Psalm 85
Luke 11: 1-13

 
"Now I lay me down to sleep; I pray the Lord my soul to keep.  If I should die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take."  Do you remember the first prayer you learned as a child?  For many of my generation, "Now I lay me down to sleep..." is a classic, the prayer our parents taught us as they worked at helping us understand how to pray.  It was easy to memorize because of the rhyme, and the words were simple and understood by a child of five or six years.

Eventually we were encouraged to make-up our own prayers.  I remember praying that I wouldn't have a polio shot or a shot of penicillin.  I prayed for many toys at Christmas time.  As I grew older, I prayed to pass the math test just this once; no matter that I had not studied.  And do you remember the bargaining prayers?  "God, if you'll only convince my parents to let me have this dog, I'll keep my room clean and never complain about going to church again."

These were the prayers of my youth, when I had only a childish understanding of prayer.  I knew prayer was real and was fairly sure God heard my prayers.  I believed God would answer my prayers if I could just convince the Creator that I was sincere.

But then I grew into adulthood.  As an adult I studied scripture, took bible classes as a layperson, attended worship and listened carefully to what the preacher said.  Eventually it became obvious that my childish prayers were just that--childish--and that just as I had matured physically and mentally, my prayer life need to mature too.

Jesus taught his disciples to pray because they asked for his guidance.  He taught them how to pray and for what to pray.  As we look at Luke 11, we find three truths about the prayer life Jesus suggests for a Christian.  First, Jesus suggests praying in a certain place.  It is true that one can pray anywhere and at any time.  But certain places are more conducive to prayer and inspiration than others.  There are certain places one can go and not be disturbed by the busyness of others.  Jesus had his places: A mountaintop; a lovely garden; places where he could be alone with his thoughts.  For me it is the beach, or sailing with the wind or alone in the car driving on the highways.  Where are the places in your lives you find yourselves able to concentrate on God in prayer?  Do you make time to be in those places on a regular basis?

The second truth Jesus suggests for our prayer life is:  What should be included in prayer.  In the Lord's Prayer that he taught his disciples, Jesus used petitions based on needs, needs that deal with all of life.  He begins the prayer by giving glory to God.  This is the first part of prayer, giving the Creator God's due.  Then the present need of the individual is shared, not future need.  "Give us this day our daily bread."  All we are promised is this moment now.  Our needs for now will be met.  Trust God that the needs for tomorrow, if required, will also be met.  Then one is to ask forgiveness for past sins and likewise to forgive others.  Lastly, one is to ask for help in any future trials that may come our way in life.

So mature prayer begins by thanking God for being our God.  We praise the name of the Lord.  Prayer then moves to petitions for our daily needs of food, clothing and shelter, maybe even a job that will help provide these things.  Then we ask forgiveness as we repent and leave the burden of guilt behind.  We will promise to make a serious effort to try again.  And last, knowing there is evil in the world, we will ask God to help deliver us from this evil as we encounter it along life's paths.  Help us not to succumb to evil of any kind:  Gossip about others, cheating the IRS, whatever the temptations that pass our way.

Third, Jesus suggests that we should be persistent when we pray.  At first blush one might think God will grant any and all prayer requests if we just badger the Creator.  But this is untrue.  For example, God will not bring a painful death to a boss with whom one doesn't agree.  We need to dig deeper to understand what is meant by persistence here.

Let’s look again at this section with new eyes.
It’s the story of two neighbors, George and Sam.  George is surprised when houseguests that arrive late that night.  George is out of the good bourbon, has no wine, and has no Brie and wafers to setout for his guests.  And this is the custom in Palestine:  To provide an abundant meal to your guests, whenever they arrive.  So George has a problem. 

George excuses himself and goes next door to his good friend, Sam’s house.  Knocking on the door and getting no answer, George begins to pound on Sam’s front door.  “Sam let me in, I need your help.”  Now Sam lives in a one room house, like most of those in Palestine:  His family is asleep on the floor beside him; the animals—chickens, a goat and the like—are settled down on the other side of the room; and the front door is bolted from the inside for safety.  There is no way that Sam can get up and get to the door without waking everyone and everything in the house.  “Go away, George.  It’s late.  Come back in the morning.” 

But George is persistent and his friend, Sam, finally gives in.  Sam and George are friends.  Sam has to open his door.  And he gives George the best bourbon he has, a nice merlot and pinot grecho, along with some smoked Gouda cheese and some wafer thin crackers.  What a friend!

God is a caring creator/parent who will not withhold what is necessary for God's children to live a good life.  But neither will God give something to us children if it is destructive to us or to others.  Rather as a parent, God answers prayers from the perspective of the big picture:  Yes, no, maybe, not now.  If a man were to pray for his mother's recovery from a heart attack when she was 116 years old, it certainly would be within God's power to heal her.  But God has established the laws of nature, of life and death, to help humanity.  Remember the big picture.  If no one ever died on this earth, nature would be out of balance.  Lack of space, food and water would become problematic.

Remember Jesus' prayer in Gethsemane?  He knew he was headed to the cross and death.  But he prayed, "If possible, let this cup pass from me. But not my will, but yours be done."  Jesus knew that only God sees the real big picture, and that it is important for us to trust our God.

Persistence.  It may be that the time is not right for the answers we desire for our prayers.  We may not be ready for the answer we desire; or others through whom prayer will be answered may not be ready; or we may be praying/asking for the wrong thing, a childish prayer request rather than a mature prayer request.

But be assured.  God loves to give creation--you and me and all God's children--what ever we need.  Like a loving parent, God desires to give us the very best gifts of all.  And the best gift of all is the Holy Spirit, which is the essence of God in our lives.  To have God in you, with you, for you is the ultimate gift.  What can be better than that?

There is a story that The Reverend Frank Honeycutt who served in Abingdon, Virginia, tells about a friend we'll call Jim.  Jim had just lost his sister in an automobile accident.  Jim's brother had died nine years earlier in a similar way.   It was just two weeks after the funeral that Jim called Frank and asked him to meet him at the cemetery.  There was something in Jim's voice that made Frank get in his car and drive to the gravesites.  As the two men stood together in the cemetery, nary a word was spoken.  It was a beautiful, clear autumn day in Virginia with the birds and squirrels playing games in the park-like setting.

As Frank stood there he wondered what his friend was thinking; a brilliant intelligent man.  Frank and Jim had gone to college together and upon graduation, Jim went to Iowa to work while Frank went to seminary.  Then Jim spoke, "Frank, say a prayer, will you?"

Frank's inner struggle began.  He thought:
Why pray?  Why pray in a world that sometimes seems downright harsh and even malevolent?  Why pray in a world of cancer and divorce and airplane crashes?  Why pray to a God who surely knows about the 40,000 deaths that occur every single day from the gnawing effects of hunger and malnutrition?  To a God who sure (sic) knew the deep, inexpressible ache of my friend who stood over two sibling graves in a Northern Virginia cemetery?  Does God really hear us?  If so, why does God seem so distant at times?  So silent, at others?

Prayer is not always easy.  'Say a prayer, will you Frank?'  I do not remember the words I used in the cemetery that day we bowed over grave markers of a brother and sister who had died young.  Perhaps the words were not as important as the act itself.  For I know that prayer is necessary, and I know, too, that on this day it was healing.  God hears us: Our joys, our laments, our anger, our pain, our questions, our thanksgivings.  Remember that.  Ask.  Seek. Knock.

Many have suffered just like Jim and Frank, just like this congregation.  Life is like that.  This past year we have had a number of deaths in the congregation; some people have lost their jobs; others have spouses that are going down hill with the fight with Alzheimer’s, and the list goes on and on.  Why?  Try as we may, some things in life defy explanation.  Life is a mystery, unexplainable in many ways.  All we know for sure is that God did not cause these things to happen; rather God is with us through it all, offering us comfort and love.

Jesus came not to explain the world, but to overcome the world.  God is with us during our suffering. God carries us. God provides.  All we need do is "Ask, Seek and Knock!"  God help us!!  We are reaching out our hands to you God.  Thank you for holding on during these difficult times. 

May we continue to mature in our prayer life, taking to God our praise, our present needs, our burdens of sin and asking for God's hand to help us over the temptations and troubles in life.  Reach out for help.  God will be there.  Ask.  Seek.  Knock. 

Amen