Beyond Common Sense

Last month, while attending St. David’s Christian Writers’ Conference, the organization’s president, Sue Boltz, shared the following during chapel. It was so good, I wanted to pass it on.

Summer church camp, 1993.  I was a camp counselor for the first time, and expectations ran high with this high school crowd.  The theme for the week was prayer. Our leader made us each adopt our own tree to go sit or stand under by ourselves during personal prayer time. Ten minutes were set aside every day when everyone was to spend time at their tree, hopefully praying or journaling.   

Under a canopy of trees, the morning chapel service found us crammed around the charred, smoky remains of last night’s campfire. We sang and read scripture.  The Leader asked if anyone had any questions about prayer.  I thought the floodgates would open.  Doesn’t everyone have questions about prayer?  But no one said anything.  Crickets chirped.

Then a young man named Jim raised his hand and asked,  “If God already knows everything, why do I have to pray?”

And we sat there as the crickets played on.  I thought the leader would jump in, but he didn’t.

I raised my hand.  “May I try to answer that question?”  The leader waved his hand for me to go ahead.

I faced Jim.  “Do you know or have anyone in your family who’s about five or six years old?”

He nodded.  “Yes, I have a little nephew.”

“That’s perfect,” I said. “At that age, he’s discovering humor.  One day, he comes to tell you a joke.  He asks you, ‘Uncle Jim, why is six afraid of seven?’  You already know this one.  It’s an old joke.  You could be a jerk and tell him that, but you care about this little guy, so you say…”

I pointed to Jim, and with a huge grin on his face, he said, “I don’t know.  Why is six afraid of seven?”

I continued, “And your nephew, who can hardly contain himself, blurts out, ‘Because seven ate nine.’  And then you both laugh together.  He’s shared his discovery of humor with you. It’s an important moment. Praying isn’t about asking for things or telling God what he already knows. It’s about sharing your life with him. He loves you and wants to be part of your life.” I turned back to the leader. No one asked anything else. We were sent to our trees.

Jim came to me later in the day with some friends. “Thanks for what you said. Everybody tells you to pray, but nobody tells you why.” His friends nodded. “I feel kind of stupid now that I didn’t figure it out myself.”

“There are lots of people who think prayer is only to get things, or they want God to help or bless a situation,” I said.  “And he does that.  But prayer goes much deeper.”

“Well, how do you share your life with God when you pray?” He asked.

I thought a moment. Lord, what do I say? And then I remembered an illustration I’d used before. 

“Jim, suppose you’re at school.” I gestured to one of the other guys standing there. “Your friend comes up and tells you that a cute girl really likes you. He gives you her name and points her out. Later in the day, you see her across the cafeteria. She looks up, sees you, and smiles. You smile, wave, and move toward her, but she scoops up her tray and leaves in a hurry. Oh well, you think, she must be busy and had to leave. You try to catch up with her after school, to start a conversation, but every time you approach her, she walks away. A week goes by, and you keep trying. She has to know by now that you want to talk to her. You wonder, if she likes me, why won’t she talk to me?” I looked into Jim’s eyes. “What do you think about the way she acts?”

Jim frowned. “I’d think my friend was wrong, and she doesn’t like me. I’d start to wonder if she hates me.”

I shrugged. “It looks that way, doesn’t it?”

He shook his head. “I’d quit trying.”

I looked at them all as we stood there. “If we asked during chapel how many people love God, everyone would raise their hand, don’t you think? 

The guys nodded.

“Sure,” Jim said.

“We tell others we love God, but have we told him? We share our lives with God by speaking with him.”

“Nice talking to you—gotta go,” Jim said. He and his buddies scattered.

That was abrupt, I thought, but then noticed them heading for their trees.  So I went to mine. My tears flowed. “We do love you, Lord. Thank you for the questions and then the answers.”

Prayer binds us to God. In our relationship with him, he loves us, teaches us, and helps us grow.

Now it came to pass, as He was praying in a certain place, when He ceased, that one of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, teach us to pray.”

Luke 11:1