confusion or the lack of it

One of the nice things about spending time with Baptists after several years as an Anglican is that Baptists pray properly.


No - I'm not talking about some Important Theological Point Of Great Meaning. I'm just talking logistics.

You see, in the circles I grew up in, group prayer goes something like this...

Person 1: Dear God, blah blah blah blah blah.
Person 2: Dear God, blah blah blah blah blah.
Person 3: Dear God, blah blah blah blah blah.
Person 4: Dear God, blah blah blah blah blah.
Person 5: Dear God, blah blah blah blah blah.
Person 6: Dear God, blah blah blah blah blah. In Jesus name, Amen.

And the "In Jesus name, Amen" bit functions as a nice little cue to tell everyone that we're done praying now, so it's okay to open your eyes and resume the conversation.


Whereas, in Anglican circles (at least the bit I'm now hanging out with), it's more like this...

Person 1: Dear God, blah blah blah blah blah. In Jesus name, Amen.
Person 2: Dear God, blah blah blah blah blah. In Jesus name, Amen.
Person 3: Dear God, blah blah blah blah blah. In Jesus name, Amen.
Person 4: Dear God, blah blah blah blah blah. In Jesus name, Amen.
Person 5: Dear God, blah blah blah blah blah. In Jesus name, Amen.
Person 6: Dear God, blah blah blah blah blah. In Jesus name, Amen.

...at the end of which, we all sit there in stunned silence for several minutes, sneaking peeks at each other to try to figure out if we're still praying or not. It gets confusing.


You don't realise how important the little things are until you have to do without them.