The Who of Prayer: Praying with Other People

Occasionally I am asked to pray for public events outside of our congregation. I am happy to offer such prayers, but I am always mindful that some of those I will be praying probably are not Christian. As such, I feel I have a responsibility to pray in a religiously inclusive way, so that almost everyone can pray together. While it may still exclude atheists, it does allow Christians, Jews, Muslims, and others who believe in a higher being to pray together.

More often, when we find ourselves praying with other people, we will be praying with a group of Christians. But we still have a responsibility to be respectful and inclusive of those we pray with, so that we may truly pray together. This is a hard task, and many people -- including many pastors who should know better -- are not very good at it. So often we're focused on what we feel, but such things are best reserved for personal prayer; when we pray as a group, we are supposed to raise our voices together.

Theoretically, it should be possible for opponents, even enemies, to pray with each other, but we are so mistrustful, and sometimes so willing to use prayer combatively, that it rarely happens. But we must never become so cynical that we just stop praying with other people -- rugged individualism is not a good prayer model. Instead, we should be happy to pray with others, trying always to respect them and their beliefs; after all, they are our brothers and sisters in faith too, and deserve our respect.

Today's Prayer Prompt: During the day, find an opportunity to pray with someone else or with a small group. Make sure that you lead part of the prayer yourself and that you are mindful of the others you are praying with while you do.