Prayer and the Unbeliever
In my last column I made the point that we, as a church community, seem to find it uncomfortable praying around unbelievers, especially in the context of "evangelistic' events. In this article, I will further explore the reasons why I think this practice and policy has been adopted, and then offer some suggestions about how to use public prayer in a way that is friendly to outsiders.
The first reason why people refrain from praying around outsiders is that they consider it wrong for unbelievers to pray to God.
Whilst there are some verses that seem to suggest that God does not hear the prayers of unbelievers (e.g. Psalm 66:18, Isaiah 59:2), it is clear that there is at least one unbeliever's prayer that God will hear"”the prayer a person makes when they repent and believe in Jesus.
However, if an unbeliever joins a church gathering, and as a consequence of doing so prays to God, then that act shows a trust in the sovereignty of God, and acknowledges their dependence upon him for their request. They may not yet have reached the point of repentance, but it does demonstrate their faith in God. This may be the first step in knowing God and receiving his forgiveness, especially if this journey to salvation involves a gradual process over time.
Indeed, if it was only possible for a person to approach God in prayer when they had fully understood the atonement, then Jesus would not have accepted the "babies" who came to him (Luke 18:15-17). When "unbelievers' join us in prayer then they may not understand the depths of the person and work of Christ, but their simple and humble act of approaching him in prayer may demonstrate a belief in God's sovereignty and love.
What is most clear, however, is that it is impossible and often unhelpful to speculate on whether a newcomer is saved before we welcome them to pray in our gatherings. If this was necessary, then what test would we apply to them before we let them pray?
The second reason why some believers choose not to pray in the company of unbelievers is that they think it will be too weird for the newcomers, or that it will threaten or confuse them.
To a degree, this is a valid point. The sight of men, women and children closing their eyes and speaking to an invisible being is a little strange. Yet, this very act of prayer powerfully shows the outsider that we believe in a supernatural being. Like angels and the resurrection, the notion of God hearing prayer is controversial. Yet, the thought of a crucified God is even more "foolish" (cf. 1 Corinthians 1:18.) Will we stop preaching Christ and him crucified simply because it seems weird?
There are other reasons to pursue public prayer as a means of promoting the gospel. On a merely pragmatic level, we can see that the Pentecostal church is rapidly growing in number, despite the fact that they are even "weirder' than most Anglican churches in the activities in their gatherings. They have proven that weird is good when it comes to attracting spiritually starving seekers.
Most interestingly of all is the scenario painted for us by Paul in 1 Corinthians 14. In this passage, the Apostle encourages his readers to ensure that the activities in their gatherings are comprehensible to any unbelievers who may attend. Why? Because if they do, then an unbeliever will be able to recognise his or her need for forgiveness ("he will be convinced by all that he is a sinner", 1 Corinthians 14:24) and may come to repentance and faith in God ("and fall down and worship God", 1 Corinthians 14:25.) Intelligible weirdness works as a tool for mission!
So how can we include public prayer in our gatherings without alienating the outsider?
How can we allow them to join us in prayer without making them feel unhelpfully uncomfortable?
The first thing we should do is publicly acknowledge that we recognise that there are some people in the room who may not have prayed before. Indeed, it is always good practice to address the congregation in such a way that demonstrates the expectation that it consists of a mix of believers and unbelievers alike.
Secondly, we should allow people to "opt out' of praying. Whenever we ask congregation members to get into small groups to pray, we should spell it out from the front that the people are welcome just to sit and listen to the praying, and to feel no obligation to say any prayers themselves.
Thirdly, if we want to invite newcomers to pray in the small group, then we should teach them how to pray. For example, give them a template. Tell them:
"Your prayers don't need to be long. Just say one sentence if you'd like. As a guide, you might like to say a pray that thanks God for things he has given us or done for us. Just say "Thank you God for xyz' then finish your prayer with "Amen.'"
You might be surprised at the willingness of a newcomer to join in prayer.
Prayer is a wonderful privilege. To address our Father in heaven is a joy and an honour. Doing this in a gathering of people demonstrates a communal dependence on God and a trust in his sovereignty and love. In addition, it is also a powerful tool for promoting the gospel. It might appear weird or feel strange to do it around newcomers or unbelievers. But, in line with the foolishness of our message, remember that weird is wonderful!
Jodie McNeill is a Youth Ministry Trainer and Year 13 Director at Youthworks College. Visit his website at [url=http://www.jodiemcneill.com]http://www.jodiemcneill.com[/url]
