Christian ‘mmmm’s’ come in all shapes and sizes.
1. We have the short, sharp ‘mm’. It sounds like a mini grunt but it is really a rapid ‘mm’ sound. It usually comes in during ‘bless them Lord’ or ‘Lord hear our prayers’.
2. We have the longer ‘mmm’. That comes in when we hear of a brother or sister in the Lord struggling through ill-health or with a particular trial. It conveys a heartfelt concern. It usually makes an appearance at the beginning of a prayer like, ‘Lord we pray for xxxx..’
3. We have the deep, resonant ‘mmmmmmm’. It is easily identifiable because it is usually an octave or two lower than other ‘mm’s’. It’s the sound you make on a cold day when you get hold of a nice hot chocolate and you lean back contentedly in your chair. In Christian circles it is the daddy of ‘mmm’s’. It usually makes an appearance when we pray a truth statement: ‘Lord you are so kind and gracious’ or ‘We thank you that the gospel is good news in a world of pain’. It lets everybody in the room know where your emotions really lie and how deeply you feel stuff.
Sometimes, if you’re a really good prayer, you can get all three ‘mmm’s’ together before your final amen. That is a spiritual gift and takes time to unlock but you can get there with practice. We are all ‘mmmer’s’ in one form or another, although there are some ‘yes Lorders’ out there (big shout out to you guys). The question is what kind of ‘mmer’ are we? It’s a controversial area and I think deserves more debate than it has been given over the years. We can tell a lot about the state of a person’s soul from their ‘mmming’.