Comments

I've been honored to pray before several city council meetings. I would never pray to Allah, Buddha, or the Flying Spaghetti Monster, simply because I don't believe there's power in that prayer. My faith is in Christ Jesus and it's by His power that I pray.

Thankfully, when I'm asked to pray before the meetings, those who ask know how I'm going to end the prayer and in whose name I will pray. If ever asked to pray a generic prayer (without recognizing the power of God), I would refuse to separate my faith from the rest of life.

I would say the power of Jesus is just as appropriate (if not more so) when dealing with the government. I'm not forcing my religion/faith on anyone. After all, it's not to them that I speak. Finally, have faith in the one who brings the message - not the message itself.

Blessings,
Mike

What's the point then? If you are not going to pray under the authority and power of the Deity in which you trust, why bother praying at all? The key legal issue is whether or not the government entity restricts prayers to a certain sect or not. They must allow all or none. If a Muslim prays, I expect him to invoke Allah's name, and content he has the right to do so, even though I have no faith in his prayer. I just wonder how Elijah's battle with the Prophets of Baal would have worked out had he followed your advice. Without Jesus Christ as my intercessor, I have no open door to the throne of God.

Praying or not praying should not be an issue. What should be an issue is that prayer is directed towards the Father not the Son. Requests are made to the Father through the authority of the Son, and the answer is through the outworking of the Spirit.

Prayer should not bed directed directly to Jesus!

Steve

p.s. there is no wonder some other faiths think we worship three Gods when prayer is directed towards the Son (although there is the martyring of Stephen which is somewhat exceptional, but not conclusive.)

I agree with the first two posts.

I think Jesus' name should be invoked only because it is the right name to invoke. The other names have no power because they were all wrong in various forms. Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and at his name "every knee will bow...".

It will happen at the end of the world, why shouldn't we do it now? That's why Jesus prayed "your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven."

If the tables were turned and government was endorsing Buddha, Allah, or some other "power", then Christians would be oppressed and would try to change the system, move out, or die. So what's new? Christ promised that this would happen, and it has been happening for the last two thousand years at least somewhere on the earth.

I mean no disrespect to the men and women who have fought for my freedoms (God bless them!), but I don't want freedom of religion. I want the truth plain and simple and no chance of dooming myself with falsehood. Even if a false religion is the "endorsed truth", I've learned that the truth has a funny way of making itself known anyway.

So I hope my leaders pray to Christ! If they pray to anyone else they are just blowing hot air and if they don't pray at all they're ignoring the truth.

Dear God! All the commenters are purposely ignoring Mr. Greenberg's article to push their own points of view, which have very little to do with either Christianity or the U.S. Constitution.

Some wag once said that as long as there are math tests in school, there will be prayer in school. And, I think, as long as there are public government meetings, there will be prayer in public government meetings .

You can pray any time you like, but speaking into a microphone is not prayer, it is a speech.

Prayer to the Christian God in government settings is not quite the problem. One would expect that sincere prayer in the name of Christ would prompt government officials to seek the best for all citizens, including those who don't so call upon his name. The concern for Christian believers should come when we realize that most government prayer, regardless of whose name is claimed, is merely done for political effect, to 'sanctify' public proceedings that otherwise show no signs of sanctification.

"Religion should not be forced into the public square" could only be maintained by someone who has little regard for the examples placed before us in God's Word! Moses and the prophets, Jesus, Peter and John, Paul, etc. The aforementioned comments sound like a very illegitimate use of the U.S. Constitution!
Read your Bible. Read the U.S. Constitution.
Be grateful we live in a country that allows for public discussion of this matter!

Why not have a prayer that ALL can hear and embrace? If praying in Jesus name rules out the Jewish audience, why not find common ground. This is a public prayer, not prayers that you are to do in your prayer closet. I don't understand the divisive attitude of soem of these comments.

If I am asked to give a speech or sing a song to a government body, they can tell me what the speech is to be about or what song I should sing. If I am asked to pray, they can tell me what they would like me to pray for, they can tell me how long I can pray, but if they want me to pray, then they need to let me pray how I know to pray. It is only in and through Jesus that my prayers are heard, and that is how I would have to pray.

I couldn't agree with the posting more. Christians need to stop trying to make the government Christian and instead spread the word of Christ to the people. Do we really think that prayer in school or prayer at a council meeting with affect anyone positively? It just makes Christians look like we're trying to cram our agenda down others' throats.

I'm sure that heartfelt prayer to Jesus in front of the skeptical non-Christian will really help your witnessing efforts....NOT, but the genuine respect and conversation about your own faith just might.

Jesus did not come to earth to challenge the Romans, he came to demolish the culture of that time and to remove the barriers to salvation.

Our Constitution is a tremendous blessing, but Christians need to stop mixing their politics with their faith. Our jobs are not here to make the government "better"; rather it is to be living examples of the love and grace that we've been given and spread the word about these wonderful things that are available to EVERYONE.

If we're doing our jobs and living the life so to speak the end result will be the reward. We cannot try to mandate Christianity with government of any kind.

By all means, bring your faith to government meetings --I do. But weigh your motives carefully when you have the urge to verbalize something religious, especially if you are there on behalf of government.

It's increasingly theoretical knowlege these days, but good government is a blessing from God to everyone under it. Why detract from an athiest's experience of it? After all, God sends rain on the just and just alike.

In my experience, God the Father and Jesus are invoked to sell something that can't be sold on it's own merits. This is blasphemy, and it's not what the Creator has in mind when he reveals himself to us. Of course it can get monotonous to simply do your government job well and lead a quiet life, not grabbing for attention, but this is what best serves the public. We all must give an accounting for how we've discharged our responsibilities, so do let's TCB.

The real concern is not that God is on our side --we already know he is for us-- we need to first ask whether we're on his side. In the places and spheres God has put us, are we going about his Kingdom business? Are we making an excellent sacrifice? There would be way less soundbites if believing public figures would first ask themselves these questions.

Oh, and don't worry if you don't get the spotlight. Please do PRAY during meetings and for all the players --this is serious business and they certainly need prayer. It's seldom necessary to pray audibly. Word will still get out what Jesus is doing.

(my two cents)

P.S. the only public meeting where we have record of Jesus's attendence went very badly for him in the natural. He did not seek out this type of setting, which is not to say plenty of government players didn't seek him out (Nicodimas, Jairus, the Centurion, Joseph of Arimathea, etc.)

The biggest problem, as I see it, is the "we." "Lord Jesus, we'd like to give you thanks and praise..." excludes non Christians from their government council. If this were a Christian country, as opposed to a country where the majority of people are Christians, the Preamble to the Constitution would state that explicitly.

As a religious document, the Constitution would obviously be more Unitarian than Christian, and as as I don't count non-Trinitarians as being "Christian," but sort of post Christian, the founding fathers' Constitutional preamble would be as it is..."We the people," not "We the Christian People."

It would have been better, I think, to have used "I." "Lord Jesus, I'd like to give you thanks and praise..." The prayer doesn't exclude or presume, but is a completely personal statement.

Still, if one can't give an inclusive invocation, one should probably decline. "We humble ourselves for the task of the people's business ahead of us, and hope for wisdom and strength..."

In any case, in my upbringing, we always pray in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost, not just in the name of Jesus. Of course, the councilman wasn't praying in the name of Jesus, but to Jesus, so never mind.

Kudos to Mr. Greenberg and the post by Bob. It was Jesus who reminded us that prayer was not about being seen (or heard) by men (Matt 6:5).

What, does no one on this list know that Jesus ridiculed and scorned those who prayed in public? (Matthew 6:5-6)
Only hypocritical Pharisees who want to keep other religious beliefs out of the public square pray in public. REAL Christians don't need such silly "support," they pray in private, at home.

Jesus is God. Why all the fuss about praying to the one, true, living, God, who owns everything including you and me? Unbelievers has no qualms in worshiping their god or gods and making a great public spectacle of it. If people showed God half the attention that everyone and everything seems to be getting now adays, God would pull this country, not to mentione this world out of its troubles. Instead, all the world has to look forward to is a rough, hard, difficult, awful, times ahead. You don't believe me? Okey, You just wait and SEE. Note: If anyone can not stand to hear God's people praying, they can get up and LEAVE. And may God not have mercy on their wretched souls.++

"The highest glory of the American Revolution was this: it connected in one indissoluble bond, the principals of civil government with the principles of Christianity." John Quincy Adams.
George Washington' prayer for the New Nation, "...and finally that Thou wilt most graciously be pleased to dispose us all to do justice, to love mercy, and to demean ourselves with that charity, humility and pacific temper of mind which were the characteristics of the Divine Author of our blessed religion...Grant our supplication, we beseech Thee, through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen."
Time and space do not permit the countless public references to Jesus Christ given by some, most of our former presidents. Mr.Greenberg has suckled too long on modern liberal, politically-correct propaganda. It is Christianity's concept of "Soul liberty" that has made freedom of Religion, all relgions possible in this country. But that in no way means it is to be silenced when it comes to its speech. Mr. Greenberg takes the seperation way to far, to a place never intended by our founders.

How about this for an intro or ending to public, government prayer that Jews, Christians and Muslims can with conviction pray without offending each other, Buddhists, Hindus, new agers, agnostics and atheists (okay too much to ask, but. . . )

Creator God, I pray at this occasion to you as the God of Isaac, Ishmael and Jesus with uncompromising confidence that you love and care for all of your children regardless of their particular creeds. And, until that day when the Truth is finally made clear, help us to all love and tolerate each other as brothers and sisters and to work together whenever we can toward the common good.

Amen!

Thank the Lord; someone gets it. I have argued this for 50 years, ever since I first began to be asked to pray in pulic gatherings of people of different faiths.

Seeing that Jesus is already Lord over Christians and non-Christians alike, it should not be anything but automatic that we pray in His name publicly, simply acknowledging His awesome LORDship over the realm of human government, which He established.

In 2007 I participated in a Christian Peace Witness in Washington. The concluding speaker was a progressive evangelical I admire. But I was disappointed at the end of his talk when he noted all of the cameras present, and said we should assert to the world our belief that "America is NOT the last best hope of the free world -- Jesus Christ is!" or words akin to that. Amid the resounding cheers, I cringed. If his ending statement had been, "America is not the last best hope of the free world, God Almighty is!" I too would have cheered. But with those few words he eliminated the Jews, he eliminated the Muslims, he eliminated every one of God's children who is not Christian from this advocacy for world peace -- and we won't attain world peace without them. That, and the fact that the cross behind which we marched to the White House had an American flag flying off it like some Superman cape, made me realize sadly that I cannot participate in a CHRISTIAN peace event again.

Saying a Christian prayer at a government-sponsored event has the same effect as that flag-draped cross -- it conflates America with a particular religious belief, and uses Christ as a wedge to separate those who are in from those who are out. That is not the model Christ gave us to follow.

I'm reminded of the book of Mark,Chapter 11,verse 24,"If you believe in Jesus Christ as lord and savior whatever you pray for it will be yours".Unfortunately as I have learned many a time is that nothing absolutely nothing fails like prayer.

The Bible says in John 14:13,14: And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name (Jesus's name), that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it. (KJV). If the prescription for prayer is provided for us, what shall we expect to gain if we do not follow it?

What is the use in praying if we do not pray the way the Bible tells us to pray. If you want something from me, I am the one to tell you how best to acquire it. The same is true in Praying in Jesus' name.

All Mighty God has many names - one of these is Jesus Christ.
When I pray to Almighty God in the name of Jesus Christ empowered by the Holy Spirit those prayers all go to the same address !
I must disassociate myself from the the lady who stated all prayer is bound to fail. Jesus is God

Many followers of Christ have been martyred rather than pray a politically correct prayer. It seems to me that this article is an indictment on Christianity in America.

And yet....the "magic" formula of praying and asking in Jesus' name doesn't always net us what we ask. And that in turn yields some frightening and hurtful answers. The reply of "it was God's will" or "your faith is lacking" (answers I have heard given to those in pain/need), while an automatic religious response, are also wedges. To tell someone it was "God's will" is a horrid response, but how do we answer when someone cries out -- "But I did have a heartfelt prayer that I gave to God and I did ask in Jesus' name". They know the verses of John 14:13-14 and tragedy still happened.

A "We pray to Jesus" prayer at a public event, especially at a government function, is a metaphysical theft of public property. "We" pray individually, or not, as "we" individually see fit. You don't know the "who, what, when, where and why" of my prayer, or why I do or don't pray. To say that "we" pray as you do, or should if I knew what's good for me, suggests that everyone must do so or they aren't anyone who's rights as a citizen or guest in this country are those that "We" must respect. It's swaggering, unbounded arrogance, a calloused disregard of the Golden Rule.

If you want to clang your cymbals in a public spotlight, rent a hall on the public square and invite me in. It's your hall for your performance, not my government function that you've callously taken from me.

Let me begin by saying that I respectfully disagree with the premise of Mr. Greenberg.

I see nothing wrong with praying at any public meeting where one is called upon to pray and where the person extending the invitation is fully aware that the one called upon is a believer in and follower of the Lord Jesus Christ. The same would be true if the one called upon was a Jew, Moslem or whatever.

In my view it would be improper to ask someone to pray and not give them freedom to do so within their religion.

If some or many of the person attending a goverment meeting are against the public saying of prayers in the meeting because they happen to be of another or no religious persuasion, then it would be far better for there to be a policy that all public prayer be excluded from the proceedings.

In my country prayers are regularly, almost routinely said at governmental meeting regardless of the composition of the audience. Usually, a pastor in the audience is asked to "bless" the meeting or "open in prayer". Since my community is primarily Christian this is considered neither unusual nor offensive.

It is understood and taken for granted that a Christian when ending a prayer will end with "In Jesus Name" or sometimes simply "Amen"

I consider myself truely blessed to live in a community like this and I, along with others, pray both privately and publicly that this will obtain for a long time to come. My heart goes out to those who live in communities where Christians are held in low or no regard.

Debbie said:
we should assert to the world our belief that "America is NOT the last best hope of the free world -- Jesus Christ is!" or words akin to that. Amid the resounding cheers, I cringed. If his ending statement had been, "America is not the last best hope of the free world, God Almighty is!" I too would have cheered. But with those few words he eliminated the Jews, he eliminated the Muslims, he eliminated every one of God's children who is not Christian from this advocacy for world peace -- >>

Debbie,

He did not eliminate any of Gods children in his prayre because only Christians are Gods Children because of Christ.
Bill azusa755@sbcglobal.net

You either pray or you do not pray.

The Bible teaches Christians to pray to God in the name of Jesus.
Anybody inviting a Christian to pray in any setting should know what to expect. If a Christian is not in a position to ask the Father anything in the name of Jesus, there is no point in asking!

I believe that Jesus is the one and only way to get through to God. But if a Muslim is invited to pray in public I will not begrudge him praying to Allah whichever way he knows. He should be as free as I am.

We live in a nation that has laws. The main law of the land is the U.S. Constitution. Which is interpreted by the courts. The courts ruled NO prayer to a specific deity. That does not mean No Prayer, just not directed to Jesus, Moses, Budda, or the Spegetti Monster. That is just find with me.
I am a Christian andone prayer I always say is the Serenity Prayer, used a lot in AA. It is very generic and very good. I am sure there are other prayers and you can make your own. No need to break the Law.

Larry