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ON PRAYING OUTSIDE
THE CLOSET
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“When you pray, go
into your closet and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret…
And do not heap
up empty phrases…for they think they will be heard for their many words.”
Attributed to Jesus according to Matthew 6:5 – 7
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Just one of the embarrassments of being associated with the religion business
is enduring the sight of religion on stage. We got a generous dose of it
at the Presidential inauguration time. Most who watched the inauguration
ceremony heard prayers by Franklin Graham, Billy’s son, and Kirbyjon Caldwell,
pastor of a mega-church in Houston. |
I missed old Billy Graham, sorry about his infirmities. It’s hard to imagine
a President truly inaugurated without Billy’s blessing. |
Franklin gave it his best shot, but he’s no Billy. He prayed a long, political
and unmemorable prayer that was praised by Christians for its christocentricity.
Non-Christians felt excluded. |
There was lots of praying going on around DC at that time. One luncheon
featured Jerry Falwell as well as Muslim Hassan Oazwini and, would you
believe, Unification Church founder, Sun Myung Moon! |
The Washington National Cathedral prayer service included Eastern Orthodox
Archbishop Demetrios, new Catholic Cardinal McCormick, various protestant
and Episcopal ministers who are no doubt of some importance. O yes, also
a rabbi. |
Still another prayer meal featured James Dobson, founder and leader of
Focus on the Family, and John Kilpatrick, an Assembly of God preacher from
Florida. |
I looked through all the lists of pray-ers to see a woman minister listed.
I’m still looking. There must have been at least one. Was the Metropolitan
Church community represented? I didn’t see any of that group listed either. |
Now, I’m not against praying. It probably doesn’t do too much harm. In
fact, we’re all hoping and praying that our president – no matter which
party – does well. If a majority of passengers on a plane voted against
the pilot, but were forced to fly with that pilot regardless, don’t you
think they would hope he did a good job? |
Praying outside the closet is most difficult. I never enjoyed doing such
public prayers. For one thing most people tend to put up with them rather
than get lifted up by them. At best, one keeps them short. In later years
I prayed with my eyes open. It was always interesting to see how many were
bowed in reverence and how many were looking around. |
The closet idea, of course, is right out of the Sermon on the Mount. The
Disciples asked Jesus how to pray. He said, “Go into your closet [‘room’,
in RSV] and shut the door.” Get out of sight. Don’t make a spectacle. Don’t
show off. I’m pretty sure that none of the Inauguration pray-ers had such
a thought in mind, but nevertheless I sort of wished they hadn’t come out
of the closet to pray. |
I thought I’d try out Jesus’ suggestion. I looked around for a closet that
I could fit into. In my house, if you’re going to pray in a closet you
begin by putting a lot of stuff out. |
After moving out the stuff, I enter and close the door. First thing I notice
is that there’s nothing to notice. It’s black dark in there. No light.
I can’t read a prayer. It must come out of my head, or better, my heart.
I think, if God knows what I think before I think it, what’s the point? |
I calm myself and adjust to the fact of the darkness. I begin to notice
that I’m all by myself. Just me in the dark by myself. I think I’m supposed
to meet God in there. I close my eyes, which is a rather useless thing
to do in the dark. I whisper (in case anyone should be near the closet
door), “Are you in here, God?” Fortunately, God doesn’t speak out
loud, at least not to me. In fact, if God or anybody had said anything
in that closet I would have been out of there. |
What’s in the prayer closet? Darkness, loneliness and silence. I don’t
know about God. |
Well, Franklin Graham prayed a prayer almost as long as the inaugural address,
assuming he had God’s attention. The Old Testament talks about “patriotic
prophets,” religious leaders who basked in their king’s favor. They stayed
in favor by saying and praying what their king wanted to hear. That’s the
problem with praying outside the closet. You tend to pray to the ears of
those around you rather than to God. |
I don’t mean to belittle my esteemed clergy colleagues who had the privilege
of praying the President on. I guess I’m worried when public religion becomes
too public. I suspect big time trouble ahead over when and where to pray.
I vote for going into the closet to create some light between a lonesome
soul and the Source of all Mystery who promises presence when we are alone
and in the dark.
Art Morgan – February 2001
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