9th Sunday after Pentecost
Text: Luke 11:1-13
Vicar Gary Schultz
Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
Now Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray…”
The disciple’s request seems strange: “Lord, teach us to pray.” Who doesn’t know how to pray? These are the disciples we’re talking about. They’re Jesus’ closest companions. They’re with Him all the time. Surely they’ve seen Him pray before. After all, it’s not that hard. We certainly know how to pray, don’t we?
Or do we? Maybe the disciples’ request isn’t so strange after all. Although we often define prayer simply as “talking to God,” there’s still a lot of confusion about what prayer is or how it is to be done. I often get e-mails from well-intentioned people that claim to be about prayer. Usually, however, they are just messages that encourage people to slow down and enjoy earthly life to the fullest.
There’s a misunderstanding of prayer that says the longer or harder you pray, or the more people you get to pray for something, then God will surely have to answer the way we want Him to. “Prayer chains,” which can be used in good ways, can often fall into the trap of trying to force God to reach our conclusions.
One common misuse of prayer in this way might be pictured as a lifeguard on the beach. A child is drowning out in the lake. A person comes and tells the lifeguard. The lifeguard shrugs it off and doesn’t worry about it. Five more people come and tell the lifeguard about the drowning child. He does nothing. Finally, after ten people tell the lifeguard about the drowning child, the lifeguard says, “All right already. I’ll go save him.” This is complete nonsense, and it is even more ridiculous when prayer is treated this way – as though God is like this lifeguard and will only help when He’s been pestered enough.
Many Christians simply don’t know how to pray. Maybe it is because of our sinful nature, which works hard at keeping us from prayer. Maybe it is because of pervading Protestant American mindset about our need to pray harder – as though there are levels of prayer intensity. Maybe Roman Catholic ideas about praying to Mary or the saints don’t help our understanding of prayer. How often do I pray? How long do I pray for? What do I say? Where do I pray?
Jesus’ words in answer to the disciples are good news for us. He gives us the exact words to say and also instructs us how to form prayers for our own thanksgivings and requests. He shows us the willingness of our heavenly Father to hear and to receive our prayers in love, and His gracious giving of the Holy Spirit to us, to guide us in our prayer.
Jesus’ prayer teaches us about the corporate nature of prayer. We can only call God “Father” because we are clothed in Christ, having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead. Today we witnessed God giving Lauren new life, clothing her with Christ, making her a member of His family. When we say, “Our Father” – as it is recorded in St. Matthew (6) – we acknowledge that we are praying together with Jesus and with all Christians in the catholic, universal faith. We are not praying with all people, because we only call God our Father through Christ. A non-Christian cannot pray the Our Father. But our prayer – even if done individually – is never private. It is always corporate. We are always praying together with Christ our brother and with all the saints.
Prayer always starts with God’s word. The phrases Jesus speaks in the petitions of His prayer are framed in the language of the psalms. Our petitions of thanksgiving and requests, our joys and our cries, are done in the context of hearing God’s word and receiving His gifts. Prayer is offered in the context of the Divine Service. Having been fed and taught by Christ, we respond in prayer and praise. “Prayer is the voice of faith which claims the promises of God’s Word through Jesus Christ our Savior” (Bender).
“Lord, teach us to pray.” Pray the words Jesus has taught. The Our Father is always a staple of prayer. It can never be worn out. It’s depth and richness cover a lifetime of learning and praying. It is sure and certain and gives us just what we need to say in asking for forgiveness and deliverance from temptation and evil of the devil, the world, and our sinful nature.
Pray the words God has given us to speak to Him. The psalms and canticles and other words of Scripture are to be used in prayer in order that these petitions are pleasing to Our Father in heaven and are heard by him. The Psalms are the very prayers Jesus Himself prays, together with all the saints. They are the prayer book of the Bible.
Pray the liturgy of the church. The church’s prayers that we pray each week are called Collects because they are prayed together – collectively – by the church. The church’s prayers of Matins and Vespers and Compline – Morning and Evening and Nighttime Prayer – are beautiful orders that provide a framework for putting your own petitions, needs, concerns, sufferings, complaints, and thanksgivings in the language of the Bible. And the church’s prayer offices connect you together with Christians from every time and place.
If your daily prayer life is non-existent, or you’re never sure exactly how or what to pray, I would invite you this week to start in this way: List the petitions that you have for concerns and thanksgivings for friends, family, the church, and the world. Begin with praying a Psalm out loud. The lectionary appoints Psalm 138 to be used this week. Then pray the Our Father, and conclude with the Collect for this week as found in the bulletin. In this way, you can unite your concerns together in a simple discipline of prayer that is anchored in God’s word.
The willingness of God our Father to hear our prayer is shown in Jesus’ parable about the midnight guest. Even a person who cares little or nothing about his neighbor’s dilemma in hosting an unexpected guest will help out because of his neighbor’s bold pestering, just to get it taken care of and get back to bed. But our Father in heaven is able and willing and desirous to hear and receive our prayers at all times.
Our Father in heaven is the source of all goodness and blessing in our lives. Any parent or guardian knows that they are to give good things to those entrusted to their care. But Our Father’s promised care is infinitely greater as He provides for all our needs and gives His Holy Spirit to those who ask. His invitation to us to ask, seek, and knock are comforting promises of the Gospel which teach us to rely upon what He has promised us in Christ.
In today’s Old Testament, Abraham pleaded for mercy for ten people that the Lord would not destroy Sodom. Ten righteous people were not found, but God delivered Abraham’s family from the destruction. In Christ, who pleads for us, we are delivered through Him, the truly Righteous One. He was not spared, but gave Himself up on the cross in order that we might be made righteous.
When we falter in our regular prayer, we flee to Christ, who prayed with His arms outstretched on the cross: “Into your hand I commit my spirit; you have redeemed me, O Lord, faithful God” (Ps 31:5; Lk 24:46). Our life being joined to Christ, we have peace in that he has forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands and now is sitting in Ascended Triumph at the right hand of the Father – there to intercede on our behalf.
“Lord, teach us to pray.” Jesus’ prayer tenderly invites us to believe that God 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. Our life in Christ unites us to Him who prays for us. Amen.
The peace of God which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.
Vicar Gary Schultz
Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
Now Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray…”
The disciple’s request seems strange: “Lord, teach us to pray.” Who doesn’t know how to pray? These are the disciples we’re talking about. They’re Jesus’ closest companions. They’re with Him all the time. Surely they’ve seen Him pray before. After all, it’s not that hard. We certainly know how to pray, don’t we?
Or do we? Maybe the disciples’ request isn’t so strange after all. Although we often define prayer simply as “talking to God,” there’s still a lot of confusion about what prayer is or how it is to be done. I often get e-mails from well-intentioned people that claim to be about prayer. Usually, however, they are just messages that encourage people to slow down and enjoy earthly life to the fullest.
There’s a misunderstanding of prayer that says the longer or harder you pray, or the more people you get to pray for something, then God will surely have to answer the way we want Him to. “Prayer chains,” which can be used in good ways, can often fall into the trap of trying to force God to reach our conclusions.
One common misuse of prayer in this way might be pictured as a lifeguard on the beach. A child is drowning out in the lake. A person comes and tells the lifeguard. The lifeguard shrugs it off and doesn’t worry about it. Five more people come and tell the lifeguard about the drowning child. He does nothing. Finally, after ten people tell the lifeguard about the drowning child, the lifeguard says, “All right already. I’ll go save him.” This is complete nonsense, and it is even more ridiculous when prayer is treated this way – as though God is like this lifeguard and will only help when He’s been pestered enough.
Many Christians simply don’t know how to pray. Maybe it is because of our sinful nature, which works hard at keeping us from prayer. Maybe it is because of pervading Protestant American mindset about our need to pray harder – as though there are levels of prayer intensity. Maybe Roman Catholic ideas about praying to Mary or the saints don’t help our understanding of prayer. How often do I pray? How long do I pray for? What do I say? Where do I pray?
Jesus’ words in answer to the disciples are good news for us. He gives us the exact words to say and also instructs us how to form prayers for our own thanksgivings and requests. He shows us the willingness of our heavenly Father to hear and to receive our prayers in love, and His gracious giving of the Holy Spirit to us, to guide us in our prayer.
Jesus’ prayer teaches us about the corporate nature of prayer. We can only call God “Father” because we are clothed in Christ, having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead. Today we witnessed God giving Lauren new life, clothing her with Christ, making her a member of His family. When we say, “Our Father” – as it is recorded in St. Matthew (6) – we acknowledge that we are praying together with Jesus and with all Christians in the catholic, universal faith. We are not praying with all people, because we only call God our Father through Christ. A non-Christian cannot pray the Our Father. But our prayer – even if done individually – is never private. It is always corporate. We are always praying together with Christ our brother and with all the saints.
Prayer always starts with God’s word. The phrases Jesus speaks in the petitions of His prayer are framed in the language of the psalms. Our petitions of thanksgiving and requests, our joys and our cries, are done in the context of hearing God’s word and receiving His gifts. Prayer is offered in the context of the Divine Service. Having been fed and taught by Christ, we respond in prayer and praise. “Prayer is the voice of faith which claims the promises of God’s Word through Jesus Christ our Savior” (Bender).
“Lord, teach us to pray.” Pray the words Jesus has taught. The Our Father is always a staple of prayer. It can never be worn out. It’s depth and richness cover a lifetime of learning and praying. It is sure and certain and gives us just what we need to say in asking for forgiveness and deliverance from temptation and evil of the devil, the world, and our sinful nature.
Pray the words God has given us to speak to Him. The psalms and canticles and other words of Scripture are to be used in prayer in order that these petitions are pleasing to Our Father in heaven and are heard by him. The Psalms are the very prayers Jesus Himself prays, together with all the saints. They are the prayer book of the Bible.
Pray the liturgy of the church. The church’s prayers that we pray each week are called Collects because they are prayed together – collectively – by the church. The church’s prayers of Matins and Vespers and Compline – Morning and Evening and Nighttime Prayer – are beautiful orders that provide a framework for putting your own petitions, needs, concerns, sufferings, complaints, and thanksgivings in the language of the Bible. And the church’s prayer offices connect you together with Christians from every time and place.
If your daily prayer life is non-existent, or you’re never sure exactly how or what to pray, I would invite you this week to start in this way: List the petitions that you have for concerns and thanksgivings for friends, family, the church, and the world. Begin with praying a Psalm out loud. The lectionary appoints Psalm 138 to be used this week. Then pray the Our Father, and conclude with the Collect for this week as found in the bulletin. In this way, you can unite your concerns together in a simple discipline of prayer that is anchored in God’s word.
The willingness of God our Father to hear our prayer is shown in Jesus’ parable about the midnight guest. Even a person who cares little or nothing about his neighbor’s dilemma in hosting an unexpected guest will help out because of his neighbor’s bold pestering, just to get it taken care of and get back to bed. But our Father in heaven is able and willing and desirous to hear and receive our prayers at all times.
Our Father in heaven is the source of all goodness and blessing in our lives. Any parent or guardian knows that they are to give good things to those entrusted to their care. But Our Father’s promised care is infinitely greater as He provides for all our needs and gives His Holy Spirit to those who ask. His invitation to us to ask, seek, and knock are comforting promises of the Gospel which teach us to rely upon what He has promised us in Christ.
In today’s Old Testament, Abraham pleaded for mercy for ten people that the Lord would not destroy Sodom. Ten righteous people were not found, but God delivered Abraham’s family from the destruction. In Christ, who pleads for us, we are delivered through Him, the truly Righteous One. He was not spared, but gave Himself up on the cross in order that we might be made righteous.
When we falter in our regular prayer, we flee to Christ, who prayed with His arms outstretched on the cross: “Into your hand I commit my spirit; you have redeemed me, O Lord, faithful God” (Ps 31:5; Lk 24:46). Our life being joined to Christ, we have peace in that he has forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands and now is sitting in Ascended Triumph at the right hand of the Father – there to intercede on our behalf.
“Lord, teach us to pray.” Jesus’ prayer tenderly invites us to believe that God 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. Our life in Christ unites us to Him who prays for us. Amen.
The peace of God which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.
posted by Luther Memorial Chapel at
8/03/2007
