Unless you are a preteen or young teen girl you may feel that I am sinking to a new low by blogging about the pride of Stratford, Ontario, Justin Bieber. The Bieb won four awards at Sunday evening's American Music Awards, edging out his mentor, Usher, in a couple of categories.
The young phenom with this year's most copied haircut sang a piece called Pray at the awards, earnestly beseeching Someone or Something to make the world a better place.
I close my eyes and pray
For the broken-heartedI pray for the life not started
I pray for all the ones not breathing
I pray for all the souls in need.
I pray.
Can you give em one today.
I just can't sleep tonight
Can someone tell how to make a change?
I close my eyes and I can see a better day
I close my eyes and pray
I close my eyes and I can see a better day
I close my eyes and I pray.
Although I didn't watch the show there was a choir singing backup and Bieber fell to his knees in a traditional prayer posture as he beseeched the Great Whatever. The choir and the knee drill and even the closed eyes are stereotypes of prayer, all understandable because a singer is an entertainer.
Jesus suggested in the Sermon on the Mount that God is not impressed by showy prayers and that we should find a private place to do our praying.
What does prayer look like or sound like -- or not sound like -- to you?
8 comments:
It sure doesn't look or sound like Justin Bieber!
I can't remember the exact quote but I think it was Francis of Assisi who said that everything we do is a prayer. It appealed to me because I find myself in conversation with God all day. The sense of a companion never leaves me, and I am constantly asking 'how am I doing?' and/or apologizing.
I'm much more comefortable praying in private.
My prayers are usually prayers of thanks, or to watch over others. I can't bring myself to pray for myself. That seems selfish to me.
I like the part in the movie "Bruce Almighty" when Jim Cary has gods powers, and in frustration grants everyone their prayers. Then riots break out because everyone wins the lottery at the same time. They all get about 7 bucks.
Good for the Bieb! It is a very visible, youthful platform to display prayer.
Hedley is another popular groupe that has religous lyrics, if that's what you want them to be. Have a listen to "Hands up" I like the tune, but didn't really catch the lyrics until my wife told me to stop and listen. Not a bad idea once in a while.
I don't usually draw a crowd when I blog but an excited 7 year old summoned her sisters to see the photo on David's blog tonight. Yes, we have mild Bieber fever at our house.
Olivia thinks this is definitely a prayer because it sends a message to God about wanting to help the world. And I agree.
Like pupil I tend to have ongoing conversations as my most consistant form of prayer but try to be more intentional also.. to try and be more proactive rather than reactive, I guess.
Bruce Almighty was a tad corny, but still inspired some deeper thoughts about serious questions at our house. Kind of like Justin Bieber's song, I suppose... weak religion for the masses, no membership required.
I am grateful for Olivia's opinion. She is much closer to the Bieber scene than any of the rest of us.
St. Francis may have been echoing the apostle Paul who encouraged us to pray without ceasing, which is a way of saying that life can and should be lived prayerfully.
No one should give Jim Carey power of any kind. That's akin to encouraging someone to run with scissors. I like the example though.
I wonder who wrote and if they were praying while they sang that song. I think anytime we are in relationship with God, we are praying. At times, I wish I were a bit more intentional in my prayer time, but I also know that I am with God and God with me at all times.
Whether Justin Bieber is able to pray in front of an audience at the awards show is beyond me, but I know that I have difficulty being in prayer as I'm leading worship and am reading the prayers I have prepared. When I am with a small group or one on one, those prayers have more meaning for me.
And of course, singing is praying twice, so who knows where Justin Bieber was when he was sharing his music with millions.
I say all the power to a young man blessed with talent and a large audience of millions to sing\pray or what have you about a message that is simple. We should all work to make this world a better place.
Unfortunity, sometimes I see our society as one of my favorite artists (Mathew Good) puts it in his lyrics
"Around here, our ambition hurts more than it helps
Around here our ambition throws an non-perishable item in a donation bin at Christmas
And it pats itself on the f* back because it thinks it's done something decent"
Personally, I believe that prayer is not about where you are, who you are with or whether you choose to do in private or while at attending church on a Sunday morning. In fact, it would be interesting to find out how many individuals who attend a United Church base their relationship with god solely on their attendance at church on Sundays as opposed to making it part of their daily lives – I think that statistic may surprise some people.
Although, I obviously see the importance of praying as part of a group and within a church format, I certainly don’t feel that individuals who choose to pray on their own (even those who don’t attend church ) have any less of a meaningful relationship with god.
Now about Justin Bieber or “Justin Beaver” which is what my three-year-old calls him. I too live in a house with “Bieber fever” and I, for one, am 100 per cent okay with that. In fact, I encourage it.
In a world where bad news crosses every news medium we have, 24 hours a day/seven days a week, where, as the lyrics to Pray state, “Its in the papers, its on the TV, its everywhere that I go. Children are crying. Soldiers are dying. Some people don't have a home.”
Where bullying happens every day in schools across Canada, where our youth are taking their own lives, where.... and sadly the list goes on, and on, and on, I welcome young performers like Justin spreading a message of hope and love and “making the world a better” place. Showy or not.
Maybe if more performers (young or old) – who have the power to influence millions upon millions of our young people with their voice – singing or otherwise – follow his lead we can mobilize the next generation to make choices that really will make the world a better place.
The world is changing – every minute, 24 hours of video are uploaded to Youtube, 28 new Facebook accounts are added every minute, there are more than 160 million accounts on Twitter (I might even tweet this blog post!) and perhaps it’s time the United Church changed with it? Staring with embracing artists like Justin and the key role they can play in spreading a strong, positive (and Christian) message. In my opinion, whatever works these days.
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