A Journey of Prayer through Multiple Christian Bubbles
Prayer Series 002: Becoming a Person of Prayer in and through Korean Immigrant, Charismatic, Evangelical, Mainline Protestant, Liturgical, and Contemplative Streams
The Sound of Passionate Korean Immigrant Prayers and the Sound of a Saddleback Youth Pastor
I grew up listening to first generation immigrants weep and wail on maroon-burgundy carpeted sanctuaries constructed through capital campaigns organized by European-American congregations from prior generations.
My developing neuroplasticity naturally deduced that God must surely be moved by decibel levels and the visible passion of said prayers.
I then visited a seeker-sensitive evangelical megachurch in Southern California called Saddleback. There was a Christian Rock Band performing that evening in lieu of their weekly scheduled Sunday night youth program.
My jaw dropped when I heard the youth pastor open the evening in prayer. In the most casual nonchalant manner, he literally prayed…
Um… Hey God… Uh… You’re Rad! Well… Yea… You’re so cool. Thank you for this concert. We hope it rocks our socks off. And… hmm… yeah… thank you for Star Wars! In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Literally.
Verbatim.
(A Star Wars film had come out that weekend.)
🤯 My brain exploded.
Is this allowed? Can you be so flippant in speaking to the same God to whom my mother and father address only in tears with the potential of having their blood vessels pop from straining so much of their middle aged energies? Is this ok? How did this inarticulate slightly overweight young man in a plaid shirt with a sick beard gain such inroads with God?
Far Right Charismatic Christianity and Senator Barack Obama
And then, naturally, following a brief rebellious stint (as one does when born into the bicultural realities of Korean-American existence in Southern California in the late 90s and early 2000s)…
I gave my life to the LORD through the charismatic stream of the Christian faith.
For a good five years of my life, I vehemently prayed in tongues, received and offered prophecies, prayed for signs and wonders, and cried out for revival, which was marked primarily by particular United States legislative decisions being overturned by conservative Supreme Court justices.
Eventually, I departed from this movement. When Senator Barack Obama was being called the antichrist from the pulpit, my neuroplasticity, with newfound critical thinking skills, determined that something was amiss.
Pre-Written Prayers by Europeans in the 16th Century for Intellectual Christians
So I turned to books. After years of experiential emotive spirituality, I was hungry for a more intellectually grounded expression of the Christian faith.
In my mid 20s, I found myself reading pre-written prayers from the 1500s with other Masters degree seminary students for early morning chapel.
Quite frankly, you needed a Masters degree to keep up with some of the language in these prayers.
Case in point:
O ALMIGHTY God, who alone canst order the unruly wills and affections of sinful men; Grant unto thy people, that they may love the thing which thou commandest, and desire that which thou dost promise; that so, among the sundry and manifold changes of the world, our hearts may surely there be fixed, where true joys are to be found; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
— Collect Prayer for the Fourth Sunday of Eastertide, Book of Common Prayer
A bit pretentious, sure.
But it was beautiful. Albeit nerdy. And so, so far removed from the Korean cries for God’s help or from the peculiar vernacular of my charismatic days.
No music. Little emotion. And yet, desire for God.
Contemplative Seat Belts for the Second Half of Life
Over the last 7 years of my life, I have gravitated towards yet another stream of Christian spirituality — the contemplative movement.
I affectionately refer to contemplatives as charismatics with seat belts. They don’t shake and bake or convulse by the power of the Holy Spirit, but their longing and sense of God’s presence is no less tangible.
In this world, prayer is more an act of listening and paying attention rather than a passionate display of affection or desperation.
In addition to the literature of Thomas Merton, Thomas Keating, and Richard Rohr, several local spiritual directors have become my latest guides.
The Best Part…
I still hear the sound of fervent immigrant prayers. I still feel my mother’s tears falling upon my neck as she prayed over me as a child. I recall the fervor of stadiums packed with charismatic “prayer warriors” calling on God to move in power. I hear the echo on the sanctuary walls as faithful scholars of the Christian faith gathered to pray each morning. I have vivid memories of my spiritual directors inviting me into a holy silence to pay attention to how God is at work in the midst of a chaotic life.
I am grateful for my time spent in all of these streams, but here is the best part:
In all of these fun and varied worlds of Christian subculture, I have met people of prayer.
People who know and walk with God.
Those who live from the heart.
While I have learned numerous forms and expressions of prayer, the most impactful part of the journey has been the holy and ordinary gift of befriending people who take prayer as a way of life.
From Cynicism to Integration
For a long while my journey of prayer was a search for “the real thing.”
What is most faithful? Most authentic? Most orthodox? Most effective?
But such is the superlative question of an ego centric, judgment fueled Christian.
I am still learning to move beyond this cynical approach to the Christian faith, and embrace a more curious humble compassionate and integrative Christian spirituality.
Instead of seeing Charismatics as too sensational or emotional, and instead of seeing mainline protestants as too emotionally detached and overly intellectual, I’m learning to see that God invites us to love with all of our faculties — emotion, intellect, and body.
These days, my daily devotional prayer time consists of a contemplative practice of paying attention to God’s activity in my world through the prayer of Examen, but I also love to do an old fashioned evangelical Bible study. And yet, I confess, my primary prayer practice is quietly praying in tongues throughout the day. It postures my heart to tangibly feel the nearness of God wherever I find myself.
Prayer is a journey. The ultimate aim is an unending union with God.
I have met people who live in with this joyous state of being in all streams of the Christian faith.
Wherever you find yourself today in your spiritual journey, may you name that inmost human desire within you — to know and be known by Father Son and Holy Spirit.
In coming weeks, I hope to unpack several prayer practices that help deepen a life of prayer and union with God.
And um… yeah… go Star Wars…
Grace and peace,
Rev. Mike Whang