Grace, mercy, and peace to you from
God our Father and from our Lord Jesus Christ.
Amen.
I
recently read on the blog of a former pastor and teacher of the church that he
doesn’t have a vivid memory of many of the sermons that he preached from the
pulpit or even lectures that he taught at graduate school. What he remembers most vividly are those
sermons that he preached spontaneously as he went about his daily life.
I
agree. I don’t have a vivid memory of
many of the sermons that I’ve preached from the pulpit in my relatively short
tenure, but I have a vivid memory of times I’ve preached or confessed the faith
at the bedside of a dying man, the stranger who happened upon a group of us
seminarians who were hanging out in a hotel room in St. Louis (the poor guy),
and sitting around a table at the Ronald McDonald House in Seattle with my mom
and another mother whose daughter was riddled with cancer.
The
last example happened 20 years ago, but is I still have a vivid memory of
it. This poor woman, whose name I don’t
remember, was having a breakdown because of her daughter, and in her cries of
lament she exclaimed, “I just don’t know how to pray anymore.”
“Teach us to pray,”
the disciples ask. It’s not the natural
state of humans to turn to God in prayer; it goes against our every fiber of
our sinful nature. So many things get in
the way of our praying: we put them off until just before bed when we’re too
tired. In hunger, it’s all too easy to
forego praying before meals. We tell ourselves
that we’ll do it later. We fail to pray
for our friends, neighbors, and enemies.
Maybe there’s doubt whether or not God actually hears our prayers. But Jesus doesn’t say, “If you pray,” He
says, “When you pray.” Prayer is the
voice of faith and it’s something that’s not extraordinary for the Christian;
in fact, it’s commanded.
Our
natural state is to turn in on ourselves for every want, need, or desire. Since prayer isn’t something that comes
naturally and the Old Adam despises, we all must learn how to pray. We must be taught like a child learns his
ABCs.
We
must also learn not only how to pray, but what prayer is. So often I’ve seen prayer depicted on T.V.
shows, and even by T.V. preachers, as a sort of wishing well. We throw our quarter in and if we pray hard
enough, if our prayer is sincere enough God will grant our wish. But God is no genie, nor is he a vending
machine that we stick in our quarter and out pops what we want. He’s our Father and we’re His children, He
knows what we need even before we ask.
Prayer
is a two-way conversation, but one that’s started by God; He speaks and we
repeat, like a child learning to speak.
The child listens and repeats and when he repeats a word of his parents,
mom and dad are pleased. “Did you just
hear what Johnny said? He said it just
like us!”
“Lord, teach us to
pray.” And what follows is a prayer
that covers everything. A prayer that Christians
have repeated for millennia. Jesus
teaches us to pray, He gives the content and the words. And what follows is the prayer that Jesus
gives to His Church from His own lips, He gives them words to pray. “Father. Hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. Give us each day our
daily bread. And forgive us our sins,
for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation.” You’ll recognize what we call the Lord’s
Prayer, at least five of seven petitions.
And
the first thing that Jesus teaches us is who we’re praying to. “Father.” He’s our Father and we are His true
children. The Father of our Lord Jesus Christ is also our
Father. So with these words God tenderly invites us to believe that He is
our true Father and that we are His true children. So that with all
boldness and confidence we may ask Him as dear children ask their dear
father. We dare to pray like that because Jesus teaches us to.
As Jesus
continues His prayer, He sets the agenda of what our needs are. Jesus says to pray for these things: Pray
that the Father’s Name be kept Holy among you; in your lives and on your
lips. Pray that His Kingdom come to you
through the Word of the Gospel preached and Sacraments given. Pray that His will be done among you, that
the devil and our own sinful natures are thwarted and that He keeps us steadfast
in His word and faith all our lives.
Pray for the bread that He gives us each day and everything else that He
provides for our bodies; and to receive it with thanksgiving. Pray for forgiveness of your sins and the
faith to forgive those who sin against you.
Pray for protection against the temptation to sin from the devil, world,
and our sinful nature, which want to lead us from faith. And then after everything is said, after your
petitions are made, be bold enough to say, “Amen,” which means, “Yes it shall
be so! I am sure and certain that my
Father has heard my prayer just like He promised and He is pleased by my
prayer.”
We dare to trouble the Lord of the universe for these things. Like Abraham who bargained with the Lord over the destruction of Sodom. We dare to go to God like a man who pounds on his neighbor’s door in the middle of the night wanting some bread to feed an unexpected guest. And when you pray, know that the Lord knows what you need even before you ask. He will see to it that you receive the things you need and some of the things you want. What father, gives his child a snake when he asks for a fish or a scorpion when he asks for an egg? How much more will your gracious heavenly Father give you everything that you need for this life and the next?
We dare to trouble the Lord of the universe for these things. Like Abraham who bargained with the Lord over the destruction of Sodom. We dare to go to God like a man who pounds on his neighbor’s door in the middle of the night wanting some bread to feed an unexpected guest. And when you pray, know that the Lord knows what you need even before you ask. He will see to it that you receive the things you need and some of the things you want. What father, gives his child a snake when he asks for a fish or a scorpion when he asks for an egg? How much more will your gracious heavenly Father give you everything that you need for this life and the next?
He
hears our prayers and gives to us all we need for one reason. Jesus died on the cross. Apart from Jesus and His cross, we get
nothing and God’s ears are closed to us.
But Jesus did the Good Friday deed for you. He submitted Himself to death so that God
would call us His children and we call Him father. Through Jesus, the Lord accepts our prayers
like sweet incense.
Our
Lord teaches to pray and what’s more, He prays for us. Read through the Gospels, He’s constantly
praying for you and Scriptures are clear that our Lord brings His petitions on
your behalf before His Father. When your
prayers fail you, Jesus’ prayers never fail.
The Lord
has heard your prayers and, ultimately, answers them in His Son, for Jesus has
hallowed the Name of God in life and in death. He has ushered in the Kingdom of
God, making you an heir and subject of His eternal reign. He gives to you the
daily bread of food, house, family, and all the gifts of creation, which are
sanctified for your use and enjoyment because you’re a redeemed child of God.
By His cross your sins are forgiven. By His passion you’re set free from the
temptations of the devil, the world, and even your sinful nature.
“Lord,
teach us to pray.” That’s what the woman
was saying that night at the Ronald McDonald House when she said “I don’t just don’t know how to pray
anymore.” In those times of despair,
when we don’t have the words, Jesus has given them to you, put them in your
mouth, and you’re learned them by heart and He, Himself, prays fervently for
you. That night we prayed the prayer
that our Lord taught us with boldness and confidence. We offered up petitions on behalf of her little
girl, who was hurting but didn’t understand why. And when we were done, when we spoke to God
like Abraham and the midnight neighbor, we dared to say, “Amen.”
So,
pray, seek, ask, knock. Jesus has died
for you, you’re forgiven and so the Father receives your prayers as a loving
father listens to his children. But
you’re not alone in prayer. Our brother,
Jesus, is always offering prayers to our Father on your behalf. And God has to answer, after all, you’re born
again through baptism, you’re one of the family. Amen.
The
peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in
Christ Jesus unto life everlasting. Amen
