School of Rock
“And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.”
– Matthew 6: 5-8 NIV
I’m not really sure why but one of those movies that just makes me laugh is “School of Rock” where Jack Black play a character who is a Rock-n-Roller who never got to play his One Big Show… never has kept a real paying job… and pretty much has become a bum – mooching off his roommate…
That is until he answers the phone and learns of a substitute teaching job meant for his roommate… that Jack decides to take on… to do.
And the hijinks takes off from there… with Jack ultimately foregoing the syllabi and the text books and teaches his classically trained 5th grade students how to play rock music… but not JUST play… but how to ROCK… so they can play that one big show.
I guess I like it because it is really pretty silly and has its funny moments…. And even a life lesson or two (sort of)… And I’ll settle in and watch it anytime I find it in my channel surfing.
After watching it the last time it was on TBS, I began to wonder what would happen if some Teacher stepped in… stepped up… in a sort of School of Rock mentality… and instead of teaching our kids how to play rock music… taught our children how to pray to the ROCK…
And not just pray like we do before meals or bed… but taught our children how to truly pray… to pray without ceasing… to pray from the heart… to pray with Scripture… to pray and worship… to pray and praise… to pray for the needs of others… to pray for the hearts of their friends… to pray for the country and the world’s leadership… to pray and have a dialogue with Jesus (Speaking and listening/hearing)…
I wonder what the world might look like if I… if we… taught our children how to pray like that?
I wonder what the world might look like if I… if we… learned how to pray like that?
The Disciples once asked Jesus to teach them how they should pray… And this is how Jesus responded… a simple sample prayer that He gave them… that He gave us:
“This, then, is how you should pray:
‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.’” – Matthew 6:9-13 NIV
Like the Disciples before us, we too should learn from the Teacher… and ROCK our world.
Keep the Faith… Carpe Diem
