Sermons for the Month
Personalizing The Lord's Prayer
DATE: August 29th
By: John Maroni
TEXT: Luke 11:1-13Grace and peace to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.
As long as humans have inhabited the earth, we have sought communion with our creator. Many different routes have been traveled, men and women have sought God in deserts, valleys, on mountain tops -- all sharing the same quest -- to fill the void that lies within each of our souls, to ask the question why am I here, and to hear the voice of God. Ascetics look for God in suffering and sacrifice. Others seek enlightenment through meditation and yoga. As Christians, we make contact with God through Jesus Christ. We have an active relationship with the Creator through the sacraments, the Word, and through prayer. The source of all Christian prayer is the Lord's Prayer. Every Sunday, we pray these words together and are reminded of the promise; God desires to give us good things. Like a parent anticipating a child's phone call from afar, our Father in heaven longs to meet you and I in prayer. He is not so high that we cannot reach him. The psalmist declared, "Where can I go to escape His presence? If I ascend into the heavens, God is there. If I make my bed in Hell, God is with me." In our gospel today Jesus teaches his disciples The Basics of Prayer 100. He concludes his lesson with a parable concerning persistence. In the story, a man requests bread from his neighbor after midnight. He stands at his neighbor's door and knocks. Finally his friend awakes and gives him bread, not because of their friendship, because of his persistence.
Christ then tells us, we must search before we can find. He instructs, we must stand at the door and knock, before it will be opened to us. What we are not told, is how long must we search. How long must we stand knocking at the door of prayer? Fervent prayer is not learned overnight. If you are waiting to learn how, before you attempt to pray, then you probably will never pray. When I ask a teen to lead us in prayer, occasional they will answer, "I don't know how." Sometimes my response will be, "Do you know how to ask mom for allowance or money you really don't deserve." Then you know how to pray. Three common stumbling blocks to daily prayer are: Pride, Distraction, and Disappointment. Pride
When we pray it is an admission that we need God's help. Pride in our self-accomplishments leaves us with the impression, we can do it alone, and God's intervention is not needed. Distraction
In our busy schedules, there are thousands of distractions, which keep our mind on the immediate tangible, and off spirituality health and well-being. Disappointment
Finally, prayers that were prayed and seemed to have never been answered, serve as constant reminders of why we shouldn't attempt to pray again in the future. For the Jews of Jesus' day, prayer was an important part of daily life. The devout Jew prayed three times each day: at morning, noon, and night. It is no surprise that the Disciples went to Jesus with the request, "Teach us to pray." They knew prayer was important. They knew what the religious leaders taught about prayer. But, they wanted to know what Jesus had to say about the topic. Not much has changed since then. People are still looking for someone to tell them how to pray. "No one is really certain if Jesus taught the Lord's Prayer with the idea that 20 centuries later his followers would still faithfully use the same words as he did ." I feel it is important to continue using the Lord's Prayer as it has been passed down from generation to generation. It is a prayer we hold in common with fellow Christians. It is a prayer that crosses denominational lines, it crosses political borders, and it is prayed daily in hundreds of languages. As Helmut Thielicke said, "it is the prayer that spans the world, it is the prayer that spans all time." For centuries, the Lord's Prayer has been the universal prayer of the Christian church. It is true. The Lord's Prayer is the best known, best loved prayer of the church. But, at times, it can be the most abused. It is possible to become over familiar with the words? What goes through your mind when you recite the words? Is it like the ABC's, can you do it w/out thinking? A memorized prayer has the danger of becoming a ritualistic habit that holds no genuine meaning. I encourage you to reexamine the Lord's Prayer. Study it anew and afresh. Reread the small catechism, and rediscover the power that lies with in the prayer that spans the globe and all time! We often do not feel qualified to pray. Who are we, mere mortals, to seek the presence of almighty GOD? Even if we could reach him, how can we communicate with the infinite, when we ourselves are finite. How can the creatures, be understood by the creator. Communication has never been a human strength. Many of us would rather visit the dentist than express our feeling to a loved one in a counseling session. I don't know about you, but I often feel misunderstood by my own friends and family. If they don't understand my language, how can I expect that God will? Permit the following simple analogy. Did you know I am a father? Don't worry it is legal in the eyes of God. My little girl is a four-month-old golden retriever puppy. I also have a 2 year-old son, Casper. Heat wave - I know their hot Breakfast - "Did I ever not feed you?" God is our father, and just as we give good gifts to our children, He desires to give good gifts to us. In difficult times he sees our "heavy panting." He knows our sorrow and grief. God knows our petitions before we even ask, yet he desires us to ask. Why? Because he enjoys communicating with us. How can he possibly understand. The same way I was able to interpret the language of my pets, God understands our human language. In Romans 8:26, Paul reminds us we are not alone in our times of private prayer. There are times the Holy Spirit prays for us. So what's preventing you from bending an occasional knee in prayer? Are you complete in yourself and have no need of God's help? Are there just too many trivial tasks consuming your every waking moment? Or do you feel prayer is too difficult and that you are disconnected form God our Father? I encourage you today, call home. Like a son away at college, check in with your father. I close today's sermon with a prayer,
Father in heaven, All we have needed your hand has provided. Great is thy faithfulness. You stand waiting to answer our petitions before we even speak them. Like a loving parent, you desire nothing more than communication with your children. You long to meet us in prayer. Your ears are always open. Lord, Teach us to pray. Amen.
AMEN