Meter

So I've got a good one for you: (it's completely unrelated to the picture below)

So Devanne and I were playing in a church band practice recently and we're singing How Deep The Fathers Love.  I'm playing guitar and she is playing the djembe. There is a drummer and a couple other traditional band instruments.  We are plodding through the verses and notice a lag at the end of each line. Dev and I share worried looks as we realize that the band is playing in time through the entire verse and then adding extra time in the last measure of the line.  We muddle through half the song like this and Devanne finally can't stand it any longer and stops the song. We explain that especially with instruments such as drums and the djembe in the mix, it is very important to play in a consistent rhythm and time signature.

This is the reply of the worship leader: "we are including the pause because this song is more prayerful"

My mind is still blown.

Has anyone ever heard of this new level of prayerfulness that can only be reached when breaking out of the set meter???

Please comment and enlighten me!