"Lord, Teach Us to Pray"

3rd in a Series on Listening to Prayer in the Bible
First Presbyterian Church
March 11, 2007
Peter S. Buehler
Matthew 6:9-15

When you are praying, do not heap up empty phrases
as the Gentiles do…

We've been thinking about what the Bible says about prayer by examining how people in the Bible pray -- what they say in their prayers.

Abraham, in his prayer for the people of Sodom who were not wicked but righteous, challenged God to act justly and to spare them. His prayer was shockingly bold and strong, and God did not reject it. I hope, hearing this, we have felt emboldened in our faith and prayers.

Jonah, in his prayer of thanks to God for saving his life, prayed while he was in the dark -- still in belly of the fish -- before the fish spewed him out to the safety of the shore. I hope, hearing Jonah's prayer, we have been encouraged to pray with this same confidence and gratitude, when we find ourselves in the dark.

In today's scripture Jesus is teaching his disciples to pray. The Lord's Prayer is a lesson about prayer. We think of it as the most familiar of all Christian prayers, one we memorized long ago and have repeated countless times. It's the one prayer we can say with all believers, no matter what church they're in -- no matter what church we happen to be worshiping in, we can join in the Lord's Prayer.

But I hope we can also hear it as Jesus teaching us how to pray. Yes, we know by heart; we have repeated it a thousand times. Though who's to say that's not a good thing? Who's to say that even when we've said it by rote without thought, at some level of our being Christian faith hasn't been affirmed in us, or that God hasn't then answered one of our petitions? That we've been sustained with bread that day, or moved to forgive, or received strength to avoid temptation -- choosing instead not to participate in something hurtful or destructive. That God answers prayers, even those we say by rote, is a powerful thing. So with the disciples, we learn what it means to pray what we're praying.

Jesus is always teaching us; it's one of the huge blessings of our faith.
In this prayer he is teaching us three things: first, that prayer is about relationships -- with God, and with our neighbors; second, prayer is about practice -- demonstrating in our lives the very things we bring before God;
and third, prayer is about confidence -- that praying is believing without seeing, believing without proof, therefore we pray not only for small things, but great things.

First, prayer is about relationships. Jesus teaches, first and foremost, that we're not praying to a God who doesn't care -- some distant deity whose attention we have to get, a God who has more important things on his mind, an authority figure who must be approached in fear and trembling. That is not the God Jesus prays to. Jesus teaches that our God invites us to come close, that he is waiting for us, he delights in us, he's ready to listen to us.

Our Roman Catholic friends call this prayer the "Our Father," and that's a lovely way to remember that it's not just about what we're saying, it's about who is listening. We say, Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name all together -- but it would be good every so often to say Our Father, and then pause. Because Jesus, in giving us this way to pray, is offering us a glimpse into a stunning relationship. Addressing God as Father was rare in biblical times, not unheard of -- God is spoken of this way only 14 times in the Old Testament.
But nowhere did anyone -- not in Judaism, not in any other ancient Near Eastern religion -- do what Jesus did, referring to God as Abba. Daddy. Poppa. Jesus is saying to us, Don't be formal, be familiar.

While we know that God is not male -- that God is God, and our names for God are always inadequate -- nevertheless it is well for us to acknowledge that for some, perhaps not for us but for some, calling God Father is a hard thing.
It's a barrier, not an invitation. Perhaps because of a troubled relationship with their human father. We need to understand and respect this, and to know that what was important for Jesus in giving this prayer to his disciples is not the exact words but rather the sense of closeness, of intimacy, of trust and affection.
It's a private prayer he teaches, one we pray in our room with the door shut, not a prayer we pray on a street corner to call attention to ourselves. In private, then, he says, feel free to address God in a way that reminds you instantly that God loves you completely, that you have God's complete attention, as a child has her mother or father's complete attention. The Lord gives us this freedom.

But if the Lord's Prayer is a model for personal prayer, Jesus also teaches us in it to cherish and to believe in our relationships with our neighbors, all our neighbors. There are no singular personal pronouns in the Lord's Prayer; even when we're alone in our private space -- lying in bed, or sitting in our chair -- we're connected to other people. If our praying doesn't make us more human -- more compassionate,  more patient, more interested, more faithful, more understanding, more reasonable, more gentle, more devoted, more loving -- then maybe we need to think about the pronouns we're using.

Because Christianity is about relationships. This is obvious, but it's so important.
It's easy to live in an unrelated world. We can be shoulder-to-shoulder with other people but have no sense of common humanity.

I flew to New York this past week to visit my Mom -- we had a fine time together.
But I was aware of contrasts: being distant when I was close, and being close when I'm distant. This sounds odd, but you've all experienced it. First, boarding my flight -- hundreds of people, mostly strangers, everyone focused on finding their seat, turning off the lights, and getting some sleep (it was a red-eye from L.A. to New York). I noticed several orthodox Jewish men boarding the plane, obvious by their dress. A Buddhist gentleman sat next to me, dressed in floor-length red and yellow fabric. I thought to myself: a Protestant minister, a Buddhist monk, and several Jewish rabbis boarded an airplane -- sounds like a joke waiting for a punch line. Then I thought, America is such a diverse and wonderful place -- and here's America all around me on my flight! Then I thought, as no one wanted to talk with anyone, but just to sleep, that it's a shame there can't be some way in airplanes that we can't look at each other and smile and celebrate our humanity. We can be so close and so distant at the same time.

But then, sitting at dinner with my Mom in her retirement community and being served by a wonderfully kind woman who asked, Mrs. Buehler, would you like your strawberry ice cream for dessert tonight? -- to which my mother immediately said Yes! -- I knew that while I may live 3,000 miles away, my Mom is cared for by people who know what she likes. So we can be distant, but thanks to the miracle of human kindness, we are close. It's like the church on Sunday when we're together, but somehow also together Monday to Saturday, when we're apart.

When we pray the Lord's Prayer, Our Father, who art in heaven, we are praying a prayer that is as down-to-earth as it can be, because it teaches us each time we say it, that in Jesus Christ we are brought close to our father, and in Jesus Christ we are brought close to our neighbors, regardless of distance.

So we are taught, each time we say it, to practice what we pray. Give us this day our daily bread; it can also be translated Give us today our bread for tomorrow.
We say these words and we think of Jesus, how often we see him breaking bread, how often he cared for the physical needs of people; how one of his greatest miracles centered upon multiplying loaves of bread so a crowd could eat its fill; how he broke bread with sinners, showing them God's own hospitality; how he broke bread with his disciples, telling them that he too would be broken, and that they needed to remember him, his death and resurrection, when they gathered together and broke bread.

When we say Give us today our bread for tomorrow, we know he will be with us, that our needs will be provided for, that we always have enough to give to others.
Practicing generosity, especially toward the poor, is how we grow in understanding God's generosity, God's love.

So also the prayer, Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. It's not a quid pro quo -- we don't have to earn God's forgiveness; it's grace to us. Yet Jesus teaches us that prayer is not a one-way communication: if we do not intend to forgive others, to make forgiveness integral to our way of life, then we should neither ask for not expect forgiveness ourselves. Granted it takes practice, and practice involves making mistakes, and not being perfect. But perfection is never an object of prayer. What Jesus cares about is our understanding that we can effect change; we can change the world. It takes courage and love, but forgiveness is our God-given way of breaking cycles of hatred, violence, and hopelessness. Forgiveness is at the core of what it means to be a follower of Jesus. Pray for forgiveness, and never stop, he says. Pray for the grace to forgive, he says, and never stop. Practice what you pray for, and you will discover how God answers prayer.

And resist evil: Lead us not into temptation -- Which is to say that
Christians are realists; we know that temptation is around us -- we don't have to go looking for it. We know perfectly well, with the Apostle Paul, that while many things may be lawful, not all things are beneficial. We know we can harm ourselves with good things.

If you haven't seen the movie "Amazing Grace," the story of William Wilberforce and his campaign against the British slave trade in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, do yourself the favor of seeing it. Essentially it's the story of Britain deciding which was more important: goodness, or the good life. Their wealth and power, after all, were built on the African slave trade, as was America's to a great extent -- challenging the morality of human slavery threatened the economy and influence of the Empire. It is a captivating story and deserves to be better known.
If you go, be sure to listen for one man's testimony about Jesus, and let me know how it affected you!

If the wealth and power of some are gained at the cost of the rights and freedom of others, then Jesus' followers must speak up. In the Lord's Prayer, we pray for strength for ourselves and for strength to challenge evil. We start with the temptations we face, confident that God gives strength to deal with personal demons. We also affirm that God gives us strength to resist evil in the world.

Generosity, forgiveness, strength -- as we put into practice Jesus' prayer for his disciples, we become the disciples Jesus prays for. We become more like him.

As we become more like him, we give others a glimpse of his kingdom. Thy kingdom come. How many times we pray this! It's a huge prayer; it's Jesus' own prayer. When we say it ourselves we're putting our voice together with his voice, we're aligning our heart with his heart.

There is no greater prayer than this: Thy kingdom come! Great God, let your mercy and justice be known in all the earth, and give us strength to bear witness to your life-changing grace here and now.

Lord, let us pray always with confidence, trusting your work in our world, how you make all things new. We are grateful to you that there is no prayer of ours that is too small, or too great, that we can pray for daily bread as well as for the coming of your heavenly kingdom.

Lord Jesus, you have given us the prayer of your own heart. We are grateful that we have learned it by heart. Help us now to live as we pray.