Different "Prayers" (Revisited)

A couple days ago I blogged about the prayers of non-Christians offered in support of their sick and/or dying Christian friends. My posting was too polemic even for me and so I deleted it with the hope that I would again pick up what I think is a very important topic. Today I wish to "tackle" this subject and approach it, hopefully, somewhat less harshly.

As mentioned earlier, my loving bride is in the hospital with an acute form of cancer in her bone marrow. Our whole temporal world has been turned upside down. We continually pray and trust in the Lord for His peace during this most darkest of times and we are joyful in that Christ does give us His peace through the Word and Sacraments.

I have been meditating on what it means to pray and have also been thinking about our Lord's Prayer as recorded in the Gospels. Of course, my route of inquiry into this subject also takes me to the Book of Concord, and in particular passages from the Large Catechism, where the subject of prayer is dealt with at length. However, probably the clearest explanation that I have read, and what has been the most helpful to me at this point is Martin Chemnitz's explanation of prayer from his Enchiridion. There Chemnitz explains for young pastors the difference between the prayers of Christians and the praying of the unregenerate. Chemnitz writes,

"Heathen and all other infidels call upon either their frabicated idols or the God whom they do not know (Jn 4:22). But they do not call upon the true God, who is the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, since they do not know Him. They also do not call upon God in the name of, and [in] faith in, Christ, the Mediator, without whom no one comes to the Father (Jn 14:6). They base [their] confidence of being heard not on Christ but on their sacrifices and self-appointed acts of worship. In fact, they believe that they are heard if they use many words (Mt 6:7), yet are always unsure, uncertain about being heard and helped. If their wishes are not at all granted, they censure their idols and gods with abuses and blasphemies. Besides, they know nothing at all about asking for truly spiritual good things" (ibid. p. 143).

Chemnitz here is touching upon so many good points. I am first reminded by Chemnitz's words of the explanation for the First Petition given to us in the Large Catechism. What does it mean to hallow the name of the Lord? Luther answers "When both our doctrine and life are godly and Christian" (LC 39). This is certainly scriptural, as Chemnitz points out above with John 14:6. No one can come to God except through Jesus Christ. Only in faith in Christ Jesus can we approach God and "hallow" His name. Paul writes to the Galatians that those who have been united with Christ in baptism have put on Christ (Galatians 3:27). We can't approach our Holy Father in heaven apart from the righteousness of Christ. Christ imputes to us His righteousness through which we can truly call upon and hallow the name of our Lord in spirit and in truth.

Those who have not been given faith in Christ Jesus do not call upon the Father in "prayer." They remain dead in their sins and truly call upon that which "they do not know," or speak words to idols, ideas, myths, and legends of which none of them are of any help, since they do not exist. Furthermore, as Paul writes to the Corinthian church, the man without faith in Christ is spiritually dead and does not accept the things of the Holy Spirit, thinking they are foolishness (1 Corinthians 2:11-15). It is impossible for the unregenerate to come to God through their own strength or reason and petition Him. The prayers of the ungodly to their idols and "unknown gods" are very much vaporous words. No true comfort can be had from such prayers.

What I am writing is quite unpopular, even among some who claim to be Lutheran Christians and do not see a problem joining in prayer with Muslims, Jews, Hindus, and Buddhists. We live in an age where unionism and syncretism is the "right thing to do" and this out of tolerance and "love." These so-called "Christians" give little thought to Jesus' words uttered in the Lord's Prayer, "Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name...." A Christian can't possibly accept that the prayers of the unregenerate are hallowing the name of God!

As mentioned earlier, my wife is in the hospital quite ill. We have tremendous support from family and friends alike. During this time I have been reminded that the world does indeed have a "form of Godliness" but they deny the power thereof. That is, we can practice civic "righteousness" apart from acknowledging the One True God. People are capable of doing "good deeds" in the eyes of others in the world but not God, since the law is, after all, written on all our hearts. As a Christian, I can be thankful to God that He uses these works to provide for my wife and family. Yes, I do thank those who lend us support, even if they are not Christian. This is most certainly right and good to do. However, a sticky point for me has been over how to respond to those non-Christians who tell me they are "praying" for me. Here is how I have been handling it and I will illustrate the point with a single example.

The other day I had an atheist couple who are into "spiritual things," as they like to say, tell me they are praying for my wife. I about fell over! This couple knows that I was an atheist at one time, and they have heard my confession of faith several times over. They should have had, by now, at least a clue as to how I would take their "prayer support." Yet, they rattled off the words as if they were praying to the same Holy God as I and my wife pray to. In a real sense, this is a tragedy beyond words. The Devil has successfully deceived people into thinking that praying means something like offering good will towards others. In times of trouble "I am praying for you" has become the hip and cool thing to express "I am thinking about you." I am guessing that the former is supposed to show us that the person is "spiritual" and not just an ordinary schmuck without some sympathy. I can't say for sure what "I am praying for you" is supposed to mean when uttered by an atheist?!

These two atheists informed me of their prayers to I don't know what, and as I pointed out, I was somewhat flabbergasted. Am I supposed to thank them for their "prayers"? Should I have nodded my head giving assent to their prayers and act like we were all praying to the same "thing," whatever it is? How I handled the situation may not be the best way, but since most of these "prayer" offerings have been mentioned to me in the hospital room, I have chosen not to be my normal confrontational self until a different time. What I have been doing is making statements, as clear as possible, that I and my wife greatly value the concern and support being shown to us. Several times I have even stated that we are very thankful to Jesus for lifting us up and carrying us at this difficult time in our lives.

As a side note, I have found it quite interesting just how silent the unregenerate become when I mention the name of Jesus and the good things that He is doing for me and my sick wife.

I am really grateful to our well meaning friends and family who are not Christians and who continue to offer their support to my family. Some of them even read this blog, since they know what a blasphemous atheist I was prior to Christ giving me faith to receive the forgiveness of my sins and they are interested in reading my confession of faith. But at times like these I, and my loving bride, do not at all give an inch to the spirit of this world who says that all prayers are heard by the same "universal life force" or being, and therefore it only matters that we pray. That is simply a deception given to us by the father of all lies, the Devil. No, even in difficult times like this one, we must pray and ask the Triune God to help us stand firm in the faith given to us by Jesus and the Apostles. All we have is Jesus and His Word and Sacraments, given to us for the forgiveness of sins. Now, and never, is no time to give away what Christ has done for us all for a "feel good" sense of "oneness" with the world that many seek to comfort themselves with in times of trouble. So-called "prayers" to idols, gods, fictions, or energies, are really nothing other than false hopes in our own works.

Our hope is in the Lord who made heaven and earth. It is He who sent His only begotten Son into the world to die on a cross for not only my sins, but the sins of the whole world. The comforts of this world are nothing at all in view of the eternal comfort that comes to those who are in Christ Jesus. Yes, indeed, there is a peace that passes all understanding and this comes only to us through the faith given to us by Jesus Christ Himself.