July 28, 2013
Luke 11:1-13
Pr. James A. Harnish tells of the man who came home one day to find that his wife had hung a plaque on the wall which read, Prayer changes things. Within 24 hours the plaque had been removed. She asked, what’s wrong? Don't you like prayer? He said, Sure, I like prayer. I don't like change.
Prayer:
“A study in Great Britain was
published last year that studied 1000 children ages 6-12 & 1000 adults who
were that age 40 years ago. The study discovered that 92% of those adults said
they knew the Lord’s Prayer as a child, while only 55% of today’s children knew
it.
I suspect if this study were
done in the US it would yield similar results.
I also suspect while many of
us may have learned the Lord’s Prayer, and are disappointed that our children
and young people have not… we must admit that as adults we… generally speaking…
have not demonstrated prayer in large degree to them, nor have we taught that
prayer is an active part of our faith life.
Often prayer has been a
sort-of last minute solution when we find ourselves troubled because of
short-sighted decisions that haven’t worked out the way we liked...
Prayer as a sort-of bargaining practice…Lord if you
fix this I will do..
While we may have some basic
framework & vocabulary about prayer, we have fallen short in teaching
prayer to others. We as Lutherans, and other faith traditions as well, often
are reluctant to demonstrate prayer with others especially those who don’t
know, and especially in public. Prayer… we’ve decided is personal & private.
In fact… many of us have looked at our faith in general in this same manner…
personal & private. This is not what Jesus called us to do… but it is what
we’ve done nonetheless.
However, Prayer… outside of
reading prepared prayers… we find it difficult to do. Furthermore… many
congregations and church people have left praying to the professional…
pastors…. And other church workers… they are the experts… they are the trained
ones. You may have noticed that I will often push this off to others to pray. And
I will many times encourage you to pray at meetings & other activities.
So… with all of this in mind…
I want to take this opportunity today to teach & encourage you and to give
you some examples of a more fulfilling prayer life.
First, The Lord’s Prayer is a great example.
When we pray the Lord’s
Prayer of which it is one of the most ancient of prayers and when we pray this
prayer we are joining millions of others who have spoken this prayer over the
past 2000+ years of history. For us as Christian Jesus shows us how to pray
this prayer.
o
Jesus tells us to
keep God’s name holy and to seek his kingdom.
o
To pray for daily
sustenance… for God to provide our daily need
o
Jesus also shows
us that God desires a relationship based on trust & forgiveness… and to help
us when we are tempted to make misjudgments.
o
And finally the
Lord’s Prayer is a meaningful way to join God in kingdom life.
Secondly, Faithful Prayer is Honest.
The parable Jesus speaks
invites us to imagine that… like a man confident of his neighbors hospitality,
in that we can ask for whatever we need. Jesus says… ask and you will receive.
Knock and the door will be open. Prayer is not necessarily about receiving, nor
about particular words, or phrasing… it’s about sharing what’s on your heart. Prayer
is nothing more than a conversation with God using your words, your phrasing,
how you talk. Prayer is who you are in the face of struggle, jubilation, and
thankfulness of life. Not about what you can get… but what you can let go of…
Thirdly, Faithful Prayer is Based on Trust.
I suppose this will be the
most difficult part of prayer for you… to Trust! Trust requires that I let go…
I give up something… it means to become vulnerable… and this is challenging for
most of us… to let go of control. The Apostle Paul suggests… God desires to
give us every good gift. So we pray God provides. Yet… often we seemingly get
unanswered prayer…. God doesn’t seem to make things better when we pray… why
should I trust God?
But… what if trusting prayer
wasn’t about outcomes?
o
What if trusting prayer
wasn’t about getting answers?
o
What if trusting
prayer was about letting go of…
o
About getting
things off our chests…
o
About letting go
of ourselves?
o
Releasing… and
verbalizing… and demonstrating a dependence on God?
Maybe Prayer is what Scholar NT Wright says about the Lord’s
Prayer, “What might it mean to pray this kingdom prayer? It means, for a start,
that we look up into the face of our father in heaven, and commit ourselves to
hallowing of his name, and that we look immediately out upon the world that He
made and see it as He see’s it.”
Rather than prayer paralyzing
us because we don’t have the right posture, or words, or eloquence… maybe
prayer is nothing more than a conversation that allows us to see God as he
see’s us. With this in mind… perhaps rather than seeing answers to our prayers
it’s more important that be about sharing and God listening. I believe if we
really thought deep enough… in the end God does answer our prayer.
Practicing Prayer
How might we practice prayer
within the faith community that demonstrates & passes on to younger
generations the practice of prayer?
I have some ideas…
1.)To Practice & Demonstrate Prayer at Home
By including and encouraging
your children in the learning of prayer. Your demonstration and practice will
encourage and empower your children far more than any pastor or the church can.
By your teaching and demonstration that faith and prayer and church are a
priority in your lives will help your children see the importance and priority
for their lives. The church and pastors are here to help reinforce the practice
and to encourage them in their journey. But it begins in the home… it is why
Luther created the Small Catechism.
2.)A way to demonstrate Prayer is to do it together.
For example: When we pray the
Lord’s Prayer at worship… how about holding hands with the persons next to you
as we recite the prayer. This helps us by demonstrating prayer as something we
do together and in public. It demonstrates we are united in faith… and
committed to our faith and to each other.
3.)To be Authentic in Prayer.
This speaks to honesty &
trust. For Example: During the Prayers of the People, rather than reading
prayers that come from a book… what would you think about if…. at that time the
pastor asked you for your joys & concerns?
It might go like this….
Pastor: What are your Joys & Concerns
People: you would share those things…
People: We need to pray for Joe who is
battling cancer.
People: Jill just lost her Job.
People: A Joy… our daughter just blessed
us with our
first granddaughter.
People: Joy that Jason finally graduated High School.
Pastor: Would pray for the
community, the
congregation, the
world, those struggling etc.
All ending with Lord
in your Mercy,
Hear our Prayer
Where ever I’ve suggested
this it has over time become a most meaningful times and cherished times in
worship.
Okay… there you have it… some
ways to practice & demonstrate a prayer life and a way to help pass on that
prayer life to younger generations.
So let the practicing begin.
See You Out on the Road
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