Teach Us to Pray

Proper 12, Year C
 
Hosea 1:2-10         or         Genesis 18:20-32
Psalm 85                or         Psalm   138
Colossians 2:6-15                                     
Luke 11:1-13        
 
The disciples kept seeing Jesus going off some quiet place to pray, usually alone, at almost any time of the day or night.  They wondered about it; they knew it was important to Jesus, and their interest gradually piqued to a point where they wanted to know more about it: "Lord, teach us to pray."
 
As I was growing up, I used to see my mother praying.  Sometimes kneeling at her bed, sometimes sitting in a chair, sometimes with a pen in hand creating a note of wisdom or guidance that would be taped to the wall of our bedroom.  Like the disciples, it made me curious about what prayer was all about, and gradually, over the years, I began to explore prayer, too.
 
Jesus captured his teachable moment in Luke 1 by not only teaching the disciples what things to say in prayer, but also how and why to pray.  He began by giving them the now famous Lord's Prayer (the more common version is found in Matthew's record of this story).  It immediately set the tone for what prayer is all about – emphasizing the unity of God with all of His children – "Father, Our Father..."  Everyone is part of God's family; we're all connected in one way or another through our relationship with God, our Father.  God unites; evil divides.

"Your Kingdom come..."  Jesus reminds us that the main purpose for our prayers is to unite God's Kingdom with our lives, not only at some point in the future when Jesus returns to earth via the "Second Coming," but right now, right here, in our very own hearts and minds.  Jesus frequently reminds us that the Kingdom of God is actually already here, surrounding us, and within us.  All we have to do is open our hearts and minds to receive it. 
 
The purpose of praying is not to bring the Kingdom of God from some other distant place into our lives through some special incantation, but to dissolve the things surrounding our hearts that are blocking us from receiving the Kingdom right now.  Prayer is not just reciting words from a book, getting to the end, and feeling that we have accomplished something.  Prayer is a tool for changing the state of our minds to become channels for feeling the Presence of God, receiving the power of His love for us and the world, and turning this transformation into action for ourselves and others.  We may reach this point early in a prayer session, or later.  When this channel is opened, we can listen, learn, ask, and grow in His love.
 
"Our daily bread..."  Jesus taught that people can't live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.  Our daily bread is not only the basic nutritional sustenance that we all need, but also the daily spiritual sustenance that we all need.  Nurturing by the Presence of the Holy Spirit in our hearts, meeting us at our point of need, moment by moment.  Our daily bread is no more, or no less, than what it takes to fully live each and every moment.
 
"Forgive us our sins..."  Forgiveness is of utmost importance – not only of others, but of ourselves as well.  We all have a "shadow side" that is the accumulation of mistakes, malice and misplaced desires from our past.  It means we're human, but that doesn't diminish God's love for us.  The imperfections of our shadow side result in gaps and potholes that God loves to fill with His love.  Yes, sometimes this can be painful, but it moves us toward perfection.  Acceptance and forgiveness of ourselves and others makes filling the holes possible.

"Save us from the time of trial..."  Lead us not into temptation – We ask for the Presence of God's Holy Spirit to guide us and direct us, giving us the wisdom and strength to remember that we are a child of God seeking to do His will each and every moment of the day. 
 
Jesus went on to stress that persistence in prayer was important, too.  His story about the midnight friend was not meant to mean that we must be persistent to waken a sleeping God, but that persistence in prayer was important to awaken ourselves.  We often need persistence to overcome the fetters created by a dysfunctional ego; our own self-pride, arrogance, boredom, or indifference.  The struggle with prayer is usually with ourselves, not God.
 
Our Father will give us the "good gifts", the things we really need in this life to become who we were made to be.  It may not always move as fast as we like, or come in the manner we expected, but His plans for us will come to pass regardless.
 
Eventually as we progress on our spiritual journeys, we begin to "pray always" as St. Paul wrote.  This means we always are in the proper state of mind to receive and share God's love, regardless of where we are or what we are doing.  Prayer blends into service, and service blends into prayer.  Our study blends into prayer, and leads to better service.  Our service gives us more to study. 
 
To learn to pray is to learn to live.