I see this ad on TV where two young adults are engrossed in some studies, sitting on a couch beside a door – presumably the door into an apartment or dorm the guy calls home.
Another guy comes through the door and is greeted by the others. They want to know how his day went; he tells them how much better today was than some previous experience that differed in one way: this time, he had been prayed for.
Feeling encouraged, the guy on the couch expresses his happiness for his friend, and asks if the other two could pray for him so that he could also succeed.
This is followed by a brief monologue by one of the administrators of the operation placing the ad – Sonrise Gospel Church – telling of how the congregation of Sonrise is all about the power of prayer.
I have two issues with this ad:
1 – The acting is terrible.
Face it – these are supposed to be friends who are joyful for the success of one of them, and for the proof that prayer works wonders. If you have not watched the ad, do so at your earliest possible convenience; if you have, stay with me.
These three come across like they are freebasing lithium – flat, non-expressive voices; lack of anything remotely resembling the joyful exuberance expressed by the words; words rattled off almost as if they were being read from queue cards, without any rehearsal.
How this is supposed to attract followers escapes me; the condition of these three - in all likelihood, among those who attend Sonrise Gospel Church – is more frightening than reassuring, considering the circumstances. How am I supposed to feel good about attending a church whose members possess all the charm of roadkill?
The past ads for this church are equally disturbing. The whole family was part of the last ad campaign: the parents are right out of Stepford, and one gets the strongest feeling that the children are not thrilled to be there. Perhaps if they had received their hit on the lithium peace pipe, they would not have appeared so apathetic; maybe something more like indifferent.
No matter how you look at it, these ads do not instill confidence or a burning desire to run out and enlist.
2 – The approach to prayer is just plain wrong.
Prayer is portrayed in this church's ads as something one does to get God to do something He might not otherwise do. For instance, you have an idea that requires loads of money to pull off; you pray to God for money, and He is supposed to land a few million in your bathtub by bedtime. If He doesn't the first time, just keep on praying; you'll wear Him down, eventually, and He'll just have to give you the money.
There are so many people who are stuck on the idea that God will give you anything you ask for in Jesus' name. When, however, Jesus was saying this (Matthew 18:19; John 14:14), he was addressing His Disciples – not the masses. It is needful, then, to be a disciple of Christ – not one who says, Lord Lord, but one who follows the teachings and disciplines of Jesus. Try it this way: one who follows the teachings and disciplines of Jesus is one who submits their will to that of God; by doing so, God's will takes over in that person's life. When one's will is the same as God's will, then one wants what God wants; therefore, one does not ask for things that God would not give one, but always asks for the things that God would give.
Not too confusing, was it?
Okay, genius (you ask), what is prayer? Prayer is, at its most simple, a means by which we connect to our Heavenly Father; it is how we talk to Him and become tuned into His voice so that we may "hear" what He has for us. At its most profound, prayer is a reaching out to the divine; more than just talking to God and being open to His response, prayer is a way of keeping perspective. As prayer approaches this level, we are being reminded of how great He is and how small we are; how powerful He is and how helpless we are; how much He loves us and how little we deserve His grace and mercy. Both levels of prayer are vital – one keeps us young, like little children, while the other helps us to grow and mature spiritually.
The swill served up by these ads is, at the least, misleading; at the most, blasphemous.
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