Chaplains' prayers censored by military brass...

Chaplains' prayers censored by military brass...: "More than eight years ago a friend of mine told me he had lost his Navy chaplaincy largely because of his unwillingness to stop praying explicitly in the Name of Jesus. Recent reports indicate things have only gotten worse. " As reported on BaylyBlog

I can see the problem that the military has to deal with. You can't have a chaplain representing every single religion available in every miliary unit. Personally, I wouldn't see the point in asking a Muslim cleric to pray for me. I think he's wrong in his belief. (If I didn't think that, I would be a Muslim and not a Christian.) The fact that we was a cleric wouldn't change the fact that he was praying to the wrong god. I'm pretty sure that a Muslim would feel the same way about having a Presbyterian minister pray for him.

It does raise a very interesting question: why do we ask chaplains (or any clergy member for that matter) to pray for/with us? Is it to give us a warm and cozy feeling only, or do we actually expect God to do something? On a more general level, why do we pray at all?

So why do we ask for ministers and priests to pray for us?

I've had others say that they were comforted by the knowledge that I and others were praying for them, but that's not why I pray. When I pray it's because I genuinely want God to do something. That means I should the way I think God wants me to pray, not the way the person wants me to pray. How else can my prayer be effective?

As a Christian, this means that I have to pray in Jesus' name. Jesus is the only person to have walked the earth in a manner worthy to have His petitions heard by God the Father. My sinfulness won't get me very far when I pray, I haven't earned the right to be heard by God. Jesus has. I am allowed to approach God in prayer and ask favors of Him because His Son has allowed me to use His Name.

If I'm not allowed to pray in Jesus name, I might as well not pray.