I have to chuckle at the contortions some people have gone through over the decision by the Marysville City Council to begin its meetings with prayer.
Some want to approve sample prayers submitted in advance. Some, likewise, want pre-approval of those who will be doing the actual praying. Some caution against sectarian prayers, especially any mention of Jesus Christ.
It seems that what they’re looking for in their desperation is “safe prayer.” Prayer that honors diversity. Prayer that does not alienate. Prayer that is generic enough for even the ACLU. But “safe prayer” like “safe sex” is a misnomer. Neither is guaranteed 100 percent effective. Both miss the point.
God, by definition, is anything but safe. God is “the supreme or ultimate reality.” God is “the Being perfect in power, wisdom and goodness whom people worship as creator and ruler of the universe.” This is not a safe God. This God is all-powerful, all-knowing, all-wise. To address this God in prayer is to risk everything – my autonomy, my well-being, my very physical existence. To petition such a One, to ask this God to bless this council meeting, requires more than a little nerve and a confidence that this God is also love, mercy and grace.
Knowing that you, or your council, need the help and intervention of this God takes a certain intelligence and humility. No less than Abraham Lincoln recognized his need as commander-in-chief for God’s help in both personal matters and matters of state. Nor was he too proud to admit it. “I have been driven many times upon my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere else to go,” he said. “My own wisdom and that of all about me seemed insufficient for that day.”
God bless you, Councilwoman Donna Wright, for doing the sensible thing and introducing the measure that, now passed, allows your council meetings to begin with prayer. I will pray that the council may now avoid sterile “safe prayer” that must fall on deaf ears, and instead pray bold, dangerous prayers that in times past have saved a nation torn by civil war.
Everett
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