Do We Pray as a Nation?

Thursday is National Day of Prayer, as mandated by Congress. What should President Obama do? Should he follow tradition and sign a ceremonial proclamation? Should he follow President George W. Bush's practice of hosting a formal White House event? Should he ignore it completely?

If we really had a national day of prayer, and if we as a nation were all praying for the same things, I think a National Day of Prayer would be powerful. As it is, I am afraid it is a nice phrase to which few people pay scant attention. I doubt that very much prayer for the nation goes on.

For the sake of clarity in this article, let's define prayer. It is talking to God AND listening to and for God. That's it. It's a two-way thing. Communication between us and God, God listening to us and guiding us, not us telling God what we want God to do.

So, that definition in mind, I repeat, I doubt that in general very much real prayer goes on.

Why? Because many in this nation do not think we have anything to pray about. Let's face it, few people really pray anyway. When we do, we tend to fall into the "gimme" category, asking God to give us something we want or we need. Other than that, God is often on the back burners of our lives.

When it comes to this nation praying, it seems that we have never been about that. We have made pronouncements that "God" approved of our policies, foreign and domestic. Some thought that "God" wanted us to go into war with Iraq. Others thought that "God" would not require us to forgive the people who destroyed the World Trade Center towers.

Pronouncements were made, remember? But a national day of prayer was not in the mix. We were angry about 9/11 and angry that "God" didn't prevent it. Pooh prayer.

So, if we were to pray tomorrow as a nation, what would we pray for? Well, for the economy to turn around. That would probably be the big prayer, the big push. But I doubt there would be national prayer on how to get affordable health care to the vast numbers of people who do not have it, or how to best serve "the least of these" as our Judeo-Christian ethic urges us to do.

I was bothered by the Pew Report that said churchgoing people were by and large in favor of torture. What? Dr. Martin Marty of the University of Chicago said that many church folk based their thoughts on the "OK-ness" of torture on the Bible. God was violent, so should we be.

Really? The things we've done to others is God-driven and God-approved? I think not.

I am glad that President Obama is not having "an event" to commemorate this National Day of Prayer. It would just be a gathering of religious people glad to have gotten an invitation to the White House. In the end, they would go back to their congregations and keep on leading people to honor the world's definition of success, which means the acquisition of money and power, no matter the cost.

I wish we would, as a nation, pray for and work for things that would do justice to the religions to which we belong, or, better, do justice to the God we say we love. I wish we would have an issue for which all congregations, regardless of denomination, would pray. "The fervent, effectual prayer of the righteous" does great things, I hear.

Thing is, few of us are in right relationship with God, which is what "righteous" means. We rather step ahead of God and do what we want, and only run back to God when we've fallen and scraped our religious knees or gotten our religious feelings hurt.

That isn't prayer. That's jabbering and crying when something is wrong.

A national day of prayer ideally would help us be a nation of which God would be proud and pleased.

I don't think that's the goal of enough of us.

Not yet.

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A national day of prayer is a place to start. Hopefully as people turn toward a better relationship with God through prayer, the Ibo proverb:

The rain does not recognize anyone as a friend; it drenches all equally.

Will apply said about justice:

Justice does not recognize anyone as friend; it drenches all equally.

Posted by: tyson41 | May 9, 2009 7:00 AM
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From my point of view, prayer also involves action. It is not simply words that I recite but actions that I take. My actions indicate whether I am faithful to my own prayers.

Our nation at prayer then also implies a nation that is acting for justice. Without justice, those prayers are empty.

I am pretty sure that God wants us to witness to our political, economic and social systems on behalf of justice and fairness.

Posted by: jaeschbury | May 8, 2009 11:12 AM
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Susan K. Smith

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Do We Pray as a Nation?

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