On Prayer (7th after Pentecost, 24th July 2022)

7th Sunday after Pentecost, 24th July 2022:  On Prayer

Copyright Wolf Kirchmeir
Hosea 1:2-10; Psalm 85; Colossians 2:6-15, (16-19); Luke 11:1-13

May the words of my lips and the meditations of all our hearts be ever acceptable in your sight, O Lord.

Dear Friends in Christ,

“Teach us to pray”. That’s what the disciples asked, and Jesus gave them what we call the Lord’s Prayer. We use the longer version as recorded in Matthew. There are also several modern versions of it. They aren’t strict translations, but paraphrases. They are intended to make the intentions of the prayer easier to understand, so that we may pray it more mindfully.

But what exactly are we doing when we pray? What is prayer?

“Teach us to pray,” the disciples asked. A simple request, wouldn’t you say? Just four words in English. And such a simple answer, just a few sentences. What’s the problem? Just repeat the words, and problem solved, right?

No problem at all, until we start to think about it. Then we may see a puzzle. Thinking usually reveals that what we think we know or understand just ain’t so. In this case, it’s the context that points the way. Usually, Jesus wasn’t with the disciples when he prayed. They didn’t know how he prayed, but they clearly thought there was something worth learning. After all, the Jewish tradition is public prayer at the temple or in the synagogue, and out loud. So when Jesus went off to pray by himself, as was his habit, the disciples wondered what was going on.

And we should wonder, too.

So let’s start at the beginning: What is prayer? That looks like an easy question, but any answer you give just raises more questions. Is it asking for some blessing? If so, does that mean that you won’t be blessed if you don’t ask? But then what about the people who don’t ask, and receive the same blessings you enjoy?

OK then, is prayer asking for some personal favour, something just for you? Doesn’t that sound kind of selfish? And once again, other people will get just the same things you get, without asking.

Is it just talking to God? Moses talked to God, mostly about God’s plans for the Israelites. That sounds like a conference, not prayer.

Maybe we should ask instead, What is prayer for? We are supposed to engage in prayer, praise, and thanksgiving. I think it’s fairly obvious that we should praise God and give thanks for all the blessings we enjoy. But then, what’s prayer? Aren’t praise and thanksgiving forms of prayer?

I think you can see where I’m going with this. Whatever we think prayer is, there’s something missing. I have a few ideas, pretty well all of which I’ve cobbled together from what wiser heads have said. I’ll share some of them with you, and pray that my words will help us not only to understand better what we think prayer is, but also help us accept the guidance of the Spirit in our practice of prayer.

I’ll begin with the story of Joe, who was trapped by a flood.

     The water surrounded his house and was beginning to flow in by the windows. O Lord, save me from this flood, Joe prayed. A neighbour came by in a rowboat, and offered to take Joe with him. Oh, I’ve prayed to the Lord to save me, said Joe, So thanks, I’ll wait.
     The water rose some more, and Joe had to climb out onto the roof. Joe prayed again, Lord, save me from this flood. The firefighters came by in their power boat, and called for him to come with them. I’ve prayed to the Lord to save me, Joe said, so thanks anyway, I’ll wait.
     The water rose still higher, and Joe moved up to the roof ridge. Save me from this flood, O Lord, he prayed. The Search and Rescue came by with a helicopter, but Joe thanked them, too. I’ve prayed to the Lord, he said, The Lord will surely save me.
     The water rose still further, and Joe stood up and clung to the chimney. As the flood threatened to sweep him away, he cried out to the Lord, Save me, O Lord, or I will perish! And voice spoke from the clouds, I sent you a neighbour with a rowboat, and the firefighters with a power boat, and the Search and Rescue with a helicopter. What more do you want?

I like this story. I like it because it’s funny, it makes me laugh. But mostly I like it because makes me think.

Joe obviously knew the words. And I think it’s also obvious that he didn’t know exactly what he was praying for. He expected some sort of spectacular act by God. He expected a miracle. He didn’t expect the usual offers of help and rescue during a flood. But that’s what God sent him. God didn’t perform a miracle. He just waited for the usual flood rescue attempts to reach Joe. And Joe didn’t recognise that these were God’s answer to his prayers.
It looks like Joe really didn’t understand prayer. It looks like he thought prayer was some kind of magic spell. The rule for magic spells is simple: If you say the right words, and perform the right actions, then the magic will work. Make even one little mistake, or forget even one word of the spell, and the magic won’t work. But do it right, and God will do what you want.

     To me, that looks like trying to control God. And if there’s one thing you can’t do, it’s to control God.

So if asking for what you want, and using the right words, isn’t what it’s about, then what is prayer?
     Look at Jesus’s example of prayer again. He lists a series of petitions. So at first glance it looks like praying means to ask God for what we want and need.
    But the three first petitions focus on God. Listen.
     Father, hallowed be your name. That sentence acknowledges God as the ruler of the universe.
     Your kingdom come. That says that we know we have become exiles from God’s kingdom, and wish to return to it.
     May your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. That is how God’s kingdom will be re-established, and it explicitly states that it’s God will that matters, not ours.

So the first three petitions make us aware that it’s not what we want, but what God wants that counts. Prayer is not like a magic spell, we aren’t trying to control God. On the contrary, we are reminding ourselves that God is in control. With these three petitions we give up control to God. We align our desires with God’s desires for us.

Having aligned ourselves with God’s will, we ask for the essentials. Listen.
     First, we ask for the means of bodily life: Give us each day our daily bread.
     Second, we ask for the means of spiritual life: Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us.
     And third, we ask for protection against the dangers that surround us: And lead us not into temptation.

Now, we don’t really have to ask for these essentials. God will provide them. So why does Jesus recommend that we ask for them? What’s the point of asking for what we will receive anyhow?
     Well, I’m reminded that when I was very young I was taught to ask politely for a snack, to say “Please”. And then of course to say “Thank you”. I knew of course that I would get the cookie or the glass of milk, but asking and giving thanks for it made some kind of sense. What kind of sense? The sense of belonging, of being part of the family, of being loved.

I think that’s a clue. I think prayer is like asking for the snack we know we will get anyhow. I think prayer is about belonging. It expresses our desire to be a child of God. It acknowledges that we are unable to be good children without help. It asks for those changes in mind and heart that enable us to be part of God’s family. Prayer asks for that transformation that we cannot accomplish on our own.

Prayer is of course not a uniquely Christian practice. All faith traditions require prayer. All offer some guidance in how to pray. They use different labels than we do, but they agree on what prayer is and what it is for. Prayer may be expressed in words, but it is an action, it’s something we do, it’s like exercise. Its purpose is to connect us to the Divine in ourselves and in others. It purpose is to make us aware of the creative and sustaining power that brought this universe and us into being. Its purpose is to transform our relationship to each other and to the world in which we live.

So how do we do this praying thing?
     First and foremost, we begin by focusing our attention on that divine power that we label the Creator.
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.
     Second, we open ourselves to the guidance of that divine wisdom that we label the Spirit.
Thy kingdom come.
     Third, we ask that we may amend our lives to practice the love that we label the Christ.
Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Then we acknowledge the source of our life by asking for the bread that sustains it.
Give us this day our daily bread.
     We ask for renewal by asking for forgiveness.
Forgive us our trespasses.
     And we ask for a loving relationship with each other.
As we forgive those that trespass against us.
     Finally, we ask that the troubles which we will meet will not overwhelm us.
And lead us not into temptation.

The prayer that Jesus taught his disciples covers the ground. It’s a model for us, not so much in the words, but in what those words imply, in what those words describe, in what those words say. They imply that prayer connects us to the Creator, they describe that connection as one of love, the say that we are connected to each other by and through that love.

Let us praise God for the gift of life, and give thanks for his everlasting love. Amen