by James Smart

Created on: May 01, 2008

The most profound thing I learned about prayer was from the "Crowmaster" in a popular children's TV series from the early eighties called "Worzel Gummage". Not from church. The story was about a scarecrow which was "alive" and he was one among many other scarecrows who were made by a man called the "Crowmaster". Worzel was surprised to find that the Crowmaster knew what he was thinking and the Crowmaster said something like "well I am your maker." This blew me away. As a young boy who believed in God I realized from the Crowmaster's words that God knows our thoughts.

Prayer is sharing your thoughts with God. Nothing more strenuous than that. There are times when we need to be focused in our prayers and it is helpful to articulate our prayers into words, but God knows what we really want to say. There are times when words are not adequate. Sometimes liturgies are good because they focus our attention. The important thing is that we are communicating with God in a meaningful way. When we cannot pray because of feelings of anger or unworthiness, we should share just our feelings with God - although He knows those feelings already, a deliberate act of our will to INVITE God's attention to our thoughts and feelings is prayer in deed.

"But how I feel must be offensive to God!?" you might say. Well, God is not going to fall off His throne! Can you picture a great white throne with God (however you choose to imagine Him) sat on it having seen the worst of human hatred and perversity down through the ages then topple off His throne and needing to be assisted back by the angels? - "Almighty God! Are you ok? Here, let me help you up..."
"OH YES, THANKYOU...I WAS, ER, SOMEWHAT SHOCKED AND TAKEN BY SURPRISE WHEN CLAIRE SHARED THAT BAD THOUGHT WITH ME...JUST GIVE ME A FEW MINUTES TO COMPOSE MYSELF..."
God isn't surprised or shocked by ANYTHING.

"But we must be reverent towards God" you say. I agree completely. In our communication with God we owe Him respect, reverence, Godly fear, love and worship. But there are times in our humanness that we have to submit our true thoughts and feelings to Him so that He can change those thoughts and feelings. We must say "This is the truth of me, God. I acknowledge it and entrust it to You." Or a similar thought.

When it comes to HOW we pray there is one thing I really struggle with: Corporate prayer. Whether it is praying together in church or just a few people together. A typical scenario of a group of Christians praying together goes something

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