Pray then Like THis

by Lauren Smoak

As you may know, YMCO keeps a busy schedule. Worksite in the morning, drive, bag lunch, drive, worksite in the afternoon, drive, arrive, shower, cook, eat, programming, sleep, & repeat. In this chaos, I make the effort to arrive at each worksite five minutes early. After the eager group of teens untangles themselves from their church bus, I pause and ask everyone to circle up in the parking lot. Then, I ask for a volunteer to pray. After so many days, this begins to feel like routine: arrive at the worksite, unload the car, text my director that we arrived, give a pep talk, pray, and move in to serve as Christ taught. Standard procedure. However, this week made me rethink our routine prayers.

My group this past week hailed from St. Stephens EC in Richmond, Virginia. Our time was filled with laughter, learning, and good works. I am inspired to write this post because throughout the week, prayer became a topic of conversation amongst the youth. It started with one young man who consistently delivered some of the most heartfelt prayers I’ve ever heard. Standing outside of each worksite, he spoke to God with kindness and confidence. Naturally, his peers commented on this: “How do you know how to do that?” “You’re really good at praying.” “You should be a preacher!” This led to further conversation about personal prayer life. One youth commented that they pray easily on their own, but never in public. This is pretty common - praying can feel like public speaking and public speaking is terrifying. On the other hand, I heard the opposite: “I don’t really do individual prayer.” For some people, there is strength in numbers and talking to God alone can be intimidating. These are all valid takes.
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A week at YMCO is about more than just volunteering. Yes, when we enter these organizations we are doing the good work of Christ and loving our neighbors as he calls us to do. However, good works are also happening inside of our hearts (and sometimes in the parking lots of worksites.) It warms my heart to see youth praying and encouraging their peers to do the same. It fills me with hope to be a part of conversations about prayer. Prayer matters. Having a personal relationship with God matters. I am grateful for the surety of this young man from St. Stephens. He inspired his peers to consider their feelings about prayer and encouraged them to pray wholeheartedly. By the end of the week, several youth would raise their hands every time I asked for a volunteer. I have noticed, especially among young people, prayer can feel like pressure. But the Bible calls us to maintain a personal relationship with our Creator and we do this by willingly engaging in conversation with Him.

“Pray then like this: Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, And the power, and the glory, For ever and ever. Amen”