We speak what we hear. If we hang out with people with potty-mouths, we will end up thinking/speaking profanity. If we live in the South where everyone says "y'all," we will end up with a drawl. If we listen to Christian radio, we will end up with the vocabulary of the fundamentalists and evangelicals. If we read Eastern Orthodox books, we will more and more speak and believe like the Orthodox. If a pastor immerses himself in Luther's Works, his preaching and prayers will sound more and more Lutheran.
"Lord, we just pray that You will ..."
"Just" means "exactly, precisely." Do we really mean to say that this petition is the only thing we want to pray? No. It's just the way some people pray, and if we hear it repeatedly, it is what we will say when we pray.
When a Lutheran pastor prays aloud during the Service, he should pray like a Lutheran and not like a fundamentalist. We have the hymnal. We have the Agenda. We have the Altar Book. If the pastor can pray ex corde ("from the heart," less reverently known as "winging it") and I can't tell, then he has learned to pray from the psalms and the collects so that what comes out of his mouth reflects what he has been praying all along. What the pastor is praying is faithful to what God intends for us to pray. But when the word "just" slips past his lips, he is revealing that his prayers have not been steeped in the catechism, the hymnal, and the psalter. His guidance in prayer has been from those with a different theology. And that does not belong at the altar as he leads his people in prayer.
A pastor has limited ways he can use the word "just" during public prayer. 1) As a surname, such as praying for Dr Just while he travels in Africa. 2) As an adjective, such as praying for wise & just rulers. But if he uses "just" as an adverb, it is time for him to strictly limit himself to READING the prayers -- reading them straight up -- from the hymnal.
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Heh heh.
ReplyDeleteReminds me of when I was a kid and the music teacher brought in a sub who taught us, "Do Lord, O Do Lord, O do remember me"
and I asked, "isn't that a bit selfish?" :)
Actually, doesn't that sound kind of like the Psalms? David often sounds "selfish." But asking God to remember us according to his promises is exactly what he wants us to do. I don't remember how the rest of the song goes, it might not be so good, but I "just" wondered if those first lines were really so bad.
ReplyDelete'Just' has been one of those red-flag words for me in prayers as 'millions of years ago' is in science books.
ReplyDeleteYes, I agree, "I took Jesus as my Savior, you take him too." Yes, when a pastor is reading Luther's Works, he prays that way. I appreciate the prayers from the agenda. Why don't we all? I just don't get it! Why are some Lutherans looking for something more "up to date"? Is the Bible out of date?
ReplyDeleteYep, reminds me of the good ol' prayers to "Lord Weejus" that I heard growing up. (As a former Baptist, I have to pick a little :) ). You also will hear it a lot in popcorn prayers (you know, everyone holding hands in a circle and praying whatever pops up) - not real comfortable with those can you tell?
ReplyDeleteTo be truthful though, my Christian life began in the Baptist church and I am thankful for parents who took me and the teachers who nurtured me. I am very thankful for the husband who took me to the Lutheran church where my questions and doubts were finally answered.