Nov 22, 2009 Hear How He Prays

Matthew 6: 5-8   ‘And whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, so that they may be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. ⁶But whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

7 ‘When you are praying, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do; for they think that they will be heard because of their many words.⁸Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

Matthew 11: 25-27  At that time Jesus said, ‘I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have revealed them to infants; ²⁶yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. ²⁷All things have been handed over to me by my Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.

The past two Sundays, we’ve been reflecting on Eugene Peterson’s book “Tell It Slant”; the languages of Jesus in his stories, conversations, and today his prayers.

The hope is to apply some of Jesus’ ways to our own lives, that we may reflect Christ-like thinking, telling, living, and praying.

Thanksgiving time offers a wonderful setting to reflect on Jesus’ prayers and his prayer life.  People across America will pause reverently, quietly, humbly, to give thanks over a meal, with a family, for their blessings.  Some will do so politely, others awkwardly, and some will do so as naturally as if Jesus were sitting next to them.

There was a man whose wife had left him and he was completely depressed. He had lost faith in himself, in other people, in God--he found no joy in living.

One cold morning this man went to a small neighborhood restaurant for breakfast. Although several people were at the diner, no one was speaking to anyone else.

In one of the small booths along the window was a young mother with a little girl. They had just been served their food when the little girl broke the sad silence by almost shouting, "Momma, why don't we say our prayers here?"

The food server who had just served their breakfast turned around and said, "Sure, honey, we pray here. Will you say the prayer for us?" And she turned and looked at the rest of the people in the restaurant and said, "Bow your heads."

Surprisingly, one by one, the heads went down. The little girl then bowed her head, folded her hands, and said, "God is great, God is good, and we thank him for our food. Amen."

That prayer changed the entire atmosphere. People began to talk with one another.  And the depressed man said, "All of a sudden, my whole frame of mind started to improve. From that little girl's example, I started to thank God for all that I did have and stop focusing on all that I didn't have." (Leadership, Vol. 17, no. 4)

The great Methodist preacher, Rev. E.M. Bounds said “Prayer makes common things holy and secular things sacred. It receives things from God with thanksgiving and hallows them with thankful hearts and devoted service….” Then Rev. Bounds concludes, “Talking to (people) for God is a great thing, but talking to God for (people) is greater still".

Peterson states that “Story and prayer are the core language of our humanity. We say most truly who we are when we tell stories to one another and pray to our Lord.  Story and prayer are also the core language of our Scriptures… (We enter into this relationship with God and humanity) when we listen and tell stories to one another and listen and speak to God in prayer.” (pg. 160)

Anyone can pray anywhere for anyone at anytime.  Ironically, because of the accessibility of prayer, it often gets taken for granted and kept superficial in its content.

Therefore, it’s good to remember and practice set prayers – for example, the Lord’s prayer, meal prayers, doxology, etc. The Psalms are classic examples of set prayers also.

Jesus’ prayers throughout the gospels “provide an accurate and steadfast center for developing a life of mature Christian prayer.” Peterson offers six set prayers that can assist us. Those references have been put in the bulletin newsletter this morning for you.

1)    Jesus prays with us: “Our Father…” (Matt. 6:9-13)

2)    Jesus prays in thanksgiving: “I thank you,…” (Matt. 11:25)

3)    Jesus prays in anticipation of the end: “… Father glorify your name” (John 12:27-28)

4)    Jesus prays for the followers: “Father, the hour has come…” (John 17:1)

5)    Jesus prays out of the depths in Gthsemane: “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me…” (Matt. 26:39)

6)    Jesus prays from the cross “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matt. 27:46)

The second of these prayers is an unusual one prayer of thanksgiving. Verse 25 reads,

 “At that time Jesus said, ‘I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have revealed them to infants…”

Now, Matthew places Jesus’ prayer of thanksgiving in the context of John the Baptist’s misunderstanding and the villagers’ rejection. Misunderstanding and rejection don’t seem to be promising stuff for producing thanksgiving. But in Jesus they do.

This is an unprovoked, spontaneous, prayer that seems to be one part of an on-going conversation between Jesus and his Father that we are blessed to catch a glimpse of.

Here’s the intersection for our lives: The circumstances surrounding Jesus at this time are not conducive at all to a prayer of thanksgiving. The conditions of the environment would seem to invite resentment and frustration instead. Yet in the midst of being misunderstood, rejected, and credibility called into question, Jesus thanks God for revealing the things of genuine and eternal value to infants – the non-sophisticated honest people who do not over-analyze and categorize spirituality, they only experience it and express it.

Author Fleming Rutledge writes: The life of thankfulness—biblically speaking—is lived in view of the hard things of existence. As the life of thanksgiving deepens, we discover that the more mature prayers of thanksgiving are not those offered for the obvious blessings, but those spoken in gratitude for obstacles overcome, for insights gained, for lessons learned, for increased humility, for help received in time of need, for strength to persevere, for opportunities to serve others. (The Bible and The New York Times (Eerdmans, 1999)

One of my uncles and aunts live in McPherson, KS. They wrote the annual family letter as one of thanksgiving AND of Christmas. I was surprised that they even wrote a letter given the year they have endured.  It begins with the scripture from Lamentations “…Great is your faithfulness” (3:23b) Aunt DonnaVee & uncle Don write… (some of the letter is read aloud)

Sometimes prayers of thanksgiving are spoken for what God has done,
sometimes prayers of thanksgiving are whispered for what God is doing,
and sometimes prayers of thanksgiving are exclaimed for what God is going to do!

Perhaps there is room at the Thanksgiving table for each of these prayers. 

Even if that table is in the hospital cafeteria, the comfort of home, or the booth of restaurant.

 It could have been Thanksgiving time a year ago when  William Stidger was seated one day with a group of friends in a restaurant. Everyone was talking about the difficult economic times: how terrible it was, the suffering people, the jobless, the whole thing. There was a minister in the group, and he suddenly broke in and said, "I don't know what I'm going to do, because in a couple of weeks I have to preach a sermon on Thanksgiving Day. I want to say something affirmative. What can I say that's affirmative in a period of world depression like this?" And as the minister spoke, Stidger said it was like the Spirit of God spoke to him:         

"Why don't you give thanks to God for those people who have been a blessing in your life and affirm them during this difficult time?"

 The thought came to his mind of a schoolteacher very dear to him, who had gone out of her way to put a great love of literature in him. It affected all his writings and his preaching. So he sat down and wrote a letter to this woman, now up in years. It was only a matter of days until he got a reply in the feeble scrawl of the aged: "My Dear Willy: I can't tell you how much your note meant to me. I am in my eighties, living alone in a small room, cooking my own meals, lonely, and like the last leaf of autumn lingering behind.  You'll be interested to know that I taught in school for more than fifty years, and yours is the first note of appreciation I have received. It came on a blue, cold morning, and it cheered me as nothing has done in many years."  (as shared by David Seamands)

 The people who sat in the restaurant were sitting their together, not last year, but back in the 1930’s during the depression!

Let us pray.

God, you are great, you are good, and we thank you.

We thank you O God, with heart and hands and voices, who wondrous things has done, in whom this world rejoices.

Continue you live in our lives in such a way that we would live our lives for you – with thanksgiving and praise in response to all you have done, are doing, and will do in our selves and in your world.

Amen.