Talking with God
Sermon Recap
This is the 2nd week of our series on prayer. Our hope is not that we learn new things about prayer or praying, but that we respond to the invitation of Jesus to pray. Not so that we acquire a new daily ritual, but that through prayer we begin to experience life with God day by day.
For many of us, responding to the invitation to have a personal practice of prayer is complicated. We may not feel free to actually bring to God all of what we’re feeling. There are things we don’t know how to say to God because we don’t share them with anyone.
Or, maybe, living in a culture that prizes independence and performance, we find it difficult to step into the place of dependence that prayer requires. We don’t want to admit we’re not in control. We’d rather work out way into the future than pray into it.
We remember, too, times when we prayed and were disappointed. We asked, but God seemed silent. There was no intervention, no sense of God being near.
Real prayer is full of risk. To pray in lament is to look straight into our pain and admit God could have intervened but didn’t. To petition or intercede is to let go of our control and admit we are relying on God to act. Even to give thanks is to admit that everything good in our lives is gift, and not earned. Most of all, to pray is to become dependent.
What if dependence – trusting ourselves to God – is exactly the way we were created to live?
In Luke 11:5-8, right after he gave the prayer we know as the Lord’s prayer, we hear Jesus tell a surprising story about a friend in need of bread. The deeply rooted cultural value of hospitality in an honor/shame culture such as 1st century Israel would have left listeners shocked by the unwillingness of the petitioned neighbor to readily give bread to the man in need. The shamelessness of the man asking calls out the honor of his neighbor.
Jesus asks, if a neighbor would respond just to protect the honor of his reputation, how much more will the Father respond for the sake of His honor, His name? Not because God is trying to uphold a manufactured reputation, but because God has revealed Himself by His name and He must act accordingly.
Exodus 34:6-7 shows God revealing himself to Moses in this way: “The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness,
keeping steadfast love for the thousandth generation, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin…”
This is the name God will uphold for himself. If a neighbor might be coerced to action for the ske of his reputation, how much more will the Heavenly Father act not to uphold an appearance, but because of who He is?
So, Jesus says “Ask – and keep asking. Seek – and keep seeking. Knock – and keep knocking.” God wants to be generous, to give. He is so eager to give He practically dares us to ask!
As an exercise of trust, there are 3 voices or modes of speech in prayer we see throughout the Scripture: petition/intercession; gratitude; and lament.
Petition is asking God for ourselves, for what we need. Intercession is asking of God for the sake of someone else. Gratitude is the giving of thanks. Lament names our pain, our grief, even our anger – and brings them to God in prayer, asking God to hold to His character and respond.
Entering Conversation
1. Have you ever found yourself feeling hesitant or reluctant to pray (privately or publicly) or step toward a daily practice of prayer? Why do you think that is/was?
2. Can we together build a list of any of the practical ways you’ve been helped to pray/remember to pray? For instance, using a prayer book or a psalm. Or, setting a phone alarm at noon and 3p to remind you to pause and pray.
3. Give extra time to pray together, being mindful of requests, thanksgiving, and even laments. Close by having someone read Psalm 121 aloud.
Practice for the Week
Begin – or keep refining – a daily prayer rhythm. Consider a micro-ritual (like lighting a candle, sitting in a specific chair) to mark out the time. Try using your body in a way that you find helpful – kneeling or standing, opening or lifting your hands, walking, knitting, etc.
If you don’t already have a prayer practice, try to bring forward all 3 voices of prayer that were discussed this week – petition/intercession, gratitude, lament.