March 10, 2012 Spamming Heaven's Throne Room

Spam, as you must know, is unwanted e-mail. Junk e-mail. E-mail sent to bulk lists from people who do not know you, about things you probably want no part of. Today I saw that I had accumulated over 200 entries in my spam folder since the last time I emptied it; a quick look reveals the usual satellite tv promotions, large amounts of money waiting for me in the Central Bank of Ghana, loans, sweepstakes, various helps for erectile dysfunction, assorted coupons, and invitations from hot local singles who want to meet me.

Spam is named for a comedy routine, oddly enough. Says Wikipedia:

According to the Internet Society and other sources, the term spam is derived from the 1970 Spam sketch of the BBC television comedy series Monty Python's Flying Circus. The sketch is set in a cafe where nearly every item on the menu includes Spam canned luncheon meat. As the waiter recites the Spam-filled menu, a chorus of Viking patrons drowns out all conversations with a song repeating "Spam, Spam, Spam, Spam... lovely Spam! wonderful Spam!", hence "Spamming" the dialogue.The excessive amount of Spam mentioned in the sketch is a reference to the preponderance of imported canned meat products in the United Kingdom, particularly a brand of tinned ham (Shoulder Pork hAM = SPAM) from the USA, in the years after World War II, as the country struggled to rebuild its agricultural base. Spam captured a large slice of the British market within lower economic classes and became a byword among British children of the 1960s for low-grade fodder due to its commonality, monotonous taste and cheap price — hence the humour of the Python sketch.

Whatever. But today it dawned on me that a lot of what we call "prayer" may be perceived, in heaven, as the spiritual equivalent to spam. Jesus instructed us how to pray in the gospel of Matthew, chapter six:

  Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.

God is appropriated addressed and reminded of his holiness. The desire to see his will accomplished is stated. A request is made for provision (surely it didn't sound so much like a demand in the original language!), forgiveness, guidance, and protection, followed by another reminder to the Almighty of how awesome he is. Amen...so be it, in other words...and that's it. Very concise, as are most of the prayers that show up in scripture. Either that's what he prefers, or some editor has a lot to answer for someday.

Jesus also instructed us that less is more, prayer-wise. His introduction to the "Our Father" tells us that we aren't to think that public praying or lofty-sounding words hold any merit:  ⁵ “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. ⁶ But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. ⁷ And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. ⁸ Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him "(Matthew 6:5-8 NIV).

I've changed the way I pray over the years. After our son Adam's death in 2000, it struck me that God is God. He does whatever he wants without regard to our timetables or preferences. He does things for his own reasons. His plans are top priority, and regardless of OUR plans, his are the ones that eventually unfold. His reasons are superior to ours, don't get me wrong! But we don't always see it at the time. We don't always understand what he is doing or why. Still, he is God, and we are not. So I stopped praying for things the same way and started reminding him of this fact.

"You are going to do what you want to, anyway," I will say. "And I trust that what you want is the Best...but I do ask you to be merciful here. Show yourself to be strong and loving in this situation." I'm convinced that affirmation is the Lord's love language, so I tell him how wonderful he is. A lot. It's true, and I'm convinced he enjoys hearing it.

I also tell him what I hope he does in a situation, the answer that seems to  me, in my very limited capacity and understanding, to be ideal. As if I had a clue, but I remind him of that also. Not trying to tell you your job, obviously, but if I were you... He's my Father, after all. What dad doesn't appreciate honest communication from his kids, even if it is childish and foolish?

A man recently shared with me that over the last year, he has adopted the practice of praying the Serenity Prayer each day, and that it has transformed his life so much so that he puts it right up there with the Lord's Prayer in terms of personal significance. Originally written by theologian Reinhold Niebuhr, it has been adopted by Alcoholics Anonymous and various other 12-step groups:

God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,

Courage to change the things I can,

And wisdom to know the difference.

Since then, I've found myself reflecting on these simple words more often. Maybe it's because there are so many, many things around me that I've finally realized I have absolutely no chance of changing! What a freeing revelation this is! It's not up to me! Yay! There are things about others, my life, circumstances, my own heart...that I am powerless to control or change.

OK, so I don't take xanax.
It's still funny.

Granted, there are other things, especially within myself, that I need to address, correct, develop. But most of the things that overwhelm me are things I can't do anything about anyway. I need to recognize this on a daily, sometimes an hourly, basis. And I need God's help even here. I am powerless even to recognize what I am powerless to change.

Simple pleasures are often the best, and it seems from scripture that simple prayers are most pleasing to God. I need you, I love you, I want your truth to grow in my life. You're the greatest. If not for you, I'd be dead. Thank you for your mercy, without which I couldn't hope to approach your throne to thank you for it.

I have a feeling that if we go much beyond this, if we beg and plead and show up with our wish lists as if to approach the great  bearded Santa in the sky, it's regarded as so much spam. 

Which isn't, after all, even kosher.