Praying

And lo, the Lord passed by. There was a great and mighty wind, splitting mountains and shattering rocks by the power of the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind—an earthquake; but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake—fire; but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire—a still, small voice.
I Kings 19:11-12

The Times-Dispatch editorial column this morning (January 28) contained this “In Brief:”

The lower crime rates cited in Mayor Doug Wilder’s State of the City address justify considerable gratitude. The credit is widely shared. Many of the region’s most loyal citizens would direct at least a portion of it to Metro Richmond at Prayer.

Now, I’m not sure who these “most loyal citizens” are. I don’t even know whether their loyalty (to Richmond City, to Greater Richmond, to the Commonwealth, to the US of A, to the Braves?) is really significant. But, I would like to talk about how Metro Richmond at Prayer may have helped lower the crime rate here abouts.

For those of you with a short attention span, Metro Richmond at Prayer, an endeavor by Christian faith communities to “pray weekly for the community of Metro Richmond,” began just about two years ago. In its mission statement Metro Richmond at Prayer indicates:

We believe that God desires the healing of this metropolitan area. We also believe that God desires us to pray together and to pray specifically for transformation in our own time.

Metro Richmond at Prayer publishes for its participating churches a weekly prayer to be included in their prayer services.

Aside from its exclusionary nature (faith communities that are not Christian need not apply), I support the objectives of Metro Richmond at Prayer. I believe in the power of prayer. Prayer can be a life changing force when it motivates people to improve themselves and the world in which we live. As stated in a prayer book from an other-than-Christian faith community “Who rise from prayer better persons, their prayer has been answered.” However, as I stated in an unpublished letter to the TD editor in February 2006, “prayer without action is not enough.” In that letter, I questioned whether any amount of prayer alone would cause God to “fix” Richmond’s problems. I said,

[I]t was not God but people, through their actions and omissions, who brought Richmond to its present state. And, it will not be God but people, acting as agents of God, who will save our city.

We cannot look at prayer as a wishing well. We cannot view God as a jinni in a bottle who will “grant us three wishes.” Prayer does not change God; it changes us. As the prophet Elijah learned in the biblical passage I quoted above, God does not usually act in this world through dramatic events and miracles. Rather, God acts through a “still small voice” that causes us to change our attitude and our behavior.

If, as the TD suggests, Metro Richmond at Prayer has had a major role in reducing the crime rate, it is not because it has somehow gotten God to intervene and stop crime. It is rather because it has motivated people to change their behavior, to act as a community dedicated to improving the quality of life here in Richmond.

For members of Metro Richmond at Prayer, and for others for whom prayer is an important part of life, I offer this prayer, by Rabbi Jack Reimer, as your prayer for next week:

We cannot merely pray to You, O God, to end war; for we know that You have made the world so that all of us must find our own path to peace within ourselves and with our neighbors.
We cannot merely pray to you, O God, to end starvation; for You have already given us the resources with which to feed the entire world, if we would only use them wisely.
We cannot merely pray to You, O God, to root out prejudice; for You have already given us eyes with which to see the good in all people, if we would only use them rightly.
We cannot merely pray to You, O God, to end despair; for You have already given us the power to clear away slums and to give hope, if only we would use our power justly.
We cannot merely pray to You, O God, to end disease; for You have already given us great minds with which to search out cures and healings, if we would only use them constructively.
Therefore, we pray to You instead, O God, for strength, determination, and willpower–to do as well as to pray, to become as well as to wish.