Praying in Public

Once in a while I meet people critical of public prayer claiming it contradicts Jesus' teaching that praying to the Father should be in secret (Matthew 6:6). Christians do need personal time with the Lord. Still Jesus often prayed in public like when He multiplied the loaves and fishes (Luke 9:16) and when little children were brought to Him (Matthew 19:13). The reason Jesus rebuked the Pharisees' public prayers was because their motive was to be seen by men. 

Consider what has happened with U. S. public schools since prayer was removed from classrooms over 50 years ago. Darrell Scott, father of slain Columbine student Rachel Scott, wrote the following poem that he read before Congress... 

Your laws ignore our deepest needs, 

Your words are empty air. 

You've stripped away our heritage, 

You've outlawed simple prayer. 

Now gunshots fill our classrooms,

And precious children die.

You seek for answers everywhere,
And ask the question "Why?" 

You regulate restrictive laws, through legislative creed.
And yet you fail to understand, that God is what we need!

Do you feel uneasy when praying in restaurants before eating? You shouldn’t. If homosexuals are unashamed to “come out of the closet” and flaunt their ungodly lifestyles, then Christians should come out of their prayer closets and pray in public. 

The National Day of Prayer is this Thursday. Let’s all join our Christian brothers and sisters in praying publicly and boldly for the United States of America. Our prayers will have a greater impact when God’s people from all denominations are unified.

“How should one chase a thousand, and two put ten thousand to flight, except their Rock had sold them, and the Lord had shut them up?” -  Deuteronomy 32:30