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Wednesday, January 12, 2005
It's another very funny movie scene (see yesterday's entry). This time from the movie "Meet the Parents" starring Robert DiNiro and Ben Stiller. As the title suggests, a young man (Greg) is in love with a girl and he is going to visit her home in order to meet her parents. In this case, he intends to ask the father for his blessing as he wants to marry his daughter.
Early on, after a very rough and awkward first impression in which the jokes don't go over and it's obvious the two don't get along, the family is having dinner together. The father asks Greg to say a prayer.
The daughter tries to save him the embarassment by telling her father that Greg is Jewish, to which he responds that Jewish people pray...Greg jumps in and volunteers to say grace over the meal.
He was trying to impress the family.
He folded his hands in a classic prayer position, then changed them nervously.
He used plenty of big words...even thanking God for the smorgasborg set before them.
The used dated references of God, like "Thee" and "Thou."
He repeated phrases.
He quoted hymns.
He opened his eyes and looked around to see how it was going.
It was a disaster. Funny...but a disaster nonetheless within the context of the movie.
Chevy Chase did the same thing praying during a eulogy for a great-aunt's death (who, of all things, they were leaving her on the back porch of her son because he wasn't at home) in the original "Vacation." He even said something about "Lo, back in the time when you were with us in the land of the Canaanites." His wife chided him to be serious to which he replied that he was doing his best and he wasn't an ordained minister.
But it's interesting in both cases how the prayers were affected because they weren't actually toward God. They were both prayers designed for those standing around listening...and that's the next thing Jesus, in His manifesto, was going to call the Israelites to reform.
In Matthew 6:5-8, we read, "And when you pray, you are not to be as the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners, in order to be seen by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your father who is in secret, and your father who sees in secret will repay you. And when you are praying do not use meaningless repitition, as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words. Therefore, do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need, before you ask Him."
First, notice that the word "when" is used when referring to prayer. It doesn't say "if" you pray. Prayer is expected to be a part of the spiritual life.
Second, notice that we are given a contrast between the hypocrites (play actors with false faces) and the true person of prayer. The hypocrite will use prayer primarily in public forums, and the bigger the forum, the better. His prayer didn't just take place in the church, but also out in the street corner. Those prayers offered for the hearing of people around them...well, their reward is that people heard their prayer and have a good opinion of them. That's it.
The contrast comes when Jesus tells us to do so in very private settings...in this case, an inner room with the door closed. Just talking to God...simply the two of you.
We also aren't to use meaningless repitition, either. The volume of the words has nothing to do with it. So, we're to speak from our hearts, giving the words meaning and value. Not simply talk using phrases and stuff we've heard from others.
There's much to say about prayer, so this will take a few days...
But for today, ask yourself, how are we like Greg or Chevy with regard to our prayer lives? Are we people of prayer? What can we learn about saying what's on our hearts to God?
Prayer doesn't have to be a forced attempt at showing others we have a relationship with God. It's supposed to be a natural outflow of our relationship with God, which reiterates 6:1, that "inside out" view of the spiritual life.
Brent 4:28 AM
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