Sermon Title: "Persistent Prayer "
Date: July 25, 2010
Minister:  The Rev. Susan Bjork

Lesson:  Luke 11:1-13

The disciples observed Jesus pray many times during his life.  And for certain, prayer was a regular faith practice in their Jewish culture.  Teachers, including John the Baptist, taught their students the prayers of their religious tradition which would have taken the form of regularly recited prayers with words that were passed down through the generations.

So it is natural that the disciples would have asked their teacher, Jesus, how to pray.  The question of how to pray probably was intended to ask what words ought to be used, how often one ought to pray, and other such technicalities.

Jesus first responds to this technical question by offering some words for prayer…words that have become quite familiar to Christians across the globe (with a few variances) as we recite this prayer of our Lord on a regular basis in many languages and many worship settings.

It is appropriate that this prayer has become a central part of our liturgy in the Christian church because this prayer is a prayer for the collective, for the community, for the world.

The Lord’s Prayer is not a prayer for only the individual but instead turns our attention to the broader world as we pray that God’s reign will manifest itself on earth as well as in heaven, not only in the future, but also a prayer that we might glimpse God’s goodness, justice, love, and peace here and now.  We pray in the Lord’s Prayer that all of God’s children are given their daily bread; and we pray that God will guide us in our dealings with each other, teaching us to forgive, even as we ourselves are forgiven by God for our shortcomings.

In many ways the Lord’s Prayer is a simple one, easy to remember and recite.  But it also focuses our attention to what matters most, our relationship with God and our relationships with each other.

Though Jesus begins with answering the technical question of the disciples, he then takes his answer to a deeper theological level. 

The disciples asked for a lesson on prayer and what they actually receive is a lesson on the nature of God…God’s grace, mercy, and love as well as God’s desire to be in relationship with us.

So, in order to teach this lesson to his disciples, Jesus does what he often does and shares a story…

Now I think that the parable of the friend at midnight is less a story about our interaction with God and more about our interaction with each other on a human level and the story serves as a set-up for Jesus’ contrasting understanding of how God relates to us.

Imagine this: you are living in 1st Century Palestine.  Each morning the women of your village bake enough bread for the day in the common village courtyard.  So, each day, you and your neighbors probably know who has made extra bread and might have leftovers.

Imagine that evening has come, you are weary from a long day’s work, your family has eaten supper and you have all gone to bed on the platform that sits on the floor of your one-room house. 

Now, after being asleep for several hours, you awaken with a start to knocking at the door.  You are grumpy at being awoken so you ask rather gruffly, “who is it?”

It’s your neighbor and it turns out he has some unexpected guests who have just arrived and he has no bread left to offer them after their long journey.

Annoyed at first, you try to turn him away arguing that the kids will wake up if you remove the heavy bolt from the door and open it.

But your neighbor begs and pleads and continues to knock…and so you give in (perhaps everyone has already awoken to knocking anyway).  So you open the door and give him the three loaves of bread which he knew you had.

After all, you know that hospitality in not only a nice thing to do, but it is part of your duty in your culture, both yours and your neighbor’s.  Your neighbor is honor-bound to be hospitable to the friend who showed up at his house at midnight and now so are you.  So, though you were annoyed at first, you now give in to his persistence and to your sense of duty. 

You, a human being who needs sleep, needs rested kids, and was going to use those 3 loaves of bread in the morning answer your neighbor’s need, perhaps in your own human imperfection you don’t answer so joyfully out of friendliness, but at least to get him out of your hair.  But regardless of how gladly you do it, at least you do the right thing and act hospitably toward your neighbor. 

And there, the story ends.

What then is Jesus’ point in telling this parable?

I think the point is that if even imperfect human beings are capable of being hospitable and giving their neighbor what they need, sometimes under annoying and inconvenient circumstances, then how much more capable is God to respond to the world’s prayers, to give us our daily bread, and to welcome each of us into relationship in hospitable love and compassion. 

Surely if we humans can respond to a neighbor’s need imperfectly, then how much better can God respond to our needs?  How much better does God already know our needs?  How much more available is God who does not slumber, who is parent to all children, and who has abundant bread with which to nourish us?  After all, Jesus points out, even human parents who are imperfect and make mistakes don’t usually intentionally give snakes and scorpions to the children they love who are in need of fish and eggs, intentionally substituting dangerous predators for nurture and nourishment.

So Jesus said “ask”…ask and what you need will be given to you by a God of generous grace.  “Search”…search and you will find the spiritual grounding you seek.  “Knock”…knock and the door will be opened for you in welcoming hospitality by a God who invites you into ever-deepening relationship with God’s very self.

Essentially, in response to his disciple’s question about how to pray, Jesus gave them a reason to pray.

Jesus affirmed for them that God is a giver, a door opener, and one who guides us in finding what we deeply seek.

But what we must keep in mind is that this does not give us permission to think that God is there to blindly grant us whatever wishes we make.  Affirming that God hears and responds to our prayers and provides us with what we need is not the same as saying that God will give us whatever we want, if only we pray hard enough. 

Prayer is effective not because of our will or because we use the right words, but because God’s nature is grace.

Remember, Jesus’ prayer was that God’s will (not ours) be done, and God’s kingdom (not ours) would be known on earth as it is in heaven.  Jesus’ prayer was about devotion and worship and is hopefully offered from opens hearts which seek to discern and endeavor to live out God’s will, call, and vision.

So perhaps persistent prayer is not pesky prayer that asks that our every whim be granted, but rather a deeper affirmation that persistence in prayer is discipline in prayer, diligence in prayer…courage, honesty, and vulnerability in prayer…a recognition that God is our good and loving parent who has high hopes for our collective wellbeing and is waiting for us to ask for guidance, support, and sustenance.

Perhaps it is really God who is the persistent one in inviting us to pray.

In these next few moments, Michelle and Alicia will play a meditation during which I want you to get comfortable, maybe even close your eyes, maybe hold your hands open in a receptive pose and as contemplative music fills our house of worship, let us together go to God in silent prayer.  What is it that you want to ask in this moment?  What is it that you seek at this point in your life?  What door are you standing in front of poised to knock?

{Flute and Piano Meditation: Largo by Francesco Maria Veracini}

Faith is not simply a light bulb with an on-off switch.  Rather, faith is more like a fire that needs tending.  Prayer is like kindling that can bring barely glowing coals back to life so we may receive new fuel from our generous and gracious God, ignited by the power of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.