The Nazarene: Prayer
First I'll start by telling you which Gospel I'm getting this all from. I'm taking the Gospel reading from 3 weeks ago, the 17 Sunday in ordinary time. It's Luke 11:1-13. This reading includes a version of the Our Father, which is kind of cool. Anyway... on to my little mini-sermon. My fingers are crossed... ; )
THE NAZARENE: PRAYER
First of all, Jesus instructs his disciples to pray this: "Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread and forgive us our sins as we ourselves forgive everyone in debt to us, and do not subject us to the final test." Make note that the very first thing in that prayer is all about God. Not the person praying. "Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come." God even your name is Holy. YOUR kingdom come, [YOUR Will be done]. The next part of the prayer is about the person praying, and has a catch. "Give us each day our daily bread," to me this says, provide us with what we need to survive, help us. "...and forgive us our sins as we ourselves forgive everyone in debt to us." That's important right there... don't be a hypocrite. If you have hurt or offended God, and are asking for forgiveness, why not grant that same forgiveness to somebody who has done the same to you? I have done this on several occasions, it's difficult, yes, but you don't have to be God when you do it. You don't have to forgive and then everthing's great... you need to forgive, still love that person, but don't feel obligated to become that person's new best friend. It doesn't need to be like that. Just be kinda nice to the person - don't be rude. "...and do not subject us to the final test." I think that's a bit self explanitory, but to be honest, I'm a bit confused as to how I can interperet that, so I'll skip it and get to more of His teachings.
Jesus then gives a parable... these are fun to figure out! I've had to re-read one, like, 5 times to figure it out. This one's pretty easy though. "Suppose one of you has a friend to whom he goes at midnight and says, 'Friend, lend me three loaves of bread, for a friend of mine has arrived at my house from a journey and I have nothing to offer him,' and he says in reply from within, 'Do not bother me; the door is locked and my children and I are already in bed. I cannot get up to give you anything.' I tell you, if he does not get up to give him whatever he needs because of their friendship, he will get up to give him whatever he needs because of his persistance." Take some time and try to figure it out yourselves before you go on...
Here's what I think...
The man in bed represents God. The man at the window represents you, me, or anybody else who is praying. If you re-read Jesus' conclusion to the parable, you'll notice it says that if he doesn't give the friend the bread because he's his friend, he'll do it because of his persistance. If you ask God for something, you probably shouldn't expect it the first time. You might get it the first time, but don't expect it. You could be let down. Persistance is key.
If God doesn't give you something, or for that matter help you with something or provide you with something, or answer your prayers for that matter, keep praying. Abraham prayed for a long time for a son, and when he got one, he was overjoyed. God then told him to sacrifice his son to Him, and Abraham proceeded to do so, but God stopped him and gave him praise and blessings. He tested his faith. But you need to be praying for the right reason, and you need a strong faith. Don't pray for money... how will that glorify God? A son can be raised to be a faithful child, who can be rewarding to his father and to his Father. Praying for somebody's spiritual growth is something that will glorify God. I pray for things like that, as well as my own spiritual growth, and protection - and I'm persistant about it all.
The last part of that week's Gospel talks about "Answer to Prayer." That's the good stuff, right? Here comes a very famous quote in the world of the faithful, and probably some who aren't quite there yet, too. It's one of my favorites.
"And I tell you, ask and you will receive; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, recieves; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. What father among you would hand his son a snake when he asks for a fish? Or a scorpion when he asks for an egg? If you then, who are wicked, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the Father in heaven give the holy Spirit to those who ask him?"
That's awesome... I love that. That last part is so great. If even the unrighteous, the criminals, the bad guys, will give their children good gifts... what's going to happen when you ask God, (a perfect being, one who loves you beyond comprehension and who created you, of whom we are ALL children) for the holy Spirit? That's a gift He probably wants to give you anyway! Again... I love that.
The best part about prayer is, it's free... you get unlimited anytime minutes, free nights and weekends, long distance is free, and every time you do it, the person on the other side is loving it... loving that you would take time out of your day to talk, and that He crossed your mind. I know He's permanantly Crossed mine. When I think of "love," I think of the crucifix. It's said that saying "I love you this much" and spreading your arms apart comes from Jesus. That works for me... start praying, and thank Him for that... it's free, and could make the people on both ends feel great.
Amen.
God bless, and have a great week everybody.
Shane