Prayer

Prayer

March 10, 2017

en·ig·mat·ic

enəɡˈmadik/

adjective
difficult to interpret or understand; mysterious.
"he took the money with an enigmatic smile"
synonyms: mysterious, inscrutable, puzzling, mystifying, baffling, perplexing, impenetrable, unfathomable, sphinx-like, Delphic, oracular; cryptic, elliptical, ambiguous, equivocal, paradoxical, obscure, oblique, secret.

It's hard for even me to believe, but I've been in church leadership for over 40 years now.  That means countless sermons, thousands of Bible lessons, one-on-one question and answers, counseling, guiding, leading, teaching and sharing.  What never ceases to amaze me is how so many people - churched and unchurched alike - are intimidated by prayer.  Perhaps a few object, "Not me!  I pray all the time."

Really?!

Be honest.  When was the last time you led prayer in church?

My experience and observation - the last is obviously subjective, I do not know the heart of man except my own, and evidence would say I may be wrong in several areas in that regard.  Still, I would say that the adjective, "enigmatic," would be used by many in describing prayer.  The questions asked of me in regards to prayer do reflect that many, if not most, of us find prayer to be "difficult to understand," "mysterious," "puzzling," or "unfathomable."  Oh, I do have a bit more evidence to support my theory.  It seems that even Jesus' closest disciples were perplexed by prayer.  The lesson of the model prayer was in answer to their question, "Lord, teach us how we ought to pray!"  I believe that neither they, nor the folks I've known are terminally weird.  It is likely true that Christians have been intimidated by prayer for 2,000 years.

I like the Model Prayer.  By the way, you probably refer to it as the Lord's Prayer.  I don't.  No, it is merely a model prayer Jesus gave in response to the plea of His disciples to teach them how to pray, and that request likely came in response to witnessing How Jesus prayed. That is part of the reason I prefer to bestow such an honorable title on something grand, majestic and beautiful - one of Jesus' prayers.  So, for me, the Lord's Prayer is the title I give to John 17 - Jesus' high priestly prayer on the night He was betrayed.  It was not a model, a skeleton of a prayer.  Rather, it is the record of a beloved Son calling His Dad.  It helps to remember that Jesus, the Son, is the Messiah, the Anointed One - Prophet, Priest and King.  It is touching, heart-breaking, encouraging and inspiring.  Do you realize Jesus didn't just talk to God about the two of them, he talked about His disciples, and He talked about you and me?  The disciples obviously witnessed the event, recorded it and shared it with posterity.  I think they likely learned something from the experience, and coupled with what Jesus taught them about prayer, they became pray-ers.  I think we can learn something from all this as well.

Prayer of righteous men and women works.

You are made righteous by grace through faith in Jesus Christ

(when you pray in Jesus' name, it's like sending God a letter signed by Jesus)

God listens.

(It's not like getting an appointment with the President - Jesus gets you in the door)

God is not the grammar police.

(thees and thous and a thousand other silly rules do not apply to a God who can speak with angels)

It's okay to do nothing more than pound your fists and cry.

(the Spirit, who knows your heart puts into words what is too deep for you to speak)

Nothing, absolutely nothing can separate you from the love God has for you.

(but your heart can betray you - lean not on your own understanding - trust God)

Jesus taught you that you can call God, Abba

(not the pop group, but the loving Father Who just wants to hear from you)

You can learn from others.

The Bible doesn't just record Jesus' prayer.  His prayers are recorded, as are the prayers of Nehemiah and David and Solomon and....

Find them in the books of the Bible, read them in the Psalms, be encouraged by the stories behind them.  Look at how everyday people poured out to God their hopes, dreams, pleas, praises and problems.  Find encouragement in how God listened.  Be inspired in how He answered.

Oh, Jesus did teach something else...

Be persistent.