The Lord’s Provision In the Gift of Prayer
Preacher: Marcia C. Wilkinson

Sunday, July 29, 2007

Luke 11:1-13

Just a mention of the Lord’s Prayer and Christians everywhere can quote it word for word.  Say the first few words to sick or dying persons and they will mouth it with or without words.  This prayer we call the “Lord’s Prayer” is given in the middle of Jesus’ journey to Calvary.  Here in Luke’s gospel, Jesus, man of prayer, teaches his disciples in the ways of his own life what they need if they are to be effective in their own.  The prayer builds on Jesus’ commands to love God and neighbor, just as he loves his Father and just as he will die for his neighbor.

How often Jesus withdrew to pray, an act of putting himself in his Father’s hands:
            At his baptism when the spirit came upon him
            Before Jesus chose the 12 disciples
            Before he goes to the cross
            When he took 3 disciples up to the mountain to pray, and was transformed before their eyes.
We learn from these significant moments that Jesus’ praying with his Father meant communion and fellowship, yes, but they were also epiphanies- holy moments whereby Jesus’ surrender to his Father’s will and God’s divine presence was a reality.  In other words, prayer for a specific concern was heard and responded to because of the authentic union between Jesus and his Father.  To be united with God in prayer was to tap into God’s very nature--holy yet intimate, real, and dynamic.

So when Jesus told the disciples “pray this way:  Father in heaven, hallowed is your name,” he literally meant that this is the way we are to pray to his Father.  For those who come as followers of Jesus and desire the ways of God in His holy Word- for those who believe that the God of creation, the God who rescued Israel from slavery in Egypt- the God who declared to Pharaoh through Moses and Aaron to let his people go- this is our Father too!  Jesus- in that moment with his disciples- grafted them deeper into God’s movement and mission for his creation and into the future of his kingdom.  God is real, alive and present!

This way to pray is a gift- for people who are on a journey of faith and follow the path of Christ to Calvary.  Jesus, who lived and would die for the world, offered bread in his teachings and provided physical nourishment.  He forgave sins and healed many.   His pattern is to be our pattern.  As N.T. Wright said this prayer grows out of Jesus’ own mission, and I know it applies here at All Saints’ because we who profess Christ crucified and resurrected have been grafted into his ministry.  Jesus’ Prayer is for the community of faith.  It flows out of Jesus’ two commands to love God with all of our heart and soul, and to love our neighbors as ourselves.

Prayer is the language of the soul, reflecting our union with God.
The more we are connected to God who has saved us and loves us-
The more we recognize and enter communication with the Father-
The more powerful prayer will be.

Prayer is learned and must be honest.  C.S. Lewis said that a preface to prayer is necessary:  His words: “May it be the real I who speaks (to God).  May it be the real Thou that I speak to.”  We pray in faith believing God is present to hear us as we are at that moment.  We pray because we believe God will speak to us, and, we pray because we believe it is in God’s nature to give to his own- even though we are undeserving.  Jesus, who was without sin and prayed to his Father, gave us sinners the where withal to pray to his Father directly because Jesus took our sin upon himself.  If he took our sin and guilt, then we do not have to be afraid, or intimidated.  We can come boldly to our Father who loves and will show us his way more fully.  Can we truly comprehend what a gift we have been given in these few words?

Give us each day our daily bread.   We say we are dependent on God for his mercy in providing daily needs.  This is problematic for Westerners because we really don’t believe we need to be dependent.  We can do for ourselves.  But, as followers of Jesus, we must not only realize that we are dependent on God, but place our wills in the hands of the Father in order to honor our neighbors.  Every week people come to our ASC doors for food.  They are not denied.  We do not say no to soup kitchens and shelters.  We did not say no this week to our missionary Mary Segall, who leaves with funds to buy food for a church in Amman, Jordan.  We will send money soon to Baghdad so that our St. George’s family can eat.  We ask for daily bread, and believe God will provide.  As God’s community, we also share it.

Forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone who sins against us.  When Jesus gave this prayer he was already forgiving the sins of many and would cover all sin with his death.  Now he demanded the same from his disciples.  If you belong to me, and if you come to the Father for forgiveness, then the same must be given to your enemies, and to each other.  Forgiveness is God’s way to wage war against the power of darkness and evil.  The cross is our proof.  Every time we forgive each other and ask for forgiveness from someone we have offended, we say no to the evil wedge that wants to separate the body of Christ.  If we don’t forgive we cannot receive.  It is parallel to asking God for food and then saying no to our neighbor in need.  If we ask to be forgiven, we must be willing to offer the same to our neighbor- friend, relative alike.  Giving and receiving of forgiveness are joined together.  God’s mercy is our one channel for receiving and giving- for all of us.

How do we forgive?  By giving ourselves to God first.  By putting ourselves under his divine will.  By calling on the Holy Spirit who understands all we need spiritually.  By asking God for willing minds and hearts to forgive.  By God’s grace recognizing how much forgiveness God has given and wants to give us in order to bring us to a new place in our lives.  And, the more we need to come to the Father for forgiveness, the more we will understand that our hearts must be open to offer this gift to others.

Father, lead us away from trial.  While God does not tempt us to sin, we need to recognize temptation for what it is and ask God for the means to overcome.  Jesus was tempted in the wilderness when he was most vulnerable and we are surely tempted in our lives where we are most vulnerable.  Testing certainly comes to us:  like the testing of Abraham and his son Issac, of Job the righteous one, and the testing of Jesus at Gethsemane before his death.  And, we know that persecution is very real for many people today throughout the world.

So prayer to our Father is to deliver us from trials- trials that threaten our claim to God’s holiness, protection, and daily provision.  We will have trials, we will be tested by life experiences, Satan will try to claim us, we may be persecuted, but we pray that our Father will not allow any of these misfortunes to keep us from trusting him, from depending on him, from expecting his help, and loving him and our neighbor.

As the parable in the gospel explained:  If we respond to our persistent neighbor’s plea for help, how much more will our Father in heaven give us?  Our Father expects us to come with holy boldness, asking and expecting to receive an answer.  If we are timid and give up too easily, then we have to ask ourselves if we really meant it all along.  We cannot afford to be timid or fearful, but confident.

God did not give us a spirit of timidity but a spirit of power, of love and discipline (2 Timothy 1:7).

The whole of the prayer Jesus gave then and gives us today is infiltrated by the gift of the Holy Spirit.  Jesus’ word to his disciples that the Holy Spirit would come upon them is like the angel’s word to Mary that the Holy Spirit would come upon her.  The Spirit of God empowers his church to be in the life of Christ so that wherever we are as his own, we will be personally given what we need.  And, as a community of faith the Spirit will lead and guide us. We are the workmanship of the creator, and that is everything my friends!

Because of Jesus, the Lord’s Prayer places us in the hands of our Father.  We seek his kingdom in our upright way of living, and we continue to be persistent and to knock on our Father’s door with expectancy.  We do so under God’s power of the Holy Spirit.  There is no other way to be joyful in Jesus, but to surrender, to trust and obey him, and to continuously ask for him and his kingdom.  Amen.