Prayer in the Church

In reading about the development of the Daily Offices or services of public prayer in the church I came across a quote by Robert Taft that gave me pause. Sometimes I hear that people don't feel they get anything  out of going to church. How many times have I heard someone say that they are spiritual but not religious. Taft writes, "In our age of narcissistic individualism one often hears people say they "don't get anything our of going to church." What one "gets our of it" is the inestimable privilege of glorifying almighty God."

Though I enjoy this snarky comment and believe it to be true, it is symtomatic of people's need for relevance. It also points to the casualty of individualism - community. Religion is a good thing. Realignment is as important for people as it is for their car. We have a need to be aligned or allied with one another in a community of faith. The problem with sola scriptura is its disregard for relationship, relationship to Trinity, to our past, early church leadership, to the current moving of the Spirit, and to one another. I may be preaching to the choir, but we need each other. We need to be there for each other. With Christ, we are a temple, not I'm the temple, but we are each a stone in the ediface of God's kingdom. I pray that we can find the love and humility to allow all people to find themselves united in the great work of the church, the prayers and praise to almighty God.