Something I've been noticing more and more lately is the way prayer has been transformed into a series of magical incantations. And I'm not talking about the Ken Copeland "prayer is the container of the force of faith" gibberish. I'm talking about US. We are told to "pray on" God's protection, to "pray a hedge around" someone. Or how about the classic preaching on "the power of prayer". We don't really mean that the power is in our prayers, but in God; nevertheless this kind of sloppy terminology leaves its mark.
Prayer is treated like a series of magic spells, and if we can just use the right words our conjuring will be successful. Don't believe me? Charismatics aren't the only ones with a "prayer language". Where else would you use phrases like "travelling mercies," "lead, guide, and direct," or constant repetitions of the name of the addressee? ("Lord, I pray, Lord, that you would help me, Lord, to do what's right" etc. -- next prayer meeting, just count the number of times you do it.)
How about we substitute "the power of prayer" with the phrase "the power of God" for starters.
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