This is my second sermon at Mayo Clinic in Rochester for my summer CPE (Clinical Pastoral Education) chaplaincy internship. This sermon was given to the patients in the inpatient mental health building. The text is Luke 11:1-13.
Sisters and brothers in Christ, grace to you and peace from God our Creator and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Prayer is a central part of being a Christian. It is key to following Jesus. Although Christians are divided by many issues, and there are people here in this room from a variety of denominations, pretty much all Christians agree that prayer is important.
Although it’s clear that prayer is important to being a Christian, it’s a big topic, and something that most of us probably don’t think about a whole lot. There’s a lot of room for confusion, so let’s take a few minutes today to explore what prayer is and what it is not.
In fact, if we look at today’s Gospel story from Luke, we can see that we’re in good company. The disciples, those people who were actually following Jesus around in person, even they were confused about prayer. The reading from Luke starts off with the disciples seeing Jesus praying, and then they come to him and ask him to teach them how to pray. They wanted to know what he was doing, and they wanted to do it too, because they saw that it was good.
So Jesus gives them a great example of prayer, a prayer that we still use today, that we call the Lord’s Prayer, or the Our Father. Later in the service today, we’ll end our prayer time by praying in the words Jesus gave his disciples. Christians around the globe are joined together, praying this prayer in many languages every day. What a great gift connecting us to the church all over the world and throughout history!
Then, after Jesus teaches the disciples how to pray, he tells them some stories, some parables, about prayer. I believe that there a lot of misunderstandings about prayer. Sometimes I’m not completely sure what I believe about prayer. In Jesus’ stories to the disciples, it kind of sounds like he’s saying that if we just pray hard enough, God will hear our prayers and give us what we want. It sounds like we’re trying to make God give in to us. But that’s not how prayer works. That’s not what Jesus is saying. While it is good to be persistent in going to God in prayer, I think Jesus is actually talking here about being shameless. We’re children of God. We don’t need to be afraid to go to God in prayer! God knows us, and we are in relationship with God. Every relationship needs communication. Prayer is just having a conversation with the God who is deeply in love with us.
I think as human beings, we naturally want to know how stuff works. When Jesus tells us to pray, we want to know what words to use, what to say and how to say it. We want to know the best way to pray in order for God to hear us.
But that’s not really the issue. God is not a cosmic vending machine up there in the sky that only works if we put in exact change, praying the exact right words. Prayer is not rubbing a magic lamp, or writing a list to Santa Claus so we’ll get good presents. Jesus isn’t trying to tell us the secret key to unlocking God’s gifts. In fact, elsewhere in the Bible, Jesus says that God knows our needs before we even ask!
Instead, in this story, Jesus seems more interested in inviting the disciples, inviting us, to pray than in explaining exactly how prayer works. What’s so unique about this story is not the mere fact that Jesus prays, but the way he prays. Jesus addresses God as a parent, as a family member. Maybe that’s not such a radical idea to us. After all, we know that Jesus is God’s son.
But Jesus goes a step farther. He tells us to pray to God as Father, as a parent. We are children of God too!
The way Jesus teaches us to pray is about relationship, not about visible answers. I do believe God answers prayers, but I don’t believe we always see the answers. Sometimes, it seems like God doesn’t even hear our prayers at all. Yes, sometimes when we pray we get clear answers, and that’s great. What a blessing! But sometimes, I know I pray in faith for good things, and what I pray for still doesn’t happen.
Jesus doesn’t say to us that we should pray so that we will get blessings. He just invites us to pray. He invites us to recognize our place as children of God. He invites us into a relationship with the God who created us, with the God who loves us no matter what we have done, or what we will do.
We are called to give our burdens over to God. In the words of the hymn we’ll sing after this sermon, “What a privilege to carry, Everything to God in prayer!” It is in God’s arms that we find comfort. We’re called to give our burdens over to the Lord in prayer. Sometimes, just bringing our concerns to God in prayer gives us comfort, knowing that God cares for each of us, that God is here with us in our struggles. What a gift!
Sometimes, people ask if someone believes that prayer works. I don’t think that’s the right question, because prayer isn’t an object or a formula. Prayer is just how we talk to God. So, I don’t think I can explain how prayer works, or exactly what it is. But I do believe in the God who loves us and hears all of our prayers.
Ultimately, we pray because Jesus prayed, and because he told us to. We’re obediently following the example of our Lord. Prayer is a key part of being a Christian, because it’s about being in relationship with God. When we’re in relationships with other people, we talk to them. That’s what prayer is. It’s talking with God.
Amen. And may the peace of God which passes all understanding keep our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen.