Jesus' disciples ask him, "Lord, teach us to pray as John taught his disciples." Hooray for disciples who want to pray! But...I'm not sure prayer is so much teachable, as it is something to be practiced, practiced, practiced with much patience and persistence. Beside, weren't they paying attention to the Master Prayer who prayed in their midst? What better example and role model could they have had?
But, Jesus wants to encourage his disciples so that they continue to deepen a more intimate relationship with God. Jesus provides what we consider the first half of The Lord's Prayer that most congregations pray every Sunday. We're faithful members of the Jesus club when we recite it, considering the authority it carries. See Luke 11: 1-13.
If I were to encourage folk as pray-ers, I'd advise simple prayers: Ann Lamott has hers down to "Thank you. Thank you. Help me. Help me." I'd also advise against self serving prayers as the ONLY way to pray. In Jesus' words, I see him challenging us to also ask for forgiveness, for guidance, and for deliverance. Jesus also presses us to be urgent and persistent in praying. Ask. Seek. Knock.
But is praying just about us - our actions - our faithfulness - our persistence? Jesus teaches us more about God and God's persistent faithfulness in this scripture. An underlying assumption is that God is eager to provide for us and powerful and persistent enough to wait on us. What if it's God's generosity that our Lord will give us so much more than we ask for? What if it's God knocking at OUR door? What if praying is aligning ourselves with God so that we participate in God's kingdom here and now?
Now THIS is good news.
Grace and Peace,
Pastor Shelley
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