When the Lord's Prayer is sung by a soloist, do you bow your head/close your eyes for a public prayer, or do you watch the singer as you would with any other performance? This delimma came to mind at the National Day of Prayer breakfast last week. After the welcome the local Lutheran pastor, an excellent tenor, sang the Lord's Prayer. I considered it a performance and turned to watch him. There are many other prayers set to music and we do not bow for them.
But I noticed that the event leaders across the stage, except for the guest speaker, all sat there with their eyes closed or heads bowed. To me it looked rather odd. So I looked around me and found the group comflicted - most bowed, a few watching like me, and many sneeking glances.
Does anyone have a proper protocol for this?
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2 comments:
Do we always pray with our eyes shut? Statements in scripture, like, "My eyes are always on the Lord," "I lift my eyes to you, O God," "My eyes stay open through the watches of the night, that I may meditate on your promises," and, "But my eyes are fixed on you, O Sovereign LORD," all from the Psalms, seem to indicate that it's not whether your eyes are open or closed, it's where your heart is focused. And I don't get the impression that when the disciples asked Jesus how to pray he closed his eyes and prayed the prayer; he taught them how to pray.
Just my thoughts. Besides, if we had to close our eyes when we prayed, there would be a lot of people I would have run off the road when I was praying!
See you at conference, where lot's of prayer is needed!
Is it less of a prayer if your eyes are open?
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