7/29/01
Jesus' Habits of Highly Effective Prayer - Luke 11:1-13
(view lectionary notes on this text)
In the past few years, self-help books like The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People or The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Families have become very popular, as people try to find just the right formula to live a successful and happy life. People want solutions to their problems, and they want them in a compact, simple, and understandable format. When Jesus' disciples ask Jesus for a lesson on prayer, they too are expressing a wish for a simple solution on how to talk to God. They want The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Prayer. They say that they want a prayer to pray just as John the Baptist gave prayers to his disciples. It was common practice in those days to have a traditional formulaic prayer that would express the needs and concerns of a specific group. Jesus' disciples are asking for a prayer to meet their own needs as a group.
Jesus responds to their request with a short prayer and some teachings about prayer. He keeps it clear and simple, and gives the disciples – and us – insights on to conversing with God. The prayer recorded in the book of Luke is shorter than that found in Matthew, the version known to most Christians today, but it expresses the same basic ideas that make the well-known prayer as meaningful as it can be. Today, in church services around the world, the Lord's Prayer is recited every Sunday. Do we find it as meaningful as Jesus meant it to be for his disciples? Unfortunately, too often we rattle of the words without giving them much thought. We don't really think about what we are saying, what we are promising, what we are asking of God. But Jesus meant for this prayer to be of comfort and encouragement for us, and his teachings can still provide knowledge and guidance for us today. If we examine this prayer and Jesus' words closely, we just might find the habits of effective prayer that we so desire.
Theologian Sang Sung Lee describes the Lord's prayer as a prayer of salvation, a prayer that mends the broken relationships with our lives. According to Lee, the fall of Adam and Eve represents relationship breakdowns. Their dishonesty broke their relationship with God. The deceptive snake's actions led to the rift between humans and nature. And the interactions between Adam and Eve over the eating of the fruit led to shattered human relationships. Jesus brings the new prayer to the disciples as a prayer for salvation, a prayer for healing of broken relationships.
When we pray, "thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven", we are praying for what God desires to come to fruition on earth. We are saying that we will be obedient to God's wishes for us. The doing of God's will would mend our broken relationship with God. When we pray "give us this day our daily bread", we speak of the natural order of life. We get our food, our very ability to live, from the plants, water, and animals that make up the creation. When we pray for our daily bread, we seek reconciliation between humanity and nature. When we pray, "Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us," we are saying that we know that we have to work on our human relationships. We are saying we want our human relationships to be like a relationship with God should be. We are saying that we know our human relationships mean compromise and giving on both sides. When we pray about forgiving and being forgiven, we are asking for a renewal and healing of our relationships with one another. In this small prayer, Jesus teaches us to seek healing for the problems and hurts that have been with us throughout human history. He effectively covers all the bases in this powerful but under-appreciated prayer.
But Jesus doesn't just teach us what to pray for. He goes beyond, and teaches us how to pray, and what we should expect from God. Jesus tells us that most importantly, we should know that God wishes us the best in response to our prayers. What parent gives his child something bad when the child seeks something good? No loving parent would do such a thing. Likewise, God, who loves us, does not answer us with bad when we come seeking good. "Ask and it will be given you" Jesus says. However, by these words Jesus doesn't teach us that God always gives us a quick fix to our desperate prayers for help.
In fact, sometimes we cannot see how God is answering our prayers. We doubt the simplicity of Jesus' statements. "Ask, and it shall be given to you?" It can't be that easy. We question Jesus' words because we know that our prayers don't always produce the results for which we are hoping. Surely we don't always get what we ask for? So what can we make of Jesus' assertion? One pastor believes that there are many simple reasons that we don't seem to get what we want through prayer. First, we simply fail to ask. We are afraid to ask for what we want or need, afraid of asking for the wrong thing, afraid God doesn't have time for us or doesn't care about our concerns. So we simply don't ask God about what is on our minds. James 4:2 is quite clear about this: You want something but don't get it. You do not have because you do not ask God. Jesus encourages. "Ask" he says. The form of the word Jesus uses is an imperative, a command. Jesus doesn't just suggest we ask God for our needs. He commands it.
Second, we ask for the wrong things. We know what falls into this category. We ask God for the easy way out, when really we need something to challenge us. We ask God to make us successful and prosperous, when really wealth only makes it more difficult to be close to God. We ask God to make deals with us: Protect my now, and I promise I will never skip devotions again. We ask God for things that aren't good for us. It is as if, instead of asking for the fish, like the example in Jesus' teaching, we ask for the serpent, the thing that is bad for us and harmful to us. What parent would grant a child's request for something harmful and hurtful? Sometimes God does not answer our prayer with what we want because God knows better than we do how to keep us healthy and happy.
Third, we ask for the wrong reasons. Sometimes our requests to God aren't so bad. We ask that our boss at work might notice the good job we've been doing. This request is not so bad, right? But what if our reason for wanting to be noticed is because we are jealous of our co-worker who always gets the praise? Our reason for our request is wrong, and so God does not respond in the way we are seeking. James 4:3 says: When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives. God can see through selfish requests to the motives the prompt them.
Fourth, sometimes we just don't believe God will respond. We ask for what our heart truly desires, but we don't really expect God to help. The Bible tells us that if we have faith enough, we can save to a mountain, "Move", and it will. However, if we don't have faith in God to answer our prayers, how can we expect any response? Jesus urges us to expect answers. Ask: it will be given. Seek: you will find. Knock: it will be opened. We can pray with confidence the God will respond.
We have so many hang-ups and concerns that prevent us from ever hearing God's response to our prayers. Once we get past these, we can begin to hear what God is saying to us. So just what is God saying? Jesus shows us that God seeks only to answer our prayers with what will be best for us. But this doesn't mean that God always responds with what we want, as we know all to well. So how can God answer our prayers?
God can answer us in many ways that fall into a few basic categories.God can tell us Yes and No. These answers are simple to understand. When we're right on track, when our request is heartfelt and on target, God says yes, and helps make things happen. We just need to remember to thank God for God's actions when things go our way. God says No sometimes too, when our requests don't make sense, when they are harmful to ourselves or others, or when God simply has something else – something better – in the cards for us. Even though we don't like to hear "no," we still need to thank God for answering our prayers and redirecting us. But God can answer in other ways, sometimes ways that are harder for us to figure out. God can say "not right now," or "not yet." God can say, "is that what you really want? Maybe you should rephrase your question." But no matter what God answers, God wants us to keep talking, keep praying, and keep listening. Like a parent to a child, God wants us to open up, and share our deepest concerns and desires, and like a parent to a child, God will listen and act in our best interests.
If we let it be, the Lord's Prayer and Jesus' teachings can be great models for our prayer life. Don't get bogged down in words that seem confusing or even boring from thoughtless repetition. Make prayer come alive for you – let it be real conversation – a two-way dialogue, between you and God. Though the Lord's Prayer is in the language of the King James Version of the Bible that we know so well, try to get beyond the flowery language to the real meaning of the words. Take some time and write the Lord's Prayer in your own words. What does it mean to you to say that God's name is hallowed? What do you think of when you say, "lead me not into temptation?" What would it look like to you for God's will to be done on earth? So take the time to pray the Lord's Prayer in your own words, and let it come alive for you, as you listen for God's response.
I'd like to close with a version of the Lord's Prayer written by Eugene Peterson, in his popular contemporary translation of the Bible, the Message. Hear how personal and relational the prayer is, and imagine the possibilities for your prayers with God.
O God in heaven. Reveal who you are. Set the world right; Do what's best – as above, so below. Keep us alive with three square meals. Keep us forgive with you and forgive others. Keep us safe from ourselves in the Devil. You're in charge! You can do anything you want! You're ablaze in beauty! Yes. Yes. Yes. Amen.