This sermon was delivered to St Oswald’s in Maybole, Ayrshire Scotland, on the 25th July 2010; St Oswald’s is a Scottish Episcopal Church in the Dioceses of Glasgow and Dumfries.
The readings for today are: Genesis 18:20-32 Psalm 138 Colossians 2:6-15, (16-19) Luke 11:1-13
“Please join me in a short prayer from Psalms 19:14, and ” Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of our hearts, be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer. Amen.
Introduction
The Gospel message this morning was instantly recognisable as the Lords prayer, or the disciple’s prayer, as many modern Christian like to say, because it was the disciples who asked Jesus "how to pray". Now the disciples surely knew how to pray; after all as Jews themselves, they must have spent time in synagogues and temples.
And they had also been in the presence of Jesus for quite a time now; … witnessing first hand all the mighty works he had done; … and they were impressed by His wisdom, His power and His love; so … they were basically asking Him how they could pray, … and get similar results themselves.
And this makes me think that we too must ask Jesus to teach us how to pray; or do we assume that we know it all, or do we like some, like to portray, or imply the fact that we can where as they cannot?
The Christian life is fueled by prayer. It is made stronger by our intimate relationship with God each day; yet very few people ever show the same enthusiasm as the disciples when they asked him to "teach us how to pray"; … because these disciples knew that was where Jesus was getting his power.
When it comes to prayer, I think many people assume they already know all there is to know; for they know the Lord's Prayer off by heart; and for them that is all they need to know.
But the rote version of the Lord's Prayer is not THE answer to the disciple's question. It is only AN answer, a summary, a model as it were, of what our prayers might be like; and of what attitude our prayer should be uttered with.
The Lord's Prayer is only a model, but many people have turned it into an icon and an idol of prayer; and so have missed the point of what Jesus said to his disciples.
For a start you can think of it as a foundation.
When I went to school, (many many years ago), every pupil was taught the Lords Prayer, but it annoys me that it is not compulsory any more, if it is taught. It is not seen as politically correct. It my day, it was something for pupils to hold onto; as it will need it later on in life, and it will "come back to them when they are in times of trouble”. Remember, there are no atheists in foxholes, and the Lord’s Prayer turns into a great panic button.
The Lords prayer is also a formula on how pray; in fact you could write a book, a very large book about the Lords Prayer itself; with each verse as a new chapter. In fact, you could even write a book on each chapter as it is an enormous topic within the bible, and any sermon will struggle to do it justice.
But watch out, the Lord's Prayer can also be a perversion of prayer, something you do for a bit of religion; a set of words that might help in a fix; and as such … it misses the point of what prayer is all about.
The Lord's Prayer is a model of what prayer is for us as disciples; it is not meant for strangers; for people who do not know the Lord or believe in Jesus, although it would do them no harm if they learned it.
It is a form of prayer, a formula, not the prayer. It is neither the only prayer; nor all the prayers rolled into one. It is a model, an example of how we as followers of Jesus, might pray to God above. It is a model of intimacy.
God, as Jesus explained, is like the neighbour who is close enough to pester at the worst of times, and like a parent who wants only what's best for the child.
He is one to whom the Lord's Prayer is addressed, and that is how Jesus tells us how to address him; Our Father: with respect and a sense awe; and the more awe we have for Him the better.
God is the one we must spend time with, during times of thanksgiving, times of praise; times of help; time of seeking forgiveness; and times of praying for others. When it comes to prayer, all of us need some kind of instruction and some understanding; but more than that; we need the time and the desire to pray; and be intimate with God.
Prayer is therefore a matter of time and of desire: the desire to communicate to God; the desire to know Him; to listen to Him, and find out his will for you.
I know people, inside and outside the church who are offended by talk of intimacy and familiarity with God. Look at the Media, East Enders in particular who are really giving this subject a very hard time. Intimacy with God is a must for any Christian and the devil is greatly against it. Why is he against it: because it is very effective. If it not a threat to him, why does he not just ignore it?
Now; there are some people who say they are religious and want only the common prayer-book words at weddings, the "old favourite" hymns on Sundays, and only the King James Version at their funerals; but many of these people like to keep God at a distance; away from their inner selves. They like the sound of the religious words, and the atmosphere they create, but they don't really want to know what it is all about.
Do not keep God away; seek God out. Seek him and ask him questions. Seek Him out and share your experiences; for God answers prayer. He does hear us, and He does communicate with us.
Now prayer can be called spiritual breathing, and I found out recently that to really breathe deeply and effectively I must take 5 seconds to breathe in and let ten seconds pass while breathing out. Breathe in for 5 seconds breathe out for ten. Now I don’t like this, I don’t feel any better for it but I was told by someone in authority that it does me good.
For a practical example try the same process with prayer, but this time speak to God for 10 second, and then listen for 5 seconds. Speak for 10 seconds then listen for 5. Keep this up and you will be amazed. On the first 5 seconds of listening nothing will happen, the next five seconds you might get the odd thought or two; the next 5 seconds you will begin to drift and before you know it, you will not be speak at all. You will just be in communion with God. Please try it yourself and see how powerful this is.
However, before you try it, remember to ask God to come into you life first. God needs to be asked.
Our Father,
The father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Who art in heaven,
God lives in a place somewhere called heaven, not on earth. He needs to be asked onto this earth; and he needs to meet with us in spirit. Someday God will come in force, but until then, he needs to be asked.
Hallowed be your name.
Hallowed means holy, sacred and above all; just and consistent; and to do so, he is the most awesome of beings. Respect him, hold in awe.
Your kingdom come,
Gods kingdom is coming to earth, and we are the ones who are helping Him and we are destined for his heavenly kingdom after death, so we better start living our live in preparation for it, and not for this world which consistently lets us down.
You will be done on earth as it is on heaven.
God’s will is done perfectly in heaven, it now needs to be done perfectly on earth, and we are the ones who will be doing Gods will here on earth. If we are not sure if what we are doing is Gods will; we check our bibles to ensure our actions will bring Glory to our Lord Jesus Christ. If we have any doubts what so ever; we do nothing, or nothing that will bring dishonour to him.
You know the rest of the prayer, but what I was concentrating on this morning was: who God is, and why it is necessary to commune with Him, and communing with the Lord does not always mean prayer: it can be by singing, or meditating, or by studying his word or simply being in his presence.
To pray as Jesus taught us to pray is to be connected with God.
Connected when we are afraid and when we are full of courage,
Connected when we are weeping and when we are laughing,
Connected when we are in need and when we have much to give.
When nothing else will do, prayer focuses our hearts and our minds onto God, just as a child turns to its parents in trust and in confidence. We are God’s children. Children whose father is the God who made heaven and earth and everything in it.
Amen. Please join me in a short prayer.
Let us pray.
Father - teach us how to pray as Jesus prayed. ………
Teach us to reach out to you as Jesus reached out to you. …….
Help us to talk with you, and more important help us to listen.
Father we ask that we hear your answers to our prayers for ourselves, and that we hear our intersession for others. …….
We ask in the almighty name of Jesus, Amen.
