Thoughts from Mark "Hat" Rackley

Command and teach these things. Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity. Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and to teaching. Do not neglect your gift, which was given you through prophecy when the body of elders laid their hands on you.

• 1 Timothy 4:11-14

I cannot find the quote from C.S. Lewis, but I have used it and read it many times where Lewis says that posture is not the important thing in prayer.  The quote says something about it being better to sit in an easy chair and be fully alert when praying than on your knees with your head bowed and hands clasped and half asleep.

Recently, I saw an episode of Hard Questions, a television show with a panel of four pastors that answer questions that come in by mail, email, or phone calls.  One question was what are invalids who cannot get out of bed supposed to do when the Bible says to get on our knees in prayer.

One of the pastors quoted a cute poem where every pastor, or brother, in the prayer had a different posture.  The poem went beyond, standing, sitting, kneeling, or prostrate and face down to other aspects.  Do we raise our hands or fold them?  Do we look up to Heaven or do we lower our heads to show our humility?  The poem says that whatever it takes to get us to pray is the thing we should do.

I have long sessions with God that probably cover all of those, walking around the house, talking to God, and as the subject might change, I might change my posture to illustrate my humble request or to simply focus on what I am saying or God is saying in return.  To wait for God to speak in return may take a comfortable posture.

But I have another chicken-egg question of my own regarding reading things in unison.  I have a masters’ degree in chemical engineering, but I get tongue tied, or is it tang toungled (tongue tangled), when I read out loud.  Even worse when I am in church.

When we have reading in unison, I rarely say the words out loud.

But there are a couple of older people, older than me, who sit near me in the back of the church.  I do not think they have much experience in being in a church setting, but they try.  And their attempts strike me as being humorous at times, not that I would ever laugh out loud.  But they try very hard, and continuously fail, in reading the responses or the unison prayers in the bulletin.  And the two people in question cannot get in unison with each other.  To illustrate, the liturgist will end the prayer with “Amen.”  Then there is a continuation of mumbling for five seconds and the first of the two reaches “Amen.”  Then two or three seconds later, “Amen” from the other one. 

It is like there is an echo.  What make the metaphor of the “echo” that much more poignant is that they are in chairs behind the last pew.  It sounds more like two echoes instead of unison prayer gone wrong.

So, what is worse?  Is it worse to read silently because you know you would get tongue tangled?  Or cause and echo effect by being a few beats or many beats behind the person leading the worship?

The reason for unison prayers out loud is to involve the congregation.  Some people, even most people, keep up.  And what is really important is what comes from the heart when it goes to God.

I would hate for anyone to tell these people to either keep up or stay silent.  I enjoy the echo.  I enjoy people who have not had much exposure to the Gospel trying with all their might to fit in with the rest of the people in the pews.

But, this is kind of one of those posture things when praying.  Does unison reading have to be done in unison?  I think God can figure out what we are saying regardless.

And Lord, help me keep from laughing.  I love those two people.  They bring Joy to me, and maybe others also.

Soli Deo Gloria.  Only to God be the Glory.