At the Hour of Prayer . . . the Power of God at Work

The liturgical tradition is often characterized by those in the more "free church" tradition, and especially in the Pentecostal or Charismatic traditions, as being lifeless.  They may even quote St. Paul's second letter to Timothy where he refers to those who hold "to the outward form of godliness" but who deny its power.

Now, if I'm honest (and I hope to be!), there is some justification for this characterization in some situations (maybe in many situations).  I recall a parishioner during a former pastorate who came to our church having spent a little time in a local Episcopal Church.  Her response to that church was, "There is so much power in the liturgy!"  - I agree!  After all, I'm Wesleyan-ANGLICAN!  -  "But," she said, "they just don't seem to get it!"  -  I've been there and seen that.  I know exactly what she was talking about. 

Yet, this need not be the case!  In fact, that is a big part of what being a Wesleyan-Anglican is all about.  It is recognizing and promoting the fact that these two aspects are not mutually exclusive.  And in my Scripture reading during Morning Prayer, today, I read a passage that illustrates this quite well.  It is a passage that demonstrates that the Early, New Testament Church was steeped in liturgy as well as filled with the power of God.

The passage comes from Acts 3:1-7 (it continues on, but I'm only going to quote these seven verses):

     One day Peter and John were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer, at three o'clock
     in the afternoon.  And a man lame from birth was being carried in.  People would lay him
     daily at the gate of the temple called the Beautiful Gate so that he could ask for alms from
     those entering the temple.  When he saw Peter and John about to go into the temple, he
     asked them for alms.  Peter looked intently at him, as did John, and said, "Look at us." 
     And he fixed his attention on them, expecting to receive something from them.  But Peter
     said, "I have no silver or gold, but what I have I give you; in the name of Jesus Christ of
     Nazareth, stand up and walk."  And he took him by the right hand and raised him
     up; and immediately his feet and ankles were made strong (NRSV).

Obviously, this passage could be pointed to as an example of the miraculous power of God at work in and through the apostles.  Certainly, Peter and John would not be counted among those who would deny the power of God.  And, of course, we know that God shows no partiality (cf. Acts 10:34).  The truth is, God can still bring miraculous healing, today.  This is not to deny that God sometimes brings healing through the means of medical Science or that God sometimes chooses to wait until a person sees God face to face.  But these latter instances ought not deny that God can heal instantaneously, as well.

However, a point that is sometimes overlooked is that all of this takes place in the context of verse one.  There, again, we read that Peter and John were headed to the temple "at the hour of prayer, at three o'clock in the afternoon."  This was actually one of the three set hours for prayer.  What is important to note is that this "hour of prayer," was not simply about a gathering for individual or extemporaneous prayer.  Rather, these times of prayer included the recital or chanting of psalms, the reading of passages from the Old Testament and the use of canticles.  In other words, these times of prayer included set forms of prayer.  And in fact, it was these hours of prayer that led to what we in the Anglican tradition refer to as the Daily office of Morning and Evening Prayer.

All of this to say, formal, liturgical, corporate forms of prayer are NOT antithetical to the miraculous power of God at work in and through the people of God.  In fact, it can be argued that, contrary to what we often see in the Church of our day, both the form and the power of godliness should go hand in hand.