THE FEAR OF THE FIRST TIME BY G R E G A . L A N E I asked a young boy in my elementary class at church to pray over the meal we were about to eat during a Wednesday night service. He matter-of-factly told me he didn’t want to do it. When I asked why he didn’t want to pray for our meal, he replied, “Because, I’ve never prayed in front of people before.” When he said that, I had a flashback to the first time I prayed out loud in front of a group of people. I was 14 years old at the time, and was visiting a church in Georgia with some friends. There must have been 20 people in the Sunday School class I was in that morning, and I didn’t know a single one of them. The teacher of the class asked everybody in the classroom to say a word of prayer as we went around the room. I was scared to death! As one person finished praying, the next person in the circle started to pray. My time to pray was quickly approaching. My heart was racing. I looked down and could literally see the vibrations of my heartbeat through my shirt. I had no idea what I was going to say as beads of sweat began to accumulate on my forehead. When my turn to pray finally came, with quivering voice, I said, “Lord, bless everyone in this room here, today, Amen.” Short, sweet, and nervously spoken … my very first prayer ever spoken out loud in front of other people. 74
Cooperative Farming News
I told that story to the shy, young boy and to the rest of my class on that Wednesday night. I told him, “There’s a first time for everything you do in life. Tonight can be your first time to pray in front of a group of people just like I did all those years ago. Once you’ve gotten your first time out of the way, you’ll finally be free from the fear of doing it for the first time.” After my short word of encouragement, the little boy had changed his mind. He agreed to ask the blessing over the meal that night. He did an excellent job at formulating his words and saying what was on his heart. His first time to pray out loud in front of other people was over. A fear had been overcome! He was now free from “The Fear of the First Time.” Listen, every "first" I've ever had in my life has been awkward. My first dive off the diving board? A belly-flop. My first time to ride a bike? I ended up in the bushes. My first time to speak in front of a crowd? I stumbled over my words and embarrassed myself. And I'm not even going to mention how my first kiss went! But here I am today, diving, riding, speaking and, yes, even kissing, because I didn't give up after my first miserable attempts. Getting past the “firsts” is one of the biggest hangups we have as humans, but once we get past “The Fear of the First
