Slideshow image

“We’ve relegated moments of corporate prayer to moments of transition when we move the band on and off the stage.  We don’t pray to pray anymore, we pray to change the set while nobody’s looking.  I’m not saying it’s wrong to move stuff while we pray, but it’s wrong to just pray to move stuff.”  - Vance Pittman

When I heard that quote from an episode of Reconstructing Faith with Trevin Wax, a podcast we listened to this winter as a staff team, it hit me hard.  Why?  Because I could see myself in it.  We talk a lot at Christ Community about the importance of prayer – and of praying together.  We believe in it.  It’s the command of Jesus (Luke 18:1). It’s the consistent example of the New Testament church (Acts 1:14, 4:24, 12:1-17, and many, many others).  And yet, I was convicted that if you went purely by what we model in our worship gatherings Sunday after Sunday, it looks like we value praying together as a church more for practical transitions than out of a real, conscious dependence on the Lord.  And I was convicted that that needs to change.

If you’ve been around CCC over the past couple weeks, you might have noticed a change in the regular structure of our worship gatherings.  Instead of three songs before the story and sermon, we’ve cut back to two – and in between, we’ve added a time of intentional, guided prayer and reflection.  Each week, we’re taking a couple themes from text of our sermon and praying together around and for them.  Whether a confession of our brokenness before studying the end of Judges, a cry to help us see Jesus more clearly before the vision of Revelation 1, or a plea for comfort for the brokenhearted before this week’s study of Ruth 1, we’re asking the Lord to do in and through us what only the Holy Spirit can accomplish.  In the words of a song we sing often at CCC, we’re saying together, “Lord, I need you.”  I’ve been leading us in that prayer time over the last couple weeks, but my heart’s desire is that you’ll be seeing a rotation of our many faithful leaders up there in that spot, all guiding us to approach God’s throne of grace together.

That time of prayer might feel odd.  If you’re like me, spending a few minutes in intentional prayer might bring with it the temptation to let your mind wander.  It might feel boring, or even pointless, to stand together with only some soft music as a backdrop, searching for something meaningful to say to the Lord in the quietness of your heart.  But as I can attest, going for a run when it’s not something you’ve regularly done for a while can feel hard and pointless as well.  That’s not necessarily a sign that you’re not supposed to be a runner, that’s a sign that you need to exercise your running chops.  So if you’re feeling prayer fatigue on a Sunday morning, can I ask a favor?  Let’s do another lap together.  And then again, same time next week.  And as we head into summer, we just might find that our prayer legs have gotten a little more endurance in them than they did before.  And that will be good for us all as a church family.

This spring and summer, let’s come to Jesus like the disciples did in Luke 11:1 and ask him, “Lord, teach us to pray.”  Not just as individuals, but as a church body, with one voice.  And let’s wait with expectation to see how we might see God work as we join Jesus in going out to make disciples together.