Lord, I just...

Back in Seminary, the Grey Wizzard had us pray at the beginning of class and he specifically asked that none of us ever use the word "just" when we pray. As in, "Lord, we just come to you today, and, we just want to thank you for all your blessings, etc..." Maybe you've been a victim of having to listen to "just" prayers, or maybe you are a "just pray-er" yourself. I have to admit, it's an easy pattern to slip into, and it sounds awfully evangelical. But after my brother railed against "just prayers" the other day, it reminded me of a conclusion I came to before and I thought I'd just share it with you.

Here's how the thinking goes. The anti-just-prayers say, why would you "just" pray anything, as if prayer was a matter of asking God for the bare minimum. "Just" in this sense could be substituted for "only" or "merely." "I just want one!" you say as you grab that naughty chocolate truffle on the table of your host, as in, "I only want one." Or, when you yell at your kid, "Just get in the car," as in, "Just get in the car! Is that too much to ask?" So, when you come to prayer and and you say, "Lord, we just come to you in prayer and we just ask that..." it could sound as if you were unintentionally saying that you really didn't want to bother God with your measly requests but you only wanted to bring before him some little thing that you had on your mind.

Now, if that's just what "just" meant, I would agree. However, there just happens to be other uses of the word "just." In fact, in its adverbial form (which is what we're talking about), there's at least seven meanings. Here are seven listed in the American Heritage Dictionary:

1. Precisely; exactly: just enough salt.
2. Only a moment ago: He just arrived.
3. By a narrow margin; barely: just missed being hit; just caught the bus before it pulled away.
4. At a little distance: just down the road.
5. Merely; only: just a scratch.
6. Simply; certainly: It's just beautiful!
7. Perhaps; possibly: I just may go.

The objection to "just-prayers" is certainly in reference to Meaning Number 5. However, there are other ways "just" can be used also. For example, the man frustrated when his computer crashes says, "I just don't understand." In this case, "just" might mean "really" or "truly." Or when I email my parents to thank them for my graduation gift, I might have wrote, "I just want to thank you for the check you sent..." In this case, "just" is similar in usage to meaning number 5, as in, "I'm merely writing to thank you for the check." However, "just" doesn't convey the same sense that "merely" does, does it? I didn't mean to say, "I'm only writing you a thank you note because you sent me a gift." And nobody would have interpreted it that way. It means something more along the lines of, "This is a little note only to let you know you that I appreciate the gift you sent." Therefore, my conclusion is that "just" doesn't neceserilly minimize the significance of the verb it is modifying.

So, I would advise you "anti-just-pray-ers" to ease up a little and to let people pray how they want to pray. Just give it a rest, would ya?