"Can I get a volunteer to pray?"
(Crickets)
No one pipes up.
Have you ever been in this situation? A simple invita-
tion to pray before a shared meal or at the close of a Bi-
ble study can sometimes turn otherwise Chatty Cathies
into muted mimes, signaling a plea with their lack of
eye contact not to ask them directly.
How do you respond when invited to pray for a group?
While some relish the opportunity, it seems that many
of us feel uneasy about praying in front of others. Why?
What makes prayer so intimidating? Sure, there's an
element of public speaking involved that may flood
our stomachs with butterflies, but I wonder if there's
something deeper than that. Perhaps it's not knowing
what to pray or how to say it—the fear of speaking the
wrong words or not feeling qualified. Or, dare I say,
we're uncomfortable praying out loud because we just
don't spend much time praying in the first place—indi-
vidually or corporately.
But think of it this way: If you had direct access to your
governing officials and knew they'd listen and thought-
fully respond to your appeal, would you take the oppor-
tunity to present your requests to them? Or if you were
granted insider access to spend the whole day with
your favorite celebrity and talk about anything, would
2 Lutheran Life
WHY PRAY?
