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Community is one dimension of prayer. Whether we’re praying silently, alone or aloud among others, the community is always present with us. We pray the Lord’s Prayer with fellow believers, but we pray for others as well, which brings the community into our midst even when we’re alone. Hearing others pray aloud nurtures our own faith in God. In fact, we usually learn to pray by listening to others. When no one prays out loud, how will we learn to do it? And if we always make the pastor our official prayer giver, how can we practice so that when the pastor isn’t present, communication with God doesn’t stop? Prayer is never just about me. It always involves the community of which I am a part.
What does it mean to pray well? I believe it means simply to be in conversation with God, regardless of what is said or how. When we pray out of authentic faith and open ourselves up to the Holy Spirit’s working in us, we can never say a wrong or bad prayer. God really does want to hear from us.
This message is excerpted from “Am I doing this right?” by Laurie A. Jungling in the July/August 2018 Gather magazine.