While chuckling at this post parodying the prayer styles of various branches of Christianity, I’m reminded of two amusing-but-annoying little prayer habits you encounter all the time in evangelical circles. Raise your hand if you’ve run into one of these:
- The word “just” inserted about five times per sentence, as in “Dear God, we just pray that you would just heal Sister Margaret” or “we ask that you would just touch their hearts.” I even catch myself doing this, and it drives me crazy. What is the word “just” doing in there? I can’t think of any grammatical purpose it serves, and I can’t even guess how we all got started on this habit.
- Is this a lecture, or is it a prayer? as described in this comment. You know the routine—when the person praying proceeds to repeatedly remind God of the various things He’s said and done in the Bible. I can see the value of verbally declaring our belief in the teachings of the Bible, but this always makes me wonder if the person is trying to pray to God and deliver a stealthy sermon to the congregation at the same time. If you’ve got something to say to the congregation, just say so—don’t try and sneak it into the congregational prayer!
OK, enough snark—I acknowledge that these are harmless little prayer quirks, and you’re not a Bad Christian if you do them. But if you ever catch me using the word “just” indiscriminately in a public prayer, you just have my permission to just whack me with a copy of the King James Bible (after I’m done praying, of course).
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April 19, 2007 at 19:23
Saying “Lord” as a comma substitute is one of my pet peeves.
If you can find the book “God Talk: The Triteness & Truth in Christian Clichés”, it has several essays regarding clichés and verbal tics in prayer. It’s interesting.
April 19, 2007 at 20:36
The word, “just,” is not only found in prayer, but in writing. At a writers’ workshop, instruction on editing included the removal of, “just and really.”
IMHO, I think these words serve as filler.
April 19, 2007 at 21:24
In my current circles the only appropriate way to pray is the style I like to call “popcorn” prayer.
Everyone stands around quietly until one person decides to start praying out loud. Everyone listens to that person pray, and then someone else randomly starts praying when they are finished.
The quirk I always laugh at with this style is what I’ve started calling the “agreement grunt.” When someone says something particularly moving and/or spiritual, people often go “nnnnnn” or “mmmm” or “mmmmmhmmm” in unison. It so cracks me up.
I agree with you on the preachy-prayer. I’ve always wanted to bring this up with someone who does this, to honestly ask them how they feel about it. I’m usually intimidated by this type of person so I’ve never tried…
April 19, 2007 at 21:26
Great post. I had to laugh out loud, because I see this all the time. Not to mention, that I do some of these as well.
Another one I see is when one person stands up to pray and continually says we, while praying the petitions of his heart. No big deal, I’m just saying… you know!
April 19, 2007 at 22:58
Funny stuff for sure! I know what you mean with #2, but didn’t Jesus on several occasions pray with the purpose of instructing?
April 20, 2007 at 05:39
The most irritating one I have encountered recently is to insert “yeah” at various places in the prayer.
I have heard this from my college-age daughter and her friends, e.g. “Yeah, and just help sister so-and-so to get better, yeah, she’s such a great help, Lord, etc. etc.” Of course I’m very glad that my college-age daughter is active in IV, but still…
My favorite story about a prayer cliche is a pastor of mine some years ago who always began his prayers with “Most gracious heavenly father.” We were sitting down in his office for a Bible study when the phone rang. He picked up the phone and said to the person on the other end, “Most gracious heavenly father!” I guess the Bible does say to “pray without ceasing”, but I don’t think it means “to each other.”
April 20, 2007 at 07:21
I get a little confused whenever someone (including myself) prays to Jesus, thanks Jesus, and then at the end says “in Jesus’ Name, Amen”. It’s certainly scriptural, but a sudden change from Jesus in 1st person to Jesus in 3rd person is distracting in a grammatical sense. Maybe it’s just me. Or maybe it’s part of the mystery of the Trinity (which one of the three should I be addressing at this point?)
April 20, 2007 at 09:40
There is one person who has recently started delivering the prayer for the offering, and her use of point #2 (the sermonizing prayer) offends me so much that I now send my offering via e-check. I’m a member of the church, and I always wonder if there are seekers who are turned off by her “style.” I know I would have been before I was saved.
I try to ignore a person’s prayer words, listening to their intent instead, because I constantly stumble to find words appropriate for my Pentecostal church group. But when someone preaches via their prayer, I feel as though they are hiding behind God in order to be critical.
April 20, 2007 at 09:57
the preaching prayer from a deacon is what tortured me in my baptist upbringing…these normally came from guys who felt they were called to preach but no one recognized their “gift”...so why not take prayer time to get ya preach on, lol…then there is the over-pronounced God (“Gawd”) tossed in for effect that also makes me sick…this kind of prayer was really multitasky since it was chock full of all the titles of God…
“Eternal Gawd, theeeee Alpha aaaaaand Ooooooomega, the First and the Last, the Beginning aaaaaaand the Eeeeend. We thank you, we thank you…”
i’m sitting there as an 8 year old thinking, “Dude, God is waiting for you to finish!”
April 20, 2007 at 10:35
A word on the lecture/preachy prayer:
While I agree that our corporate prayers should be agenda free, it is certainly biblical to proclaim God’s great deeds in prayer. This praise of God is often missing in our prayers – and even in other aspects of our corporate worship.
Check out Acts 4:23-31 for an example of this type of prayer in the early church – and certainly consider the content of many psalms and the prayers that Paul writes in his letters.
Don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater.
...but AMEN about “just” and God, Lord, Father, etc. being used as punctuation. I’m also tired of “be with us” and “we just pray that your will be done” – those are usually employed because we don’t really have anything to say.
April 20, 2007 at 11:17
My favorite used to be…
“God Lord God”
over and over and over and…
April 20, 2007 at 12:18
Jonathan and blewis: good points. I realize that there’s a place for using prayer as a method of instruction, and for affirming in prayer God’s attributes. I’m mostly just griping about the people who take it a bit too far—I’m sure you’ve run into a few of them
I do it too from time to time, so I can’t complain too loudly…
April 20, 2007 at 13:28
OK – one more peeve- praying in ANY form is a wonderful act of connection BUT in our church body there is a group who love to say “Father God” every other sentence – as if God doesn’t stay attentive to usif we aren’t calling on His name constantly. The lesson I’ve learned in reading this – we ALL have prayer tics don’t we? I am often guilty of the “just” prayer and sometimes afflict others with my Pollyanna prayer (when we are praying for all kinds of sad or tragic things – I interject a thank you for your creation or the joy of being able to come to you) DUH – best part is – with the right heart – the Holy Spirit can make our mutterings into great praise!
April 20, 2007 at 13:38
The ones that I like go like this;
Oh Father God, I pray Father God that you Father God would help Jimmy Father God be a better person Father God. And Lord Father God please be quick Father god in this transformation Father God for his own good Father God! (I used myself strictly as an example of course…i am a good person…honest)
Peace!
April 20, 2007 at 14:25
I was reading through the comments on the linked post, and this one by a “Steve” caught my attention. The practice of inserting a proper noun as a sort of directional clause and/or reflexive-intensifying pronoun is psychologically baffling. Did we think God forgot that we were praying to Him? Or do we just need to remind ourselves that we are talking to God?
“Father, we pray that you would bless this food, Father God, that we may better serve you, Father God. And, Father God, please bless this coming weekend, Father God, as a time that we can get to know you, Father God, and return to glorify you, Father God.”
I guess it’s theologically proper to pray to the Father, but do we have to remind ourselves at the end of every clause?
April 20, 2007 at 16:14
I have to laugh because I am very guilty of the preachy prayer – but only with my kids…particularly when they act up and are disobedient! Unfortunately, my kids have picked up on it and will start praying something like this, “Jesus I pray that you will make (insert name) stop annoying me and they’ll stop doing (insert annoying habit).
The first time it happened I laughed and stopped. I just do it once in a while now. I think they get the message and they don’t like it when I pray like that.
April 21, 2007 at 05:54
You guys hit the nail on the head with the “Father, God” repetition—that’s my biggest pet peeve. Here’s another: people using lofty language that we don’t use today like “thy” and “put a hedge about”.
This one’s not really a pet peeve, but it’s something I think is funny… Have you ever prayed for “traveling mercies” for someone who will be going out of town? I think it’s like praying that your plane will fly safely, and that you wouldn’t wait too long on the runway, and that you would catch all of your connecting flights—all in one package. Like ordering a combo meal at McDonalds.
April 22, 2007 at 20:59
Reminds me of this article: http://www.christianitytoday.com/le/2007/001/12.75.html
entitled Beyond Father Weejus. The author notes that in prayer, we often hear “Father Weejus ask that you would. . .” “Father Weejus ask your blessing upon. . .” as well as other prayer clichés. Well worth the read, and thanks for boundlessline.org for bringing it to my attention.
April 23, 2007 at 17:47
Phil—
When you pray the Lord’s Prayer, do you do it in contemporary language: “Our Father in Heaven, Your Name should be holy. Let your kingdom come, make your will manifest here on Earth, just as it is in Heaven. Give us what we need today and everyday, and forgive us for sinning, as we forgive those who have wronged us. And do not lead us into temptation, but protect us through our troubles. Because that power is yours forever. Amen.”
No, you say: “Our Father, who art in Heaven, Hallowed by Thy name.”
I hardly find “thy” lofty—actually, it’s low middle English singular, and “you” was a common plural in high English that came to replace it as the singular—but I do begrudge the “hedge of protection” because no one really knows what it means. It’s ridiculous.
April 25, 2007 at 08:18
...I would really hope that people who are led to pray are truly do so from the heart,there is no set way in praying except that we ask and pray all things in the Nmae of Jesus…we can read the Bible if we are wanting to know the right way we should pray…yes,some prayers are humorous,but we just move on and ask the Lord to guide them.Right?
April 27, 2007 at 13:56
Prayer pet peeves…? How about about the one, or two persons who pray a marathon of prayers from Uncle Joe’s stubbed toe to a rain free day for aunt sally’s yard sale. These are things I’m convinced are not in synch with God’s heart. I don’t want the awesome gift of prayer trivialized. I get the uncomfortable impression that they are trying to use God like a genie in a bottle.