November 11, 2007

Why?

Why Prayer?

Luke 11:1-4

Opening Words: There are five basic questions. There is who, what, when, where and why. Each question is important but the most probing question is the question of why. When you ask why, it means you are digging below the surface. It means you are trying to understand the complete situation or concept. It means you are using the brain that God has given you. Never underestimate the question of why?

This is the final sermon in an eight part sermon series I have called, Why? Why does the church cling to certain practices and beliefs? There is more to it than simply tradition. To date we have looked at Jesus, the Bible, communion, baptism, missions, the church and fellowship. Today we answer the question why prayer? Why is prayer so important to the disciple making process? We are instructed this morning from the fourth chapter from Paul’s letter to the Ephesians.

Luke 11:1-4 ¹One 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."

    ²He said to them, "When you pray, say:
   " 'Father,
   hallowed be your name,
   your kingdom come.
    ³Give us each day our daily bread.
    ⁴Forgive us our sins,
      for we also forgive everyone who sins against us.
   And lead us not into temptation.' "

I love the story of Dwight L. Moody and his wife who often had guests in their Chicago home. One evening, after a very demanding day, Moody asked a visiting Christian to lead them in family devotions. The man waxed eloquent as he expounded the symbolism in a difficult chapter of the Bible. Then he prayed at great length. When the prayer was over, Mrs. Moody and the guest got up from their knees, but Moody remained bowed in prayer. The guest thought that he was praying, but Mrs. Moody soon detected that her husband was sleeping! Can you relate to that story? Has anyone here every fallen asleep in the middle of a prayer? Has anyone here ever fallen asleep in the middle of church?

It is the disciples who bring up the topic of the day. It is the disciples who want to know how to prayer. Look at the text with me. Has Jesus just finished a lecture on prayer? No! Has Jesus just finished a seminar on prayer? No! Has Jesus just finished a powerful sermon series on prayer? No! It is not Jesus who brings up the topic; it is the disciples who bring up prayer. Verse one simply says, ^“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."

The disciples ask the question for two reasons. First, the prayer that Jesus taught them served as an identification tag. All rabbis taught their disciples a different prayer. John taught his followers to pray. Each prayer was different. What we call the Lord’s Prayer identified them as Jesus’ disciples. Second, the disciples ask Jesus how to pray because of their own spiritual emptiness. They saw something in Jesus that they lacked. It was something that they wanted. It was something that they needed. It is something that we need. It may have been the disciples but it could have been any of us. “Lord, teach us to pray?”

How comfortable are you with your prayer life? Does anyone here feel like your prayers are incomplete, out of balance or juvenile? Does anyone here feel like your life has fallen into a routine? The routine doesn’t include prayer. Maybe your life is so full of responsibilities and tasks that you don’t have time for prayer? Maybe you are like the Dwight L. Moody story? Every time you try to pray, you fall asleep? How many people here feel guilty about their prayer life? Maybe just the topic of prayer makes you feel guilty because you really haven’t prayed for years? The disciples asked the question two thousand years ago but people are still asking the question.

As your pastor I must confess. There are times I am concerned about your prayer life. Some of you have been coming to this location for forty years. You claim Western Reserve as your church home. You have spent your lives here. You are proud of this church but when I ask people to pray in the smallest of groups some can’t do it. I like to think that it is that you are uncomfortable with public speaking but I am afraid it is a sign of your spiritual growth. If you can’t pray in front of friends then what have we been doing here for forty years? I believe Martin Luther was right! He said, “If I should neglect prayer but a single day, I should lose a great deal of the fire of faith.”

Maybe one of the reasons people don’t pray is that some have made prayer too complex. Prayer can be made quite complex. When I was in seminary I took a worship class. The professor said when Jesus taught the disciples to pray he gave them a model for all prayers. Each prayer uttered should have four things. If you take the first letter of all four it spells out the word ACTS.

A = Adoration

C = Confession

T = Thanksgiving

S = Supplication, prayer for the needs of others

Do your prayers always have these four parts? He also said being prepared to pray is not a bad thing. Being prepared to pray does not make it insincere. Being prepared to pray simply means you are ready to speak to God. It means this discussion with God is a priority to you. There is a part of prayer that is complex. No wonder the disciples asked the question that we have all asked, Lord, teach us to pray.

Today, I want to help you improve your prayer life. I don’t want this to be complex. I want to answer the question, “Why Prayer?” Former pastor of the St. Luke’s United Methodist Church of Houston, Texas James W. Moore says prayer is really nothing more than developing a friendship with Jesus. Sociologists tell us friendships are important. They influence our lives. They shape our ideas and beliefs. They shape our very attitudes. In prayer we are forging a friendship with Jesus. He should be shaping your ideas and attitudes. He should be shaping your attitudes. So consider three words with me today. Each word should set the tone for your prayers. Each one is illustrated for us in Luke’s version of the Lord’s Prayer. So if you are ready say, “Amen!”

Gratitude

When Jesus prayed he had a spirit of gratitude. When we pray we need a spirit of gratitude. The entire Lord’s Prayer is based in a spirit of gratitude. Verse three says, “Give us each day our daily bread.” Jesus is not asking for the extras in life. He is thankful for the basics. There is nothing more basic than bread. The closer you get to Jesus the more you can see how thankful Jesus was for small things. Jesus knew what he had. Some only see what they don’t have. When you pray be thankful for all the things you hold in your life.

A 12 year old boy named David was born without an immune system. He underwent a bone marrow transplant in order to correct the deficiency. Up to that point he had spent his entire life in a plastic bubble in order to prevent exposure to common germs, bacteria, and viruses that could kill him. He lived without ever knowing human contact. When asked what he'd like to do if and when released from his protective bubble, he replied, "I want to walk barefoot on grass, and touch my mother's hand." When was the last time you thanked God for walking in the grass or touching a loved one? When you pray be thankful for all your blessings. And all of God’s people said, “Amen!”

Forgiveness

When Jesus prayed he had a spirit of forgiveness. When we pray we need a spirit of forgiveness. Verse four says, “Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us.” If you are going to accept God’s forgiveness, then you must be ready to pass that forgiveness on to someone else.

It is said that when Leonardo da Vinci was painting the Last Supper he had a terrible fight with a fellow painter. He decided to make his new enemy’s face the face of Judas Iscariot. He thought that would teach him. The great painting was almost done. The final face he needed to paint was the face of Christ. The problem was his heart was so filled with hatred for this fellow painter that he couldn’t imagine the face of Christ. The great painting came to a stand still. He didn’t paint the face of Christ until he forgave the friend. On the night he forgave the friend he had a dream and he saw the face of Christ. It is impossible to really pray and hold hatred or prejudices in your heart.

Consider these words:

You can not pray the Lord’s Prayer and even once say “I”;

You can not pray the Lord’s Prayer and even once say “My”

Nor can you pray the Lord’s Prayer

And not pray for another

And when you ask for daily bread,

You must include your brother

For others are included

In each and every plea;

From the beginning to the end of it,

It does not once say “Me”

And all of God’s people said, “Amen!”

Trust

When Jesus prayed he had a spirit of trust. When we pray we need a spirit of trust. My third and final word is the word trust. Verse four ends, “And lead us not into temptation.” If you are going to let someone lead you then you better trust them.

On Tuesday evening the Finance Committee met. The good news is all the bills are paid. (What we owed was paid after last week’s offering.) The bad news is with two months left in the year we still owe $26,000 to apportionments. That is more then we bring in on an average month. While we are ahead of last year in apportionment giving by some $6,000 but we are far off the pace. The truth is we are in about the same position as last year and in the end we did pay them all. Someone I have grown to respect stayed after the meeting to talk to me. It is his first year on the committee. He said, “How are we going to come up with $26,000 dollars?” I said, “Don’t worry. What will happen, will happen.” He said, “Staying optimistic is important.” I agreed but later I thought about it. It is more than just being optimistic.

My optimism is really more than positive thinking. My optimism is rooted in trust. This may sound arrogant but I trust myself. I trust the gifts that God has given me to do this job. I trust you, the members of this church. We have never not responded when there is a great need. I trust you will respond again. I trust God. I have spent countless hours to get to this point in my faith. I have spent sleepless hours worrying about church finances in the middle of the night but I have learned one thing. What will happen, will happen. Appointments are made on a variety of factors but even if the most negative thing happens it will be OK. If we don’t pay another dime to apportionments this year and I find myself standing in a new pulpit next year, it is OK. I am not saying I won’t be upset, I have spent fourteen years rebuilding this church and falling in love with you. But it is OK in the big picture because I know God will meet me in that new pulpit. I have learned to trust God with this and I have learned to trust him to send you a new pastor that will continue the labor. In prayer we must trust God to know what is best.

Bill Hybells of the Willow Creek Community Church once wrote:

If the request is wrong, God says, "No."
If the timing is wrong, God says, "Slow."
If you are wrong, God says, "Grow."
But if the request is right, the timing is right and you are right, God says, "Go!"

How far do you trust God?

On this Veteran’s Day weekend let me end with a story from the Korean World. A soldier by the name of Paul got separated from his unit behind enemy lines. He hid for several days before being captured by the North Koreans. As a prisoner of war he is tortured in various ways. For example, in the middle of a cold winter they pour buckets of ice cold water on his head over and over again. The pain is horrible but the amnesia is worse. For days he remembered nothing about his life. He didn’t know his name. He didn’t know where he was or how he got there. He remembered nothing! But then he remembered something. He remembered two words from his past – Our Father. He did not why those words were important but he knew they were important. He repeated those words over and over again – Our Father. Then he remembered others words – Who Art in heaven. He repeated those words over and over again, Our Father, Who art in heaven. He repeated those words over and over again. Piece by piece the whole prayer came to him. Piece by piece he began to remember his whole life. He remembered his name, home and family. He remembered his entire forgotten past. Those two words, our father, triggered his whole life. He rebuilt his whole life on the Lord’s Prayer. In time he would be released and he began his whole life over again.

Wouldn’t it be great if we could rebuild out lives on the Lord’s Prayer? The Lord’s Prayer teaches us to pray and live with a spirit of gratitude, in a spirit of forgiveness and in the spirit of trust. And all of God’s people said, “Amen!”

Why Prayer?

Luke 11:1-4

1. How often do you pray?

2. How often do you fall asleep while praying?

3. Do you pray the Lord’s Prayer during hardship?

4. Are you comfortable praying in a small group?

5. Do your prayers have all four aspects of a structure prayer (Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication)?

6. Can you name three things you take for granted in your life?

7. What prejudices or hatreds do you hold that are weakening your prayers?

8. What part of your life you not totally surrendered to God?

9. How much time do you spend worrying?

10. Do you believe this church will pay an additional $26,000 in the next two months?