The New Verbal Crutch
Imagine that I'm talking to a friend. His name is Ken. In this conversation, I am slightly at a loss as to what to say because I don't really talk to him all that much and other people are around, which is distracting, so I repeat his name quite frequently. "So Ken, I went to the grocery store, and Ken it was a safe trip...Ken....thanks for the cookies you sent, they were awesome. Ken this is a great day, and Ken come back and visit soon."
Slightly more obnoxious than using "um" and "like." Arguably. Unfortunately, this is the situation I find myself in when praying in a group of people. I'm not really focus, I'm self conscience around other people, and thus the name of our Holy God becomes a verbal crutch. The Jews held the name of God in such reverence that they would not say, and I say because I have nothing worthwhile to say.
posted by Dan Reiter @ 10:40 AM
2 comments
2 Comments:
Hi, Dan . . . I hope you're having a wonderful Christmas! I enjoyed reading about your experience at the mall.
I identify with that completely. It's just too much stuff. You were wondering how a missionary to Africa would respond if he or she were to suddenly end up at a mall. I actually had an experience along those lines some years ago. After camping in Colorado for about a week, my husband, daughter, and I went straight to the Galleria Hotel in Houston, where I had a meeting to attend. Talk about culture shock! Oh my . . .
What I really wanted to respond to was your comment about praying in public. Your observation is something I've thought about as well. What has occurred to me, though, is that like any kind of speech, how we pray is a reflection of what we hear and read; just as in writing, our praying benefits from following good examples.
I don't know how you feel about liturgical prayer, but I've found it extremely helpful, not just because it can express what I frequently cannot, but also because it serves as such a good model. The more you hear and read it, the more your ear--consciously and unconsciously--becomes tuned to a particular pattern of language. I'm not saying that prayer is entirely analagous to writing, but liturgical prayer--and I include the Psalms in that category--paradoxically has the power to expand and enhance our personal prayer. Here, for example, is one of my favorites, from the service of Compline:
Keep watch, dear Lord, with those who work, or watch, or
weep this night, and give your angels charge over those who
sleep. Tend the sick, Lord Christ; give rest to the weary, bless
the dying, soothe the suffering, pity the afflicted, shield the
joyous; and all for your love's sake. Amen.
I also love this one, which comes from Night Prayer, the equivalent of Compline in A New Zealand Prayer Book:
Lord, it is night. The night is for stillness. Let us be still in the presence of God. It is night after a long day. What has been done has been done; what has not been done has not been done; let it be. The night is dark. Let our fears of the darkness of the world and of our own lives rest in you. The night is quiet. Let the quietness of your peace enfold us, all dear to us, and all who have no peace. The night heralds the dawn. Let us look expectantly to a new day, new joys, new possibilities. In your name, we pray. Amen.
Just a thought. I hope you have a great New Year's!
Susan!~
Wow. How can I follow that comment? Are you the lady from Mocha's and Java's? It's a small small world if so.
Dan, I think you should just reread her comment and forget about mine.
Your bro,
M Town
Post a Comment
<< Home