Praying in Simple Language
Dirkie Joubert's book Crab Soup and Other Stories is a fascinating look into South African history, and she grew up in a time when the Afrikaans language was still taking shape. Some of the people in her culture were very proud of their Dutch heritage and were very scathing towards this new language Afrikaans - such as the local minister at their church, who took a great disliking to Dirkie's father because he spoke Afrikaans and spent much time trying to get the people in their town to read a local Afrikaans newspaper.
The Power of Simple Faith
The minister called a meeting to discuss this among the church elders, and belittled the paper and the 'new' language that was, in his view, destroying the culture of the Dutch people in South Africa. But then Dirkie's father stood and said that he believed their church services should be conducted in the language of the people, rather than the high Dutch that few really grasped. And he said this, which I thought was most profound:
"If a language were used which everybody understood, it would undoubtedly make a deeper impression on their minds. Before we had a minister I often held prayer meetings in this very room, and I have often heard prayers couched in beautiful language, which did not stir any hearts. At the back of the room, in a corner, old 'Outa' (a term of respect for an elderly native man) Adam used to sit. He always worshipped with us. When he took the prayers, I have never heard more simple or childlike language used, and yet, when we rose from our knees there was hardly a dry eye in the room."
Well the minister wasn't impressed by his words, but I certainly was. I think it's a very important point he made - that prayer is not about high language and great phrasing, but it's about simple, heartfelt faith.
Praying From the Heart
Have you ever felt out of your depth by somebody asking if you would pray out loud? Perhaps you've mistakenly thought that a real prayer must be a wordy, grammatically correct, poetic and well phrased prayer. That's not true - prayer is a matter of the heart, and if you pray genuinely rather than trying to sound like you think you should, your prayer will be effective!
Outa Adam's simple prayers brought tears to the people's eyes because they could understand him and hear his heart and his faith in his prayers. Don't worry about how you sound when you pray. Just pray from the heart, and God will be honoured, and people’s lives will be touched.
