The importance of prayer

Luke 11:1-13

            There are times in our lives as Christians when we read a passage in the bible that can confuse, baffle, or just cause us to shake our heads and go, “huh!” This morning might be one of those Sundays. We have this really nice passage that we know very well. We hear the words that we are going to say later in this service, “Our Father in heaven, hollowed be your name…”

            It seems pretty cut and dry. The disciples want Jesus to teach them how to pray. They want to know the words that are needed in order for God to hear their words. Are they thinking that there is some secret formula in prayer? Maybe they do. Here is a known fact: Jesus prays more in Luke’s Gospel than in any other Gospel. So, maybe, these twelve have seen him praying so much that it is something they want to learn how to do. That would make a whole lot of sense, because maybe Jesus’ prayers are silent; who knows the reason, but it is important that they want to know how to pray.

            Jesus’s gives us these all important words. In some traditions it is called the Lord’s Prayer and in others it is often referred to as the “Our Father.” This is how we hear and understand that we are to pray. If you notice, this prayer is not very complicated. Sure, it was translated from Greek but these words are not that difficult. Lutheran Professor David Lose of Luther Seminary in Minnesota points out three observations about this passage and how we look at prayer.

            The first part he describes is the simplicity of prayer. This Lord’s Prayer opens with us asking for help to keep God’s name Holy. Help us to act in a way that honors God,  helps us to live out God’s kingdom on earth through seeking forgiveness and giving forgiveness, giving us bread (food and the word of God) to sustain us each and every day; and through that forgiveness save us from trials and tribulations.

            His second observation is that faithful prayer is honest. Honest means many things. Honest prayer means using your words. It means speaking to God in everyday language. Unless you speak using thy, thous, thee, use your words. There is not a template or fill in the blanks when it comes to prayer. If you are confused when you pray, then say you’re confused. If you’re angry, then say so. When I prayed by just asking God for things (and I will come back to that in a little bit). When I went to seminary, there were no classes on prayer or spirituality. So I continued praying the way I did when I was a kid; I asked for things. The point is that being honest in our prayers and using our own words and not someone else’s helps us to be more faithful because it helps us tell God what is in our hearts.

            The third observation is that prayer is based on trust. When we pray to God, we open ourselves up. We become vulnerable and we expose something that we might not want anyone to know. We expose who we are. It might be a part of our lives we might think is hidden, not only from friends or family, but we might think that part is hidden from God. Yet, when we pray we trust that God is listening. We put our trust in that God will still accept us, forgive us, and/or love us for who we are. We put ourselves out there to God and that is a scary thing, because sometimes our society tells us not to trust anyone; and that is not always a good thing.

            Jesus tells us something more about prayer. He tells us to ask and it will be given to you. That’s a problem. This is Jesus telling us that if we pray and are honest in our prayer “it will be given you, search and you will find, knock and the door will be open.” This is a problem because I am sure we have asked for many things and it appears that God, either did not hear or care, because we did not get what we wanted. When I was a teenager, I asked that if God could just get that girl to go out with me, my life would be okay; OR, I would say “if you do this God, I will do…” There were many problems with this line of thinking. The one relating to the girlfriend was that God might have answered the prayer but I was too shy to ask these people out. The second (If you do, I will do) was not, for me, necessarily heartfelt. I was putting a condition on God. Who did I think I was? I also think back to the Garth Brooks song “Some of God’s greatest gifts are unanswered prayers.”

            Looking back, those are trivial prayers but there are times when these prayers are not trivial. This past week, I was on two very different ends of the spectrum. On Thursday morning, I was at the home of Suzie Smith. I and many others prayed for two years that Doctors would be able to cure her cancer. We all asked God to take this away from her. Yet, it seemed that our prayers were not answered; she passed away Thursday morning. By the afternoon, I was praying with thanksgiving that it looked like another person was going to be going home from Frederick hospital. It appeared that God heard all those prayers.

            So what happened? I know that God does hear our prayers…all of them. I know that because Jesus, the Son of God tells us to ask and if he tells us to ask, then God must be hearing. Jesus is telling us that God wants us to have those things that give us life. That is why I do not believe that God is going to take someone away from our lives to punish us or the person who passes on. God does want us to know that God wants the best for us and that is why God walks with us in times of sorrow tragedy. God cries when we cry and God mourns when we mourn.

            So, some may say, “why bother praying?” The answer to why bother is the same answer to why we share personal stories with people that we trust; because we know our friends care about us and want the best for us as does our family. We bother because God wants the best for us. Sometimes we may ask for things that God may not think is in our best interest. It might be something that could put us at risk or a prayer of sacrifice (i.e. take me instead of). That is one of the greatest mysteries of faith as to God answering prayers or not.

            Of all of this there is one thing that is sure and true. Jesus tells us to ask for what we need. Maybe it is that girlfriend (in our youth), maybe it is to know that God is with us, feeling the presence of God in the world. The point is that Jesus tells us to ask…pray for whatever it is that we need because we can trust God in that God showed us that we are loved. Jesus at the cross shows us God’s love. We know we are cared for because God brought other people into our lives that we can share some of the most intimate details of our lives. We know that we are God’s children because we have been claimed in the waters of baptism that God will never let us go. Not even death can keep us from the love of God.

            So, pray when you are happy, sad…use your words to tell God how you feel and ask for what you want. Opening our hearts to pray can be an amazing, scary, and hope-filled exercise: AMEN!

Listening for God's Word

            What would you do if Jesus was coming to your house? I can tell you what would happen at my house; and I say this with my wife knowing what I am about to say. My wife would go into her, what I call, “power mode.” She would start making a list of what needed to be cleaned: the carpet needs vacuuming, the floors need sweeping and waxing, There is too much dust everywhere, the back porch needs sweeping…and better mow the yard cause it needs to look good. And then she says the thing that really gets to me. I am known for having my “piles” of papers, books, junk mail, whatever it is I have at least one pile; and she asks that question, “Can you move your pile or take it downstairs.” Maybe it is a guy think, I don’t know, but that is the thing that gets to me and I guess that is a sermon for another time.

            In our Gospel reading, Martha goes into her power mode. Jesus comes to the house and Martha wants things to look just right, after all, she and Mary are the hostesses. They are greeting the Lord into their home. She wants things to look good, the food to taste good, and the guests to be happy. It makes sense because who would go to a house where the food was bad and the host hadn’t cleaned or even cooked a decent meal? In the time of Mary and Martha, that is what hosts did; made sure everyone was happy and fed.

            As our reading goes further, we see that Mary is not working as hard as Martha. In fact, she is not doing anything to be a good host. Mary is sitting and listening to Jesus. Martha is getting angry because Mary is just sitting there, literally. She is not helping to clean or cook; not checking to make sure the food isn’t burning, isn’t checking to make sure the disciples or any other guests are happy. We could say that Mary is not being any kind of hosts because she is letting Mary do all the work.

            And Martha has had enough. She goes to Jesus and complains and Jesus tells Martha that Mary is doing something very important. Jesus tells Martha that she is being distracted by “many things”. He tells her that Mary has chosen better. Mary is not jumping around and making sure there is enough drink or food. She is not vacuuming the floor or sweeping the floor. So what is this important thing that Mary is doing?

            Mary is listening. That is the better choice for this story of Jesus? Mary is sitting at his feet and listening. Now that is a loaded statement for people like me. Jesus is not saying that it is okay to let the house get so dirty. We cannot respond to our spouses when asked to help clean up, “I am listening to Jesus.” Jesus is telling Martha that Mary is listening to what HE is telling her. Jesus is saying that it is important to listen to the word of God. Listen to what Jesus is saying about so many things. Listen to him as he tells his life story, how he acted, what he said…listen to his call to action, “love God with all your heart, mind, and soul,” and Listen to the passion story of how Jesus will be handed over  and rise in three days.

            Jesus is telling Martha and us that Listening to the Word of God is important. It is not something just said for Mary and Martha or the 12 disciples. Jesus is telling us all to listen. He calls us to listen to his words of God that he is sent by God not to condemn the world but to save the world. Listen to the words of Jesus in his call to action that we heard last week to love our neighbor as ourselves; when he says “this is my body and blood given for you…” When we really listen to these words, do we hear that we are SO loved that God is willing to sacrifice his only Son for our sin, for our sake…because we are loved. Jesus tells us to listen to the words “into your hands, Father, I commend my spirit.” Jesus also tells us to listen to the words “he is not here….why do you look for the living among the dead?”

            Jesus is telling us to listen so that we hear and know that: God sent Jesus into this world to walk with us, to know the struggles we face, and to help us through those struggles. So when you hear the words to go out proclaiming the Good News that Jesus is the Son of God and the price for our sin has been paid because of the sacrifice of God’s only Son on the cross, you hear and know this to be true. Hearing the words “My body and blood given for you” lets you know just how precious you are in the eyes of a loving God; and that it is for the forgiveness of our sins makes it all that more important to hear. We are no longer bound by sin but gathered in love. AND hearing the words that the tomb is empty shows us that Death does not have the last word but that it is God the creator who promises us eternal life.

            Friends in Christ, we are much like Martha. How many times have we gotten caught up in the world? How many times have we heard the world calling us? How many times have we heard that you have to have this or that to make your life better? “you can’t do without this or that product?” How many times have we heard “Don’t worry about this or that person, they can fend for themselves.” Here is my favorite, “God only helps those who help themselves (that is not in the bible, by the way).” We have heard all these things and more about looking out for ourselves and survival of the fittest. You have got to be at three places at one time: sports, practices, at your job, or trying to keep your job, or find a job…the list can go on and on. It is EASY to not have the time to listen.

            With all that going on, NOW, Jesus wants us to take time to listen? The simple answer to that question is YES. Jesus tells Martha that what Mary is doing IS IMPORTANT! Therefore, it is important for us to listen! When all these things are going on, there are times to be able to listen to God. For example, on your lunch break, while you are waiting to get from one place to another or sitting in the parking lot waiting. Listening does not have to be done in silence, either. Sometimes I listen for God’s voice  and presence when I listen to music, when I pray, or even sitting at a red light. Sometimes I can listen as God uses one of my friends or family as we talk about something.

            So brothers and sisters, I will give you homework like I give our youth in the young people’s messages. Your homework is to go out into the world, this week, speak to God, pray to God and start listening. Open your bibles this week to read God’s Word and listen for God’s word in your world this week but also in the weeks to come: AMEN!