Prayer

People expect pastors to post about prayer. And use alliteration.

Prayer is on the list of "shoulds" right next to giving money.

Hence, why it's often hard to talk about prayer without tugging every guilt string folks have. Not that I'm against guilt. Guilt should hopefully keep us from being assholes all the time and that is helpful for community. 

I've been taking my turn as the chaplain in the Legislature. We live in a small town and I've had the privilege of praying for the Legislature for nine years now. I'm never quite sure what to say because I'm not quite sure what praying with the Legislature means. If it's all about blessing what they are doing, then I might hesitate next time I'm asked.

Is prayer getting God to do what we want? My post-enlightenment theology abhors the idea, but then I think in all my other love relationships I ask for what I want so why not in this one. 

Sometimes I think prayer is about getting our agenda in line with God's or in the case of the Legislature I like to think of getting their agenda in line with mine which I assume is in line with God's. I'm joking. Mostly.

I'm starting to play with the idea of prayer as similar to reading books. Prayer helps us experience other perspectives and develop empathy. It's an exercise in imagination. We pray for our enemies because it makes them human, which then helps us be human. We pray for far off lands so we are engaged in the world not isolated in our fears. We pray for those who are suffering so we don't become blind or callous to the hurt of the world.  

Somehow prayer breaks down barriers so we may connect with each other and the world with a bit more grace.

Prayer breaks open our hearts and eyes so we can see where God is at work, so we can be honest about our desires, and so we may be mindful of those who are tempting to forget.

My immediate gut prayer goes back to the whole guilt idea and I want to pray for the Legislature as well as for myself, "O God, help us not be arrogant, hard-hearted assholes." 

I realize this would not get spread across the journal. They vote on accepting our prayers, which is kind of a hoot.

I wrote new prayers for Friday and Monday with no swearing.

I normally recycle old ones, but I had some energy and wrote new ones so now they have to work double duty and finish this blog.

Friday in the House

Respecting the beliefs of all, I offer the following prayer.

Thank you God for Fridays. 

Thank you for endings.

End of the week.

End of the month.

The passing of what has been.

Thank you for all those who once sat in these chairs and served in this place. Those who’ve died, who’ve moved to other vocations, who’ve experienced defeat. 

Thank you for their presence and service. 

Thank you for endings that keep life and time in perspective. The comfort of knowing this too shall pass.

Thank you for endings so we may know beginnings. Out of death comes life, out of the dust comes new creation. 

This Friday, help us give thanks for endings instead of fearing them.

Then may we have the courage to do what is just for the most vulnerable, even if it challenges the powerful. 

Give us courage to listen for wisdom in our opponent’s view even if it goes against our agenda.

Give us the humility to remember we all will end and pass this land, this state onto generations to come.

Endings remind us none of us are God, we do not have the complete picture, we need each other for wholeness and health. 

Thank you God for Fridays.

Monday in the Senate

On this day in 1898 an avalanche crashed through Sheep Camp on the Chilkoot Trail in the midst of the gold rush killing 43 men.

As I offer this prayer, I think of the legacy of our state. The wild dreams that have brought people to the edge of the world, of fear, of endurance. The force of nature that crushes everything in its path. The spirit that helps us live in this tension of dreams and destruction.

Today as we remember dreams and lives swept away in the blink of an eye, we pray for humility. Keep us ever mindful of our limitations and help us trust that which is greater than ourselves.

We pray for boldness. May you all face the daunting tasks before you with the same strength and stamina as those who carried 1000 lbs over the Chilkoot Pass hoping for a better life. Thinking of that drudgery and toil might make a budget seem a bit more manageable.

We pray for passion. Fill us with a desire to nurture a state where treasure is found not just in the gold veins, but in our veins. May our lives overflow with awe at the abundance of resources and beauty of this land so we may treasure them and pass them on to those who come after us. 

And maybe some wisdom too so we are not conned like so many into chasing rumors of riches, but do our homework to see what is worthy of our investment and energy. We’ve learned from history that children, elders, the land all return a treasure far greater than any gold strike.