Dance-move Prayers

When I was in kindergarten, in a school in Mexico, the teacher asked if any of us had tucked away any dance moves in our repertoire of creative abilities. For what reason, I can’t seem to remember and really wish I could since it appears to be a ridiculous question for a group of K5-ers. Anyways, I had seen some “rock-stars” do this move where they would hold one arm out horizontally and the other one would swing round and round strumming the guitar. I was convinced that this was a well-respected dance move and since I was the American in the class I would have the best dance move to offer. Once I completed this intricate movement with all 5 years of me, I decided that I should show this to as many people as I could. I showed parents, friends, neighbors and anyone that would stop for a few seconds to be amused by me. I was convinced that what I was offering was the best of the best, and would not have offered it to anyone had I not have felt that way.

All of us have had these moments. Moments where we need to be accepted, validated, told “well-done” or “nice dance move”, because deep within all of us there is this driving need to be of importance. While this is an inseparable quality of humanity, it can truly become a mold in spirituality, festering until a perfect fusion of insecurity and arrogance has been achieved. I noticed it this morning at a prayer meeting. There were 14 of us sitting in a circle. We read a Psalm and decided to pray for an upcoming vision/planning weekend. I sat in my chair for 35 minutes while others delivered incredible orations of the unfailing grace and mercy of God. I just couldn’t seem to put the right words together, the ones that would really bring the “mmm’s” and “ah’s”, and if I was going to pray, I was going to bring the best of the best. Immediately I shrunk down to my 5 year old self again awkwardly flailing my best dance move in front of the pastoral staff at Grace Pointe.

The issue is this: there is a culture of insecure arrogance that is rotting the validation that we are given through our relationship with Jesus. We are insecure in that we are attempting to base all of our confidence in our actions, and we firmly believe that we aren’t going to be able to pray right, worship right, and love right. We are arrogant in that the very sacrifice that we have brought to Jesus has become deluded by the deceptive pestilence of self-security. And the very fact that the phrase “praying correctly” has raised merit enough for articles to be written, is one of the most heretical ideas in evangelicalism. In prayer, I come in organic relationship to Jesus. And in this relationship I feel secure, like he has what’s best. With Jesus I feel like a kid again. Holding Jesus’ hand frees me to disclose those things that I hold so closely to my heart. I can do my dance move, I can pray “incorrectly” and he doesn’t really care. Because the cornerstone of our faith is that we did not deserve to be loved, yet he loves us anyway.

So maybe prayer is less asking/receiving, maybe it is less about words, and more about the communion and love of Jesus flooding my heart and mind reminding me, though I bring nothing of worth, to Him, I am worth everything. For in prayer, I can’t help but to match the rhythm of grace in my own life. In the very act I have no choice but to proclaim my impotence and utter destruction apart from the love and grace found in Jesus. And each time his grace rushes over me like a refreshing breeze, I’m reminded that there is no sweeter dwelling. May I never pester anyone with my “dance-move prayers”, but strictly come with the purpose of attuning myself to Jesus.