Is a single, simple prayer worship?

[MineralMan]

I've heard some people say that I shouldn't be concerned if a prayer is said in a public place where I am compelled to attend, because it is not really worship. Here's the most common prayer of all, a distinctly Christian prayer, that is often spoken in public places. I used to hear it led by teachers in my grammar school in California in the 1950s. We were required to learn and recite it as the teacher said it. I'll annotate it to demonstrate why it constitutes a complete act of worship of that particular religion:


Our Father, which art in heaven, Recognition of a particular deity and opening of worship
Hallowed be thy Name. Praise for and worship of that deity
Thy Kingdom come. A call for universal acceptance of that deity
Thy will be done in earth, A call for governmental rule by that deity in the real world
As it is in heaven. A call to make the real world the same as that religion's afterlife location
Give us this day our daily bread. A plea for the necessities of life to be provided by the deity
And forgive us our trespasses, Confession to and request for forgiveness by the deity
As we forgive them that trespass against us. Recognition that we must forgive others
And lead us not into temptation, Recognition of the omnipotence of the deity, and request that it not tempt people
But deliver us from evil. Request for deliverance and salvation
For thine is the kingdom, Lauding of the deity
The power, and the glory, Lauding of the deity
For ever and ever. Lauding of the deity
Amen. End of worship

A worship service in sixty seconds or so. This is what we were compelled to recite at the beginning of each school day, without any reference to the wishes of our parents or recognition of the concept that not all of the children in that school were Christian. All prayers are worship, and most are modeled on this one in their structure and purpose. None should be said when people are compelled to be present, as in schools, courtrooms, and other government run operations. It is that simple.

[rug]

1. Yes it is. That's why they don't do it anymore.

BTW, while a prayer to God is a type of worship, it is not liturgy.

[MineralMan]

2. I did not write that it was liturgy.

While that prayer is a part of the liturgy of many Christian churches, it does not constitute a liturgy in itself. I chose the word I used. It does constitute worship. It is not compelled widely in schools today, but we do hear of it being recited in public schools still. I'm not only concerned with schools, either. I used a school setting as an example from my actual experience.

[rug]

3. Far be it from me to dispute your actual experience.

Nevertheless - when prayers were recited in schools - it was worship only in the palest sense of the word. There are beter words to describe it.

[MineralMan]

4. And yet, it was worship - specifically Christian worship.

And it was compelled worship. Pale or ruddy, compelled worship is wrong. You may use any words you wish to describe it. I've already chosen my words.

[rug]

5. I love revisiting the 60s.

Such great issues.

Sadly, life moves on.

[Bluenorthwest]

6. If you read the entire passage from which 'the Lord's Prayer' is taken, you will see

that the Prayer itself is taught as template for 'how to do it' and is prefaced with very specific instructions about where it should be done. Specifically, the Jesus character forbids public prayer, says only hypocrites engage in it, says God does not listen to it, and commands his followers to pray only alone, at home, in their private chamber, door closed. The 'Lord's Prayer' is in fact a response to the practice of public prayer, a part of the condemnation of that practice.
So public prayer, according to Jesus, is a forbidden action, a waste of time, an act of hypocrisy, and it is ignored by God. The passage says it is not worship, it also says it is an act of human agenda that should never be done by those who wish to follow the teachings of Jesus. Most religious people don't like to speak of the 'preamble' to the Lord's Prayer, for it tells them that the way they 'worship' is not approved by Mr Messiah, but they really like public prayers, so they figure those words mean something else.
If Christians practiced what Jesus told them to practice, we'd not know when or even if they prayed, and this issue would not even exist.

[MineralMan]

7. You're right, but that part of the passage is almost universally

ignored by fundamentalist Christians, who consider public prayer to be some sort of evangelism. So, we have invocations and benedictions at all sorts of government-sponsored events. As long as I'm not compelled to be in attendance, I can live with those, despite my disdain for them. It is only in the instances where prayers are made where I am required to be in attendance that I object, and I always object in those cases. Specifically in school and courtroom settings, I find the practice objectionable and unconstitutional, and am not shy about speaking out about it. There's less of this than there once was, but it still occurs.

[Smilo]

10. Thanks for that.......

too many faux Christians just love to have a display of how "devoted" they are - many while trampling on those they should be helping.

[Thats my opinion]

8. It has no place in public schools nt

[Iggo]

9. Is a single upraised middle finger disrespect?

I can live with it if they can.

[jeepnstein]

11. It most certainly is worship, if it's said the right way.

As a Christian I'm not a big fan of compelling anyone to submit to God by force. It just doesn't work. So mandatory prayer in schools or wherever are a big no-go for me.

It's not like anyone could stop me from praying if they tried. We're taught that prayer doesn't have to be a show of piety for all the public to admire. I suspect a few of my brothers and sisters haven't gotten that memo. Yes, I've led prayer in schools, courtrooms, prisons, hospitals, just about everywhere. But the key was someone asked me to help lead them through the prayer.

By the way, you're breakdown of that particular passage is really good. That's the basis for effective prayer. I firmly believe that Jesus wanted us to understand it was to be an outline for prayer rather than some thing we just learn by rote and do automatically.