (I imagine something like the “Hosanna, Hosanna” of the Bible (SAVE NOW!)
Some years ago as a life-time pentecostal,I had the privilege of being part of prayer meetings as a student at St Marks in Canberra.
My first emotion was embarrassment at the prayer meeting silences.
One-sentence prayers were quietly offered up,“Today we pray for our Prime Minister” – then silence.
At first I held my breath feeling ,”PLEASE someone pray!”
Someone would finally pray: “I pray for our First Nation People,”- silence again!.
After a while, I learned to love those silences because each person in their quietness was able to personally think and add to the prayer sentence from deep down in their own heart.
In those silent moments I experienced deep moments of inner prayer.
Our personal prayer times also find many modes.
Sometimes we cry out, sometimes we systemically work through our list.
Sometimes we laugh, sometimes we cry or groan, and the daily silent conversations in our hearts call out fervently to God.
The wonder of it all is that God inhabits the prayers of His children however and whenever there is a heart that seeks to pursue Him in prayer.
It has been a privilege for me to participate in all the variety of modes of prayer from the devotion of my childhood, to teens, to motherhood, and now to my senior years.
Was one prayer mode better than another? I don’t think so.
God was present in all of them.
God is very good at coping with change as is demonstrated by the changing nature of church services.
The music is different, the preaching is different, the culture is different and the fashion is different! As is the environment.
No organs, no more suited male preaches, no more carbide and pressure lights or hand-held swishing fans.
The hearts of people who seek after God are the same and God is with His people and His presence is overwhelmingly wonderful, when His people seek after Him with all their heart.
However, thus far we do mostly use language!
Our emerging young teen generation is not that keen on using language!
They often traverse life with their ears blocked and their lips sealed.
However their fingers and thumbs are busy chatting to their friends.
My point in writing this is a need to shout out aloud to our emerging young people the truth of a God who loves variety, and loves them in their choice of chatting to Him.
He doesn’t change, however He can cope and be part of change.
GOD CAN READ TEXT MESSAGES!
I don’t expect that young people will read this chatter but we ”oldies” can encourage the young ones to start private messages by texting their prayers and devotion to God.
As God gives them answers in their heart, write in the text messages from God. Save it all! What a wonderful new way to pray.
God doesn’t change, but life changes. People change.
I think God is very happy with our creative teens and loves to receive text messages from them.
GOD CAN READ TEXTS!
I THINK HE UNDERSTANDS EMOJIS AS WELL!
“Just Saying” says Fred.