The most vigorous debate I’ve ever had with a pastor involved addressing God in public prayer.
The pastor, my instructor in a class devoted to leading worship, endorsed formality.
“Most Merciful father … “
“Our Heavenly father … “
“Dear Sovereign Lord ... “
Address shapes attitude, she insisted.
I insisted that prayer, public or private, must always be unpretentious. Straight from the heart. No bedazzling. No pausing for polish or paint. Come as you are to prayer. “Lord, we need you … “
In the end, she smiled, called me “raw” and “real” and added, “never change.”
I thought of the pastor as I searched for a name for this prayer blog. For a couple of days, I reached for pretentious.
I liked “Great and Unsearchable” because, in Jeremiah 33, God promises that if we come to Him in prayer, he will tell us “great and unsearchable things.”
I liked “Speak Lord” because of young Samuel’s response to God: “Speak Lord, your servant is listening.”
I liked “Lifting Holy Hands” because of Paul’s goal in 1 Timothy: “I want men everywhere to pray, lifting up holy hands without anger or disputing.”
Those are glorious images and I carry them with me. But those aren’t my words, and when I attach them to this walk, it feels like I’m painting and polishing and bedazzling. Not real. Now raw.
This is a prayer walk. I like walking, and more than ever, my walks are filled with prayer. The prayer begins with a simple, “Lord … “, then spills into everything. It always ends with more of His Light or His Peace or His Joy. I have a similar hope for this blog. It will be simple. It will spill into everything. And it will bring Light and Peace and Joy.
Welcome to my Prayer Walk.
Lord, we need you ...

Photo by ALeX inSide