Not certain I could state it any better than I did before, so this is a repeat of the Pastor’s Ponderings from the week leading up to October 12, 2014, as we remember that mark of who we are as a follower of Jesus is that we “Pray and Pray Again.”
From this coming Sunday until Thanksgiving we’ll be considering how we are to be stewards of all that God has given us. Stewardship recognizes that we really do not own what we have—really any of it—but what we have is held in trust as a gift of God. And so therefore what we do with it reflects how we understand God, and what Jesus calls us to do and be as his disciples. This perspective therefore results in an understanding of life that is very different from what society says to us—stuff like “the one with the most toys when [he] dies wins”.
And, as followers of Jesus, seeking to live by the values of the Kingdom of God, we live that out through the life of the church—the body of believers that the first disciples started after Jesus departed this earth. And in our United Methodist understanding of that, we are called and equipped to be in ministry. ALL of us. Not just the pastor. And we live out our own ministries—not exclusively, but primarily—through the ministries of our church. We vow to “faithfully participate in the ministries of the church by our prayers, our presence, our gifts, our service, and our witness”—and we do so “that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ.” This is what we are to be about as a church, and individually as those who participate in the church.
To that end, the next several Sunday sermons will be about those five ways of living out our individual ministries through—and outreaching from—the church. This Sunday will be about our prayers.
Anne Lamott published a delightful little book in 2012 called “Help, Thanks, Wow: The Three Essential Prayers”. She asserts that all of our praying basically comes down to those three things. We cry for help when we feel like we’re not able to handle whatever we’re having to deal with—and we can all think of times we’ve done that. We express thanks—sometimes after we’ve gotten through those times we’ve cried for help, and of course when we recognize the ways that we are “blessed”. And we gasp in wonder at those moments when we’re just amazed and awed at beauty, or magnificence, or something just amazing. I have once heard prayer referred to as “the primal scream”—when something completely unexpected or just mind-boggling or horrendous happens, our gut-level response is “Oh my God”—which is at root a prayer. We are never far from praying. Might be why 1 Thessalonians 5:17 says “Pray at all times”. We almost always do.
And yet, we gotta admit that we need to make it a bigger priority—that we need to make it more intentional, more focused, more a regular part of our lives rather than just a gut-level reaction. One of the ways we live out our personal ministry is with prayer. And we do pledge that we’ll do that. We’ll look at some of how we do it this Sunday.
GOSPEL Luke 11:1-13
1 He was praying in a certain place, and after he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, ‘Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.’ 2 He said to them, ‘When you pray, say:
Father, hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come.
3 Give us each day our daily bread.
4 And forgive us our sins,
for we ourselves forgive everyone indebted to us.
And do not bring us to the time of trial.’
5 And he said to them, ‘Suppose one of you has a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say to him, “Friend, lend me three loaves of bread; 6 for a friend of mine has arrived, and I have nothing to set before him.” 7 And he answers from within, “Do not bother me; the door has already been locked, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot get up and give you anything.” 8 I tell you, even though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, at least because of his persistence he will get up and give him whatever he needs.
9 ‘So I say to you, Ask, and it will be given to you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. 10 For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. 11 Is there anyone among you who, if your child asks for a fish, will give a snake instead of a fish? 12 Or if the child asks for an egg, will give a scorpion? 13 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!’
NEW TESTAMENT Ephesians 6:18
18 Pray in the Spirit at all times in every prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert and always persevere in supplication for all the saints.