Prayer • July 25, 2004

Hosea 1:2-10 • Psalm 85 (UMH 806 • Colossians 2:6-15 (16-19) • Luke 11:1-1

Sermon by Michael R. Martin, Certified Lay Speaker
First United Methodist Church of Saranac Lake, NY

The issue of prayer is a simple one. Prayer is talking to God. Prayer involves several elements including thanksgiving, praise, and confession. There are names you may sometimes hear for two types of prayer: "intercessions" and "supplications". Intercessions are prayer-requests for others (*Entreaty in favor of another, especially a prayer or petition to God in behalf of another), and supplications are prayer-requests for ourselves (*to ask for humbly). I didn't call these "two special types of prayer because for the most part, prayer is prayer. And to pray is to talk to God. When the disciples questioned Jesus about prayer, they were asking for an understanding of how to pray and what to pray for. Jesus teaches them both a form of prayer, what we call The Lord's Prayer (in this case Luke's version) and a story of persistence in prayer. Some folks use this reading to suggest that we need to PESTER God with our prayer requests, but certainly at the very least we are being instructed to talk frequently with God.

American Christians, that is us, don’t pray like this at all. American Christians knock on God’s door once a day (knock once on wood pulpit or communion table) whereas Jesus taught that we to knock often and long. Research has found that the average American Christian, that is you and me, prays four minutes a day and the average American pastor prays seven minutes a day. There is an enormous contrast being the teachings of Jesus about prayer (knock, knock, knock, knock, knock) and the prayer life of American Christians (knock).

Why is this? Pastor Edward F. Markquart of Grace Lutheran Church on the West Coast gives us four reasons why American Christians don’t pray much.

First, American Christians are very busy. The richer a culture is, the less time it has for prayer because money and wealth gives one so many opportunities to be busy. We are so busy, we just don’t have time to pray. In the life of a busy American Christian, the first thing to be let go of is one’s prayer life. We are all busy people, and the first thing to go in the life of busy people is our prayer life.

A second reason that American Christians don’t pray very much (e.g. four minutes a day) is that we don’t believe prayer does that much good. For many Americans, prayer is essentially talking to yourself; prayer is positive pep talk; prayer is psychological motivation to be a better person.

A third reason that American Christians don’t pray very much (four minutes a day) is that American Christians often believe that a good God should protect them from the disasters of life, from cancer, car accidents and coronaries. When God doesn’t protect their friends and family from cancer, car accidents and coronaries, then there must not be a God.

A fourth reason that American Christians don’t pray very much is that we don’t walk closely with God. To have any close relationship, you need to talk often and deeply. You can’t have a close relationship with anyone without persistent intimate conversation. That is just the way it is with marriage, family, friendship, and God. Four minutes a day is not much intimate conversation with God. It’s not by accident that nearly every time I share with you I encourage you to read your Bible. Prayer and the study of the Scripture and the reading of Christian literature is our only way to have an intimate relationship with God. God wants that relationship with you as much as you need it from Him.

Pastor Markquart, concludes that for these reasons and more, American Christians ultimately conclude that prayer doesn’t work, that it is like star gazing, that it doesn’t change the nature of things. And so our society concludes that prayer doesn’t work. Our society: that is addicted to sex and violence, that our televisions are filled with so much sex and violence that we have actually become numb to it. Our society: that is filled with broken down marriages and broken down families. Our society: that has the highest rate of people in prison in the industrial world. Our society: that has twenty percent of our children living in poverty. Our society: that has the largest economic difference between the rich and the poor. Our society: that is known world wide for our moral decadence and spiritual poverty. Our society then, with all these things, concludes that prayer doesn’t work. It is like finding a drunken alcoholic on the street and asking him, “Does alcoholic treatment work?” and he replies, “O no. Not at all.” So it is with asking American Christian who pray four minutes a day, “Does prayer work?” And the American Christian replies, “Well, I don’t think so.” If you ask Christians in South America, Asia and Africa about the effectiveness of prayer, they answer, “O yes. Prayer works enormously well.” Ask Minnie what about the prayer life of the Africans sometime and listen to what she tells you. You don’t ask for a drunk for advice about drinking and you don’t ask American Christians for advice about prayer.

Jesus was not at all like this. Prayer was enormously vital to him. And so it should be with us. So, how do you pray? Well, the bible tells us. . .

In Matthew 6:5-8, Jesus instructs the disciples in prayer etiquette, saying "And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him."

I don’t know about you, but I HATE praying aloud in a group setting. But I think it gets easier over time. But praying aloud or alone, I consider the Lord’s Prayer in the Gospels as somewhat akin to a prayer outline. We address the Father with respect and give praise and thanks. We make requests. We ask that in all things they be His will, not ours. And we ask for forgiveness of our inevitable human failings. In our home, we are fortunate to often share dinner meals together, and most nights make it a point to sit down at the table and dine. We take turns saying grace before we eat, and it has evolved into its own special prayer, so that if any of us were to say this prayer, it would go something like this: “Heavenly Father, we thank you for this beautiful day. We ask that you be with (insert loved one’s name here) and watch over him or her as she or he goes through their (whatever). Bless this meal that it may nourish us and bless this home and family. Amen.”

There is a great scene in the film Bruce Almighty when God, played by Morgan Freeman, asks Bruce, Jim Carrey, to pray. If we had the capabilities here, I’d love to be able to play just that brief, wonderfully moving scene for you. Maybe now that the lift is done, that can be our next project, bring our worship services into the 21st Century. At any rate, in this scene in Bruce Almighty, God has asked Bruce to pray, and Bruce prays haltingly: “Um, Lord, feed the hungry and . . . bring peace to all of mankind.” and asks "How's that?" to which God replies "Great . . . if you want to be Miss America.'' God than asks "What do you really care about?'' Bruce says the name of his estranged girlfriend, who left him because he was being such a jerk. God asks if Bruce wants her back, but Bruce says “No, I want her to be happy, no matter what that means.” He asks that she find someone to give her all the love she had deserved from him, and who will always see her the way he does now, through God’s eyes. “Now that’s a prayer,” God responds.

Does God answer prayers ? You bet he does! I couldn't give you scientific proof, but I am certain that God has been working in my life for many years. An example of answered prayers: a year ago, almost to the day, my baby sister was diagnosed with rapidly an aggressive, fast moving metastatic melanoma. The prognosis was quite grim. Her chances of even living long enough to see her daughter married just last week were very slim. Just several weeks ago she got the news that she was in complete remission, thanks to excellent treatment at Dartmouth-Hitchcock & many many prayers. This is not to say that your life will be easy or you won’t experience hardships. Answers to prayers are not always what you expect, for God works in accordance to his will. But prayer is a vital part of our conversation with God.

So, here is my list of prayer guidelines:

1. Prayer early, Pray often - Doesn't have to be special time or place - use any time you've got: in the car, wherever.
   
2. Praise God and be thankful for all that is good in your life - this also serves to get you recognizing the good even what things seem to be falling apart. My sister, even when her future was very uncertain would say what a blessing her sickness was since it brought my family closer.
   
3. Don’t be afraid to ask for help for yourself and others. Recognize that God's will may be different than yours, but ask & know He has a plan that most certainly includes you.
   
4. Don’t worry about the words. God knows your heart. The act of prayer simply shows your loving commitment to Him.
   
5. Most importantly, pray from your heart.

Michael R. Martin – July 25, 2004
First UMC of Saranac Lake, 8:30AM

*Definitions: The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition: College Edition Copyright © 2002 by Houghton Mifflin company. All rights reserved.