“When thou prayest, enter into thy closet.”

In the words of Jesus in Matthew 6:

5. And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites [are]: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.
6 But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.
7 But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen [do]: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.

But, typically our friends on the right are all upset that Obama is practicing this, rather than being like the hypocrites or Bush.

Pay to pray.

You pay so you don’t have to pray. From Yahoo News:

Information Age Prayer is a site that charges you a monthly fee to say prayers for you. A typical charge is $4.95 per month to say three prayers specified by you each day.

“We use state of the art text to speech synthesizers to voice each prayer at a volume and speed equivalent to typical person praying,” the company states. “Each prayer is voiced individually, with the name of the subscriber displayed on screen.”

Prices, however, are dictated by the length of the prayer. As noted in the Information Age Prayer FAQ, “A discounted prayer will cost less than other prayers of similar length.”

A Lenten Prayer.

Because temptation is woven into the fabric of our lives,

and we know the weariness of forty days in the desert,

and the beckoning power of sweet fruit,

and the vain promise of the world,

We need you, God.

Because we see the broken before the whole,

and the half empty cup, and the unfinished task,

and the thirst in freedom’s quest,

We need you, God.

Because we trust in what we can see,

and we are blinded by our prejudices,

and we do not know what we do not know,

We need you, God.

Because our need for correctness exceeds our need for truth,

and our excuses preempt the cry of the wounded,

and our celebration of blessing is mindless of those displaced,

We need you, God.

Because you came among us,

and breathed into our sinewy soul,

and healed our pain and let us wound you,

and loved us to the end,

and triumphed over all our hatred,

We need you, God.

The Prayer HBO Didn’t Want You To See.

Captured by Christianity Today.

+Gene Robinson’s Prayer at Today’s Obama Concert.

Although it was censored by HBO (or actually before HBO picked up the concert) here is the prayer that Bishop Robinson prayed today:

O God of our many understandings, we pray that you will…

Bless us with tears – for a world in which over a billion people exist on less than a dollar a day, where young women from many lands are beaten and raped for wanting an education, and thousands die daily from malnutrition, malaria, and AIDS.

Bless us with anger – at discrimination, at home and abroad, against refugees and immigrants, women, people of color, gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people.

Bless us with discomfort – at the easy, simplistic “answers” we’ve preferred to hear from our politicians, instead of the truth, about ourselves and the world, which we need to face if we are going to rise to the challenges of the future.

Bless us with patience – and the knowledge that none of what ails us will be “fixed” anytime soon, and the understanding that our new president is a human being, not a messiah.

Bless us with humility – open to understanding that our own needs must always be balanced with those of the world.

Bless us with freedom from mere tolerance – replacing it with a genuine respect and warm embrace of our differences, and an understanding that in our diversity, we are stronger.

Bless us with compassion and generosity – remembering that every religion’s God judges us by the way we care for the most vulnerable in the human community, whether across town or across the world.

And God, we give you thanks for your child Barack, as he assumes the office of President of the United States.

Give him wisdom beyond his years, and inspire him with Lincoln’s reconciling leadership style, President Kennedy’s ability to enlist our best efforts, and Dr. King’s dream of a nation for ALL the people.

Give him a quiet heart, for our Ship of State needs a steady, calm captain in these times.

Give him stirring words, for we will need to be inspired and motivated to make the personal and common sacrifices necessary to facing the challenges ahead.

Make him color-blind, reminding him of his own words that under his leadership, there will be neither red nor blue states, but the United States.

Help him remember his own oppression as a minority, drawing on that experience of discrimination, that he might seek to change the lives of those who are still its victims.

Give him the strength to find family time and privacy, and help him remember that even though he is president, a father only gets one shot at his daughters’ childhoods.

And please, God, keep him safe. We know we ask too much of our presidents, and we’re asking FAR too much of this one. We know the risk he and his wife are taking for all of us, and we implore you, O good and great God, to keep him safe. Hold him in the palm of your hand – that he might do the work we have called him to do, that he might find joy in this impossible calling, and that in the end, he might lead us as a nation to a place of integrity, prosperity and peace.

AMEN.

A Prayer for Today.

Most loving God,
as your desire for mercy for the poor is unrelenting,
may we be unrelenting in our pursuit of mercy for all;
as your compassion for the suffering of the poor knows no limit,
may our hearts overflow with compassion for all;
as you long for justice for the poor,
may we strive for justice for all.
Open our eyes to the structures of oppression from which we benefit,
and give us courage to accept our responsibility,
wisdom to chart a sound course amid complexity,
and perseverance to continue our work until it is finished.
Breathe your life-giving Spirit afresh into your Church
to free us from apathy and indifference;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

-The Episcopalians for Global Reconciliation Prayer

Prayers for President-elect Obama.

Read all of Cathleen’s post about her experience in Grant Park this past Tuesday night. I especially liked her own prayers for our newly elected President. I think they summarize how we should all be praying for him.

May he walk in love.

May he know the joy of seeing bridges built, wounds healed and war ended; of being physically present in his daughters’ lives and in his marriage, and of playing basketball with old friends.

May he have the peace that surpasses all understanding.

May he be blessed with longsuffering when faced with hate, bigotry, intolerance, violence, corruption, and the seemingly immovable.

May he act with kindness and be treated kindly in return.

May he have the goodness to turn the other cheek, and the wisdom to act.

May he have the faithfulness to keep his promises — to the nation, to his family, to himself, to his Creator.

May he continue to have a gentleness of spirit that chooses grace over pride.

And may he have the discipline to do all he must do without jeopardizing his health, his conscience or his soul.

Answered Prayer.

Looks like the answer to his prayer is NO! Here’s the weather forecast for Denver for tonight.And, it looks like the GOP should call in Pat Robertson to deal with hurricane Gustav. Or is God punishing Bush and McCain?

What True Christians Sound Like.

From Andrew Sullivan, last night’s Democratic Convention benediction shows what a liberal Evangelical Christian sounds like. It was given by Donald Miller, 

“Father God,
This week, as the world looks on, help the leaders in this room create a civil dialogue about our future.
We need you, God, as individuals and also as a nation.
We need you to protect us from our enemies, but also from ourselves, because we are easily tempted toward apathy.
Give us a passion to advance opportunities for the least of these, for widows and orphans, for single moms and children whose fathers have left.
Give us the eyes to see them, and the ears to hear them, and hands willing to serve them.
Help us serve people, not just causes. And stand up to specific injustices rather than vague notions.
Give those in this room who have power, along with those who will meet next week, the courage to work together to finally provide health care to those who don’t have any, and a living wage so families can thrive rather than struggle.
Help us figure out how to pay teachers what they deserve and give children an equal opportunity to get a college education.
Help us figure out the balance between economic opportunity and corporate gluttony.
We have tried to solve these problems ourselves but they are still there. We need your help.
Father, will you restore our moral standing in the world.
A lot of people don’t like us but that’s because they don’t know the heart of the average American.
Will you give us favor and forgiveness, along with our allies around the world.
Help us be an example of humility and strength once again.
Lastly, father, unify us.
Even in our diversity help us see how much we have in common.
And unify us not just in our ideas and in our sentiments—but in our actions, as we look around and figure out something we can do to help create an America even greater than the one we have come to cherish.
God we know that you are good.
Thank you for blessing us in so many ways as Americans.
I make these requests in the name of your son, Jesus, who gave his own life against the forces of injustice.
Let Him be our example.
Amen.”