In my first year and a half at McKnight, of my first 67 sermons, 21 touched on prayer--just over 30 percent.
The first was during the Stewardship drive, in the series "Faithfully Participating in the Ministries"--on our membership vows in which we pledge to support our church with prayers, presence, gifts, service, and witness. Eight were during Lent, including Ash Wednesday and Maundy Thursday, in a series on ":When to Pray" based on the different contexts of which Jesus prayed--it seems to me that when Jesus prayed is a good suggestion for the times we ought to pray. The other twelve were from late August through November--a series on The Lord's Prayer--the model that Jesus gave us for praying.
Not that prayer hasn't been mentioned in the five years since then--and certainly prayer has happened since then--in worship, at meetings, at Life Groups and Bible Studies, at the church-wide Thanksgiving meal, at every Friday Nightz Rock gathering, each evening at 7 pm now on Facebook Live, and of course in all of our lives. But specifically addressed in a sermon as the topic and theme? Alluded to, referred to--of course this summer there was Jonah's song from the belly of the great fish which was partly a prayer, and some of the Psalms preached on are at least partly prayers. But thematically? Not with the frequency of that 18 months.
Here we are again, and this time it's looking at how Christ is with us in prayer. And of the three Scriptures being used, two (Matthew 6 and James 5) were used in that sermon on praying as part of "Faithfully Participating in the Ministries" of the church.
None of these three passages specifically address Christ being with us in prayer, however, which may be a clue for us. In Matthew, Jesus himself gives this advice about praying to the Father. In Romans, we are reminded that the Spirit helps us pray, in fact intercedes for us, particularly when we're not quite connecting. In James, the elders of the church lay hands on the sick and pray for them, and we are assured that "the prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective." So we have the Father, the Holy Spirit--2/3 of the Trinity--and the hands and prayers of the faithful. Christ is not mentioned by name, and yet Christ certainly is present in all of these scenarios of prayer.
I am reminded of the saying, seen in homes on plaques and cross stitch: "Christ is the Head of This House. The Unseen Guest at Every Meal, the Silent Listener to Every Conversation." Christ is present in all of these ways, in all of these people, in our prayers
GOSPEL Matthew 6:6, 9-15
6 But whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
9 Pray then in this way:
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.
10 Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us this day our daily bread.
12 And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13 And do not bring us to the time of trial,
but rescue us from the evil one.
14 For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you; 15 but if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
NEW TESTAMENT Romans 8:26-27
26 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words. 27 And God, who searches the heart, knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.
NEW TESTAMENT James 5:13-18
13 Are any among you suffering? They should pray. Are any cheerful? They should sing songs of praise. 14 Are any among you sick? They should call for the elders of the church and have them pray over them, anointing them with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 The prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise them up; and anyone who has committed sins will be forgiven. 16 Therefore confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective. 17 Elijah was a human being like us, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. 18 Then he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain and the earth yielded its harvest.