|
<< Back to Sermon Archive
| Sermon Date: |
July 29, 2007 (Redeemer, Sanford) |
| Sermon Text: |
Luke 11:1-13 |
| Church Calendar: |
9th Sunday after Pentecost |
| Delivered By: |
Rev. Brian Roberts |
"Lord, Teach Us to Pray"
In our world today, people seemed starved for the opportunity to
have a meaningful encounter God. In a world where terrorism,
hatred, violence, and crime are much too common, people are
looking for some indication that God is out there, and hoping
that He can make a difference.
People want to see some sign from God that He is in control. I
think this intense desire to SEE God is one of the reasons why
so many people are willing to believe that Jesus, the almighty
God, Ruler and Judge of the universe, will appear in the
silliest of places.
For example, in just the first three months of this year alone,
several people have claimed that Jesus has appeared to them. In
January in Avery Park, GA the image of Jesus appeared on a stained
shower tile (Times-Herald, Newnan, Ga., 1-7-07). Also in January
in Morton, Texas, the image of Jesus appeared in the ice in the
freezer of a grocery store (WBZ-TV (Boston)-CBS, 1-12-07).
In February in Houston, Texas, the image of Jesus appeared in a
pizza pan (KTRK-TV, 2-23-07). The same month in Crystal City,
Texas, the image of Jesus showed up in the bark of a tree
(San Antonio Express-News, 2-16-07).
And in March there were four sighting of Jesus. The first was
in Sacramento, CA, when Jesus appeared on burned wallpaper
(KOVR-TV, 3-6-07). Next Jesus appeared on a baking sheet in
Kamloops, British Columbia (Kamloops This Week, 3-9-07).
After that Jesus traveled to Glasgow, Scotland to appear in
a woman’s ultrasound scan (Evening Standard (London), 3-9-07).
And, rounding out the month Jesus came back to the United States
so that He could appear on a pancake in Ohio (Star Beacon
(Ashtabula), 3-22-07).
Every time I hear about these events, I have to wonder, “Is
that the best God can do? Have Jesus appear on a pancake?!”
To borrow the words of the Gospel lesson in verses 11 & 12:
“Which of you fathers, if your son asks for God’s help will
give him Jesus on a stained shower tile? Or if he asks for
God’s presence, will give him Jesus on a pancake?”
Christ has come to us in much more meaningful and powerful
ways – yet people seem so hungry for the ridiculous.
“One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When He finished,
one of His disciples said to Him, ‘Lord, teach us to pray, just
as John taught his disciples.’”
“Lord, teach us how to connect with God. Teach us how to
experience God’s presence. Lord, teach us how to encounter
God.” That’s what the disciples were asking. How can God be
real in my life? How can He be a meaningful part of my life?
Now, it’s important to understand the relationship this event
in the Gospel lesson, today, has with last week’s Gospel lesson.
In the story of Mary and Martha last week, Jesus was teaching us –
above all – the proper way to worship. Last week, Martha made the
mistake of thinking that she was the host and Jesus was the
guest. But that’s not what was really going on there.
In fact, Jesus was the host, serving the Bread of Life. And
Martha – indeed all of us – are the guests, receiving His Word
as a divine meal. And THAT is what true worship of God is. We
are no the host, inviting Jesus to come be with us in church.
In worship Jesus is the host and we are the invited guests.
We are invited to gather around His presence in His Words of
Scripture, and with repentant hearts, receive His gifts of
love, and forgiveness, and life. We don’t have to go hunting
high and low for some sign of God. We don’t have to hope an
image of Jesus will appear on our toast. Christ invites us
to meet Him in His Word, to discover His Real Presence in
Church and in His worship.
Here, we encounter Jesus. Here, He makes Himself real and
meaningful. Here He fills our lives with power for eternal
living. Do you believe? Because in that faith, Christ is here
in our worship, and here in your heart.
And then, only in thankful response to Christ’s gracious gifts,
are we able to know Christ and serve Him acceptably. And that
is where the Gospel story for today comes in.
In response to God’s undeserved, gracious gifts of life and
salvation – in response to Christ’s promises of strength and
help in this earthly life – in response to God’s love freely
given to us in this and every time of worship, how best can
we respond in prayer?
First of all, what is prayer? Well, prayer is the command and
privilege that God gives to all who believe in Jesus Christ. He
says in the text, “Ask and it will be given to you, seek and
you will find, knock, and the door will be opened to you.”
Prayer is simply speaking to God in words and thoughts. It
is not the mindless recitation of words, but the inward
communication of the heart. It is our conversation with God.
Without connecting our heart to the prayer we are simply
uttering noise to the Lord. But when we pray what is inside
us, trusting in Christ and speaking honestly with God, we
know He will hear and help us.
And Scripture teaches us who to pray to. We should pray to
the true God only, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, not to idols,
not to saints, or anything God has created. We pray in the name
of Jesus, because He is the only mediator between God and man.
Jesus said in John 14:6, “I am the Way, and the Truth, and
the Life, no one comes to the Father except through me.”
We should ask for everything that brings glory to God – in
other words, we ask according to God’s will first of all. Christ
also invites us to ask for the things that concern our own
and our neighbor’s welfare – the earthly needs and desires
we have.
We are also able to praise and thank God for Who He is and
what He has done. As the Bible says in Philippians 4:6, “Do
not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer
and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.”
As children of God we have been invited by God to speak to
Him at any time. Our thoughts, hearts, and voices can
continually be conversing with the Lord. It doesn’t matter
where we are or what we are doing, through our faith in
Christ, we have constant access to heaven, whether it’s
at home, by ourselves, with our families, or at church.
It seems these three ministers were talking about prayer one
day. And they began to debate what were the most appropriate
and effective positions for prayer. As they were talking, a
telephone repairman was working on the phone system in the
background. One minister shared that he felt the key was in
the hands. He always held his hands together and pointed
them upward as a form of symbolic worship. The second
suggested that real prayer was conducted on your knees.
The third suggested that they both had it wrong – the
only position worth its salt was to pray while stretched
out flat on your face. By this time the telephone repairman
couldn’t stay out of the conversation any longer. He interjected:
“I found that the most powerful prayer I ever made was while
I was dangling upside down by my heels from a power pole,
suspended 40 feet above the ground.”
God is not going to ignore us because of some silly technicality.
The illustration that Jesus gives us in verses 5-8, about the
midnight visitor, is just about as goofy as the story I just told.
The rules of hospitality in the first century required that
the entire community assist in caring for a midnight guest.
So, for the people listening, the situation that Jesus
presents would have been ridiculous. The people would have
found it hard to imagine that any member of a village would
refuse the request of someone else in the community who
needed to entertain a midnight guest.
Jesus’ story basically says, even if you were to find someone
who was so selfish and pig-headed as the guy in this situation,
because of his desire not to be put to public shame, finally,
even he would do what was needed.
Christ’s point in this story is that God’s hospitality is SO
MUCH greater than this. Our prayers go to God Who is our
“Father,” as Jesus says in verse 2.
God isn’t too busy for us. He isn’t concerned about other
things. He doesn’t consider our prayers as interruptions
to be endured. He is our Holy, Loving, Heavenly Father,
Who in His will and according to His wisdom, loves to give
good gifts to His children!
He knows what is best and freely and generously gives it.
Our struggle with prayer comes because of our sinful
limitations. We sometimes twist Christ’s gracious invitation
to pray into a rope, that we then use to tie up God in our
minds. We imagine that since we are praying, God must
answer in the way that we want Him to.
We imagine that we have the power to push God around.
“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will
find; knock and the door will be opened to you.” Well,
THAT is the magical incantation that will get us whatever
we want! Because I asked, God HAS to deliver!
What our Lord really says to us in our text is that the
true power of prayer lies with the One Who answers prayer.
And, it is connected to our worship.
When Jesus teaches us how to pray, He does so presupposing
that there is faith in the heart of the one praying. Prayer
is an act of worship, which means that our hearts are open
to God. Our hearts are yielding to God. Our hearts are
trusting in God.
It means that in our prayers we know that God has already
given us His Son, Jesus. It means that we know, already,
that Christ’s suffering and death on the cross has granted
us forgiveness of sins and holiness in the presence of God.
It means that we know, already, that through Christ’s resurrection,
we are people of heaven who happen to reside here on earth for
a while. But our real and eternal home is with the Lord. It
means that we know, already, that we have the loving, merciful,
gracious, powerful presence of the Holy Spirit for every step
of our lives, and every breath we take.
It’s what Jesus is talking about at the very end of the text
for today, when He says, “…how much more will your Father in
heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!”
It means that when we pray, we BEGIN with the knowledge that
we have already been given heaven, and eternal life – and
have been adopted by God through baptism as sons and daughters.
When it comes to our earthly prayers, it is hard to be demanding
of God, and frustrated with His will, and angry at His response,
when we begin with the understanding that He as already given us –
everything.
Just as God gives us faith to believe in Him, today Christ gives
us the words to use when we come to Him in prayer. In The Lord’s
Prayer Jesus teaches us that God is our loving Father, Who gives,
and supplies, and delivers, and preserves, and redeems, and saves.
Therefore, when we pray, we are bold yet humble, trusting in Christ
and His love.
Amen.
Top of Page
<< Back to Sermon Archive
|
