why pray?

Two weeks ago at Convergence we invited people to give their questions about prayer; the most common was "why pray?" So last night we talked about that. 

We had a small crowd; so I thought I'd post some of what we talked about. I'll probably do it a little at a time throughout the week.

One of the things we are trying to do is move beyond the common answers. In recent years I have been examining some of the things I was taught years ago and continued to hold onto without thinking (how to read the Bible, how salvation works, nature of prayer, church, that Jesus is a republican...)

I have also become aware of the huge divide between the conversation we usually have in church, and the conversations I have in seminary classes, and with others in ministry.

In church we often try to address a topic in an hour; or if it's really big, in a series over a few weeks. Either way, the goal often seems to be to figure out whatever we're talking about; and by then end of the sermon or series, we act as if we now have all the answers and move on to something else.

But in class, we talk about a topic for two hours a week for four months; and still don't have it figured out. We dig a lot deeper and really wrestle with Scripture, history, different understanding and interpretations. We also learn to work and think for ourselves, rather than just telling people what they should believe. (I want to do the same as a pastor).

Now I know church is not seminary. But I do think it would be good for our discussions to go a little deeper; for us to be more real and honest with questions, and not just settle for simple answers. 

One gentleman expressed concern that we not make Christianity more mysterious than it is--wanting to be careful to not be like cults that elevate secrecy and mystery.

I understand that; but I think in our context the greater challenge is to not simplify the Bible or our faith. The Bible is full of mystery. It's not a simple how-to-live-life manual. 

The fact that we found 366 verses that mention prayer; and that we had a lot of great questions come out of that, tells me there is a lot to dig through to understand this one topic. People have been studying the Bible for 2000 years and still can't agree on it. We need to dig in, and keep at it.

So we're not going to be afraid to get our hands dirty. We're going to dig deeper, discuss, ask hard questions, and most of all practice prayer in the coming weeks; not just to figure it all out, but to encourage and challenge each other on the journey of living life with God and one another.