“Lord, Teach Us to Pray”
July 26th, 2010 Posted in SermonsThe Ninth Sunday after Pentecost (Series C)
“Lord, Teach Us to Pray”
July 25, 2010
Sermon Text: Luke 11:1-13 [show]Luke 11:1-13
[11:1]Now Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he finished, one of his disciples said to him, "Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples." And he said to them, "When you pray, say:
"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."
And he said to them, "Which of you who has a friend will go to him at midnight and say to him, 'Friend, lend me three loaves, for a friend of mine has arrived on a journey, and I have nothing to set before him'; and he will answer from within, 'Do not bother me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed. I cannot get up and give you anything'? I tell you, though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his impudence he will rise and give him whatever he needs. And I tell you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent; or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!" (ESV)
Grace, mercy and peace be unto you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Our Lord could not have made it easier or simpler in regard to praying. And yet the sad fact of the matter is, there are many who belong to a Christian church whose prayer life all is but non-existent.
For many people, prayers are said before meals and then maybe only on special occasions, say… on holidays or when there are guests present. For some, though, it is the exact opposite where they forgo prayer, even a simple mealtime prayer when others are around.
And then there are the Sunday morning prayers… that is, when these individuals happen to be in worship on a given weekend. And it is amazing, a couple of prayers on a Sunday and these men and women are good for another week or two… another month or two.
But you can be assured these individuals will be down on their knees in prayer the very instant when tragedy strikes… when their lives are turned upside down… when they have no one else to turn to and have exhausted all other ways and human means of managing a situation on their own.
For many… prayers are used only in 911 situations or as simply a “request line” … Lord, here is what I want you to do for me now and could you please put a rush on it.
Why is this so? Why is prayer life so deplorable in many instances, with many people? Well there are many reasons.
And these reasons include someone not understanding what prayer really is. It is you talking with, conversing, having a direct connection to Your heavenly Father… He who is the Creator of the universe… He who is your Creator… Sustainer… Your everything.
The very fact that we have the opportunity and great privilege to speak directly, personally, intimately to God the Father is not recognized or even partially appreciated by many people. Or that such prayer is only possible through Christ Our Savior by whose merits the Father has reconciled us to Himself where we are again His beloved children who He takes great pleasure in hearing from.
Another reason many do not have an active prayer life is because prayer was never really taught to them. It really wasn’t a big part of their family life growing up… so, guess what… it is not a big part of their life now.
It may be that they never saw their father, as spiritual head of the household, leading them and their entire family in prayer many times… in many situations. They never saw their parents praying… alone or together… even though their parents made sure all their children said their prayers at night. It’s so cute don’t you know!
Still another factor why people do not pray is because they do not see any real pressing need to do the same. Some are of the opinion that God knows everything, so why pray to Him? Why say it… why think it or verbalize it?
How many of these people do you think would be surprised to find out that it is not a matter of God knowing (which He does), but a matter of God commanding prayer. That it is not a matter of prayer benefiting God, but prayer benefiting us and in ways you cannot imagine.
Simply stated, praying is not an option for the Christian nor would the Christian every want it to be because all saints in Christ realize that it is their lifeline, the source of great peace, comfort and consolation.
Satan, on the other hand loves it. He loves when you are not praying… when you are not speaking to God because he knows how this weakens your relationship with your heavenly Father where you can easily become estranged to Him. And so many people do… slowly but surely. Their connection to their heavenly Father fades away little by little until it is completely gone
You know, dear friends, it would be one thing if prayer were something incredibly complicated and convoluted. It is neither. As I said at the beginning of this message, our Lord could not have made it easier or simpler for us in regard to praying. In fact, He has given us the very Words to say! It is the Lord’s Prayer!
You have the perfect prayer before you! Use it. Pray it. Say it. It is perfect because of its divine origin. It is perfect because it contains all that is important in prayer, including our adoration of our Father. Holy is His name. And we pray that it may be hallowed by us… in us… in all that we say, and think and do as we remain in His Word and in the Blessed Sacraments.
This prayer includes our humble but confident acknowledgement that His kingdom has come in Christ Jesus and that it reigns supreme over that of Satan who has been defeated, crushed and his days numbered… the days are indeed short before the final sealing of the bottomless pit where he and all his demons and all unbelievers will spend eternity.
Indeed we pray that God’s kingdom may come in us and rule over us… rule over our hearts, our homes, all our relationships, over this His church and everything else.
We pray that His will be done in us as we know and take great comfort and confidence that nothing happens outside of His divine will. That His will is always best for us even though there are many times we cannot see it… how it can be… yet we trust that it most assuredly is… and will be.
And we humbly, contritely, pray for the forgiveness that is ours in our Savior, Christ Jesus, and what He did for us upon the cross…
… the full forgiveness of our trespasses, our sins which are many… which are most grievous and great… as we also forgive those… all those… who sin against us, harboring no ill feelings, thoughts and resentment… but freely forgiving and forgetting as we are freely forgiven and all our sins, our debts… forgotten… blotted out.
We fervently pray that we may not be led into temptation by Satan, this world or our own sinful flesh and that when tempted… we may not give in… and that furthermore we may be delivered from all the evil that is around us… that surrounds us as we continue our sojourn here below.
And we conclude this prayer by joyfully acknowledging to our Father that His is the kingdom, the power and the glory forever and ever.
Brothers and Sisters, if you are not praying the Lord’s Prayer daily, this is your encouragement and invitation to start today… this day and continue with it all of the days of your life… whatever is left for you… foreordained for you hear on earth.
What a wonderful way to begin each day and end it and also half way through as you take a lunch break, so also take a prayer break.
Say this prayer on your own. Couples, I encourage you to pray it together… as I do parents with your children… grandparents with grandchildren.
And then use this prayer… the Lord’s prayer… as a springboard for more and more intimate conversations with Your heavenly Father. You have so much to talk with Him about. You really do. He wants to hear it all and hear it often.
And persistence in prayer is commended as we heard quite clearly in our Gospel lesson. You may have brought something before God a thousand times. Go ahead and make it a thousand and one. Your Father wants you to. And it is not that He did not hear you the first thousand times… or that He is not interested or caring. He is… and to a degree and extent which you will never understand this side of eternity. Keep talking with Him.
Come to the Lord and give Him praise. Come to Lord and give Him thanks for all that He has given to you as well as what He has lovingly seen fit not to give you.
Come to the Lord and confess your sins… unload it all… leave it all at the foot of the cross.
Come to the Lord with all your supplications… all your petitions… all that is on your heart and mind.
Indeed, come to the Lord in prayer. As Christ taught the Twelve to pray, so He will teach you.
For all of us, it should be that we cannot wait to talk with our heavenly Father. And the good news is… we do not have to wait. He is always listening… wherever we are at… whatever the situation or circumstances. He is always there to help us… comfort us… guide us… strengthen us.
How wonderful this is. What a great privilege, honor and blessing. Thank you Lord for teaching us to pray. Thank you for always hearing us. Amen.
May the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus unto life everlasting.
Amen.
“Lord, Teach Us to Pray”
6/20 /10 The Rev. Mark H. Hein
St. Paul’s Ev. Lutheran Church, Lockport, IL