Mere Form -- Thoughts on Prayer

And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. Hebrews 11:6

And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Matthew 6:7

          Prayer is lost because of a lack of genuine expectation – it is mere form.

          The only thing which gives prayer its value with God and makes it a thing really relishable upon the part of the offerer, is the element of faith – expecting to win by its use.

          While praying people are few as compared to the population of a given community, still people who pray (taking for instance an entire nation as a whole) make an immense number.  To count heads is to find masses of many who—more or less often and more or less sincerely—pray.  Then to count up the number of prayers offered in a given space of time, is to see that that number would be vast.

          I do not want to be found, or to find myself, taking a least hopeful view of things, but I must respect facts and not close my eyes to situations that actually exist; for how else could one with intelligent sincerity seek to better them?  The facts are:  little is being done in the presence of all this prayer I have mentioned – little done in evangelizing the community at large, or in upbuilding the character of the individual who is himself doing the praying.

          These findings force me to the conclusion that the prayers are largely forms – a sort of perfunctory exercise to keep up religion and endeavor to satisfy one’s conscience.  I do not mean to say that any hypocrisy is intended; by no means would I intimate this; but the real life is gone out on the altar of the soul, while yet people are not ready to give up something of the form of religion.

--Rev. Charles Fowler, 1912

WHERE ARE WE GOING? – (3)

“I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father but by me.” John 14:6

Read the story here: http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=john%2014:1-9&version=NIV

Listen to story here:  http://www.biblegateway.com/audio/dramatized/niv/John.14  

“All roads lead to Rome.”  Many Americans today think, “All roads lead to God.”  Jesus’ statement that “no one comes to the Father but by me” is shocking to us.  It is not politically correct, to say the least.  We would rather believe that any religion, any faith, any philosophy will work equally well.  But will it?

Let’s look at the source of that proverb.  It traces to a Latin saying: “Mille viae ducunt homines per saecula Romam,” which translates, “A thousand roads lead men forever to Rome.”  This proverb was based on the ancient Roman road system which radiated out from the capital, like spokes around a wheel.  These Roman roads were designed so that Roman troops and supplies could travel to anywhere Rome ruled.

So “all roads lead to Rome” means that different paths can take one to the same goal.  These Roman roads were singularly designed that way.  But does this proverb apply to all situations?

Clearly, Robert Frost doesn’t think so.  In “The Road Less Traveled,” the traveler

says:

TWO roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both

And be one traveler, long I stood…

And his conclusion:

I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference

shows that one path led to a very different result than the other.  

Different path; different result.

Logic and observation tell us, that although in some instances different methods can end up with the same result, more often than not opposite methods produce opposite results.

 Even if all Roman roads lead to Rome, all American roads certainly don’t end up at the same destination.  In 1956 the Eisenhower Interstate Highway System was created (commonly called The Interstate).**  In the 50+ years since then, hundreds of roads have crisscrossed the USA.    

Try this experiment.  The next time you get in your car, fill in this sentence:  All roads lead to my destination.  Let us know where you land!

*attributed to Alain de Lille in 1175 AD. 

**Federal Highway Administration – List of Road Songs Celebrating the 50^th Anniversary of the Eisenhower Interstate Highway System. (compiled 2006 by Richard F. Weingroff).  http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/interstate/roadsongs.htm