August 22, 2021
Today we’re talking about prayer.
Do you ever wish your prayer life were better? I do! A lot of us wish we were better pray-ers. And there are reasons we might not pray much. Like we’re not sure how to pray; we wonder if we’re doing it right. Others of us, we don’t pray because we fall asleep when we pray, or we get distracted. Like you’re praying and you remember, “Oh! I forgot to get dog food at the store!” Or we might not pray because we think God doesn’t want to hear our requests, they’re too small. God has bigger things to deal with. Or maybe we aren’t sure our prayers make a difference. God didn’t answer my prayer last time, so why pray?
I remember when my dad was in the hospital, this was not the time I talked about a few weeks ago, in the “Make it Fun” sermon, when he was so funny, he made the staff happy. This was nine months after that. He was in the hospital, and there wasn’t much more they could do for him. The time I’m talking about now was about three weeks before Dad died. And I was there with my son in the hospital room with Dad. And then he got visitors: my cousins Betty Jo and Nick, and Nick’s wife Edie. Pretty soon, Betty Jo says, “We’re going to take turns praying for Uncle Ed.” Betty Jo is one of my oldest cousins, and a take charge kind of person. When she says pray, you pray! So, we prayed. Well, when it was my turn, I couldn’t say anything! I just had tears pouring down my face. So, I passed to my son. He prayed, and I remember one thing he prayed for, “I hope there’s a Wimpy’s in heaven.” I thought he said a “Wendy’s.” but he said a Wimpy’s. Wimpy was a burger restaurant in the Midwest. If you remember Popeye, the cartoon character who loved spinach? Well, he had a friend, Wimpy, who loved burgers. That’s who the restaurant was named for. It closed years ago. But my son knew Wimpy’s was Grandpa’s favorite restaurant.
Well after we prayed, I thought, oh no, we did a poor job of praying! Because I didn’t pray anything, and we prayed for fast food restaurants in heaven! But my dad loved it, he was so thankful for that prayer! What did God think? Is it ok not to have words to pray? Are we permitted to pray for fast food restaurants in heaven? Well Jesus said in Matthew 6:7-8 “And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.” You don’t need beautiful words, or sometimes, you don’t even need any words. When your tears are flowing, your Father knows what you need. Tears are a prayer. And Jesus only had two criticisms about prayer: one criticism: those who think they have to babble, talk and talk and talk for God to answer their prayer. The other thing Jesus didn’t like is those who pray to show off, and who pray to be seen by others as holy. Jesus said in Matthew 6:5 5 “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full.” They weren’t praying to God, they were praying to raise other people’s opinions of them, more than they were praying to God. The two no-no’s for prayer are don’t babble on and on, and don’t show off.
Other than that, Jesus made no rules about what you can or cannot pray for. So, we can pray for Wimpy’s in heaven! Prayer is communicating with God. God wants us to be honest and bring whatever worry to him. 1 Peter 5:7 says, “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.” You know we should always be respectful in prayer, and worshipful. But everything that matters to us, matters to God. We can bring anything to God in prayer.
There are prayers I see in the Bible where I wonder, are you allowed to say that to God? Like Moses, when God told him he would be his instrument to free the Hebrews from their slavery. But things weren’t going well. Moses said, “Let my people go!” And Pharaoh said “No!” Then the Hebrews had to work even harder in slavery. And Moses was angry with God! He said to the Lord, in Exodus 5:22-23 “Why, Lord, why have you brought trouble on this people? Is this why you sent me? 23 Ever since I went to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has brought trouble on this people, and you have not rescued your people at all.” This was a very difficult time when Moses and the Hebrews had to live by faith. But God came through. And during that time, it was okay with God if Moses poured out to him what was on his heart, the anger and everything, in prayer. God cares for you.
The most wonderful thing about prayer is that through it God brings us close to Him. There’s a tough moment in Jesus’ ministry in the gospel of John chapter 10, but also a wonderful moment. People are divided in who they think Jesus is. Some say he is demon possessed and out of his mind. Others say, “These are not the words of one who has a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?” Some Jews ask Jesus: “Tell us, are you the Messiah?” Jesus said, I told you who I am, but you don’t believe because you aren’t my sheep. In verses 27-28 Jesus says, “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand.”
We are God’s sheep. God has made us his sheep, with Jesus the shepherd. The wonderful thing about prayer, is we can have a relationship with God, the one who protects us, loves us, knows us and gives us abundant life.
We don’t become God’s sheep by excelling at prayer. No, we are the sheep because of God: God loves us, and he sent his son, the Savior, to give us salvation. So, prayer is not something we need to feel guilty about, like we don’t think we’re good at it. It’s also not something to feel proud of, like we do it well. Jesus said showing off your prayer skills is wrong. We are saved by God, not by our praying. We pray because, we all need God, we need someone who loves us, warts and all. We were made for a loving relationship with God. We belong to God and no one can snatch us out of his hand! We pray because it’s so lifegiving to have a relationship with God in prayer!
God really changes lives through prayer. Sometimes we pray, and our prayers are self-centered. AThey’re all about me. “Give me money, give me good health. Keep my car running.” God is happy to help us and give us good things. But prayer can get to where we give God a long “honey do” list, “Honey do this,” “Honey do that.” And then we get upset when God doesn’t come through and answer a prayer. When I came to believe and follow God, my prayers were mostly about me and what I wanted. But prayer changed for me as I grew in God. When you get to the point where you experience the shepherd’s love, the forgiveness and new life God offers us, you come to God and say: thank you for loving me. Please forgive me because I really do think a lot of myself, I’m self-centered. I’m a sinner. And you finally say, “God, you are so good, you are all loving! Thank you for forgiving me! You can have my whole life, take it all, everything is yours. I die to myself and live now for you. Fill me with your Holy spirit. From now on I will follow where you lead me.” That’s the power of communicating with God in prayer! You hear the voice of the shepherd, and you commit to follow the Savior, the only one worth following.
That’s what I wish for you: that you get to experience the Savior’s love, hear the shepherd’s voice, and decide there’s no way I’ll do anything but give my life to following God! God has saved us! He calls us to relationship with him, talking to him every day, growing close to the one who can offer the only life worth living.
My homework for you this week is to think about how you communicate with God. What ways work the best for you? Maybe there’s a special place and a special time you pray each day. Or maybe you have ADHD, and you would fall asleep if you tried praying once a day. But could you start the day with thanks to God, use me for your kingdom? Could you check in with God during the day and send up a prayer? Could you pray short prayers throughout the day? So just think about what way of praying is meaningful to you.
Everybody can pray. If you can talk, you can pray! Prayer isn’t a way we earn God’s favor. Instead, prayer is a way God draws us close. It’s a way we can hear the Savior’s voice, find God’s protection, and experience the true life God offers, to the end of our days, and into eternal life. Amen.
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