This semester in class we’ve started each period with a reading from the New Testament letter of James and prayer.  This week, as we’ve come to the end of the letter, we’ve read and briefly talked about what James says about prayer and its effects.  Yesterday’s verses were about Elijah and his prayer for rain.  A student mentioned how odd it is that God would allow that, and what would have happened if Elijah had not prayed.  How would it be possible to change God’s mind, he wondered.

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In his post on the same day, Richard Beck wrote about prayer, particularly praying at the beginning of his classes.  His reason for doing this?

Two years ago, I made the intentional decision to pray before all of my classes. I’m in agreement with Andrew Root: the most critical and pressing spiritual formation task facing the church today is teaching ourselves how to pray.

To be clear, this isn’t about some pious “add-on” to make my class “Christian.” It’s not really even about practicing a “spiritual discipline,” some grueling work we engage in to become better Christians. Prayer is, rather, simply an enchantment.

I definitely agree with Beck and like his reminder that prayer is, on multiple levels, an enchantment.  Granted, it’s also a discipline and what Jamie Smith would call a “habitation of the Spirit.”  But it is the reminder that there is more going on than what we see.  Beck’s is a good post and a great reminder.