a place of prayer
Lord, it is hard for me to understand the purpose of the church. As much as we may profess it or want it, the modern church is different from its first century counterpart. Sometimes I sit in the pew wondering if what I’m experiencing is at all what you had in mind. The first thing you did, Jesus, after riding the colt into Jerusalem, was run people out of the Temple. Sometimes I wonder who needs to be run out of the church today. Perhaps it’s me.
You said the Temple was a place of prayer. The money changers had made it into something else. Their activity of buying and selling detracted from the purpose. There are many things, Jesus, that distract me from prayer and worship.
I am distracted by the showmanship of some worship experiences. How can I pray with the comedy shows and gyrations of the musical talent?
I am distracted by the false faces of those I encounter–members more than happy to welcome me into their building but condemn me or my family outside the building when we falter. How can I pray amid such hypocrisy?
I am distracted by profiteering of marketers–not just those selling things like the money changers in the Temple. I’m talking also about those who use church to gain some advantage–increased business, votes, and creation of personal kingdoms. How can I pray when I feel manipulated?
I am distracted by the proliferation of church programming that judges my worth on how involved I am with endless activities. How can I pray when I feel pulled from my prayers by the need for activity?
I am distracted by pastors and leaders who have abandoned the role of shepherd for that of CEO. How can I pray when I am seen only as on object for their empire?
Two needs I have this holy week, Lord. First, teach me to see past those things that distract me from you. It’s too easy for me to focus on all that is wrong with the modern church and all the ways we fail your purpose. However, when I attend to the church’s faults, I take my attention from you and from the important conversations you invite into.
Second, make me aware of the ways I distract others from prayer and true worship. I know, for example, that my cynical attitude can do nothing but make it hard for others to pray. Teach me to create an atmosphere of prayer; teach me how to lead others to you with undivided focus; teach me how to humbly remove myself as an obstacle to the Divine Presence.
Help the church, Lord, to rediscover this critical part of her reason for being. Help us to once again learn to pray. Amen.
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