Prayer: What Difference Does It Make Luke 18:1-8 Psalm 88

Transcription

1 Prayer: What Difference Does It Make Luke 18:1-8 Psalm 88 WHY PRAY? There is a story (told by Richard Mouw, former president of Fuller Seminary) about a tourist who observes a devout Jewish man praying at the Western ( Wailing ) Wall in Jerusalem. The Jew rocks back and forth with closed eyes, beating his breast, sometimes raising his hands. When he finishes, the tourist asks, What do you pray for? The Jew responds, I pray for righteousness. I pray for the health of my family. I pray for peace in the world, especially in Jerusalem. Are these prayers effective? the tourist asks. The man responds, It s like talking to a wall. The story is funny, until you consider how truly and unbearably painful it is to feel like your prayers are not heard. I know several people who walked away from their Christian faith because of unanswered prayers. Prayer seems futile to the mother who begged God for her son s life and then watched him die of cancer. Prayer seems like a meaningless exercise to those who have lost everything to fire or tornado or hurricane. Others argue that if God already knows everything anyway, what is the point of praying at all? If you cannot change a changeless God, why bother with prayers? Are prayers just a meaningless jumble of words lifted to a deity who has already determined our fate? WE PRAY BECAUSE JESUS DID Philip Yancey has an answer to this question. He acknowledges the deep and profound pain of those who ask the above questions, and admits that sometimes there are no answers to why some endure such painful suffering. However, regarding the question of why we should pray, he says, we should pray because Jesus did. If Jesus prayed, and prayed often, then there must be something we can learn. The Gospels record over a dozen prayers by Jesus. At least 5 times the writers record that Jesus prayed alone. Jesus prayer life was so compelling, that his disciples beg for him to teach them to pray. Jesus prayed for all sorts of things, in all sorts of situations. In the Lord s Prayer he teaches us to pray for common every day things like daily bread, temptations, and broken relationships. Jesus prays during times of trouble like during his temptation in the desert or in the Garden of Gethsemane before being led away to be crucified. He prayed for others like Lazarus, Peter, and the little children that were in the crowds. He prayed for spiritual recharging, like the passage we studied a few weeks ago in Mark 1, or when he went to be by himself after the feeding of the 5,000. And, though we don t have time to discuss this fully today, it is worth noting that not all of Jesus prayers were answered either. He prayed that Peter would not fall into temptation, but he did. Jesus prayed that all of his believers would become one, and Sermon given on 2/22/15 Page 1 of 5

2 obviously with the many denominations in the world, that hasn t happened either. However, in spite of these failed requests, Jesus continued to pray. Ultimately, we can say that Jesus prayed as if it made a difference, as if the time he devoted to prayer mattered every bit as much as the time he devoted to caring for people. As you examine Jesus prayer life it becomes clear that prayer gave him guidance and energy to know and to do the Father s will. We talked about this specifically a few weeks ago in studying Mark 1. Jesus spent the day healing almost everyone in town including Simon Peter s mother-in-law. The disciples seem to want him to stay in Capernaum and continue teaching in the synagogue and healing others. But after prayer, Jesus seems to have the clarity, guidance, and energy to go and do other ministry. He tells the disciples they must go to other towns and proclaim the message because that is what I came to do. He knows his purpose and mission after spending time in prayer. Perhaps the most surprising thing about Jesus prayer life is that prayer is the way he battles evil and finds the strength to go forward. Haddon Robinson says it this way: Where was it that Jesus sweat great drops of blood? Not in Pilate s hall, nor on his way to Golgotha. It was in the Garden of Gethsemane. There he offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries to the one who could save him from death (Hebrews 5:7) Had I been there and witnessed that struggle, I would have worried about the future. If he is so broken up when all he is doing is praying, I might have said, what will he do when he faces a real crisis? Why can t he approach this ordeal with the calm confidence of his three sleeping friends? Yet when the test came, Jesus walked to the cross with courage, and his three friends fell apart, and fell away. (Philip Yancey quoting Haddon Robinson in Focal Point magazine) WE PRAY BECAUSE JESUS TOLD US TO PRAY So, we can learn a lot from Jesus vibrant prayer life. But, we can also learn and be inspired from the fact that Jesus not only modeled prayer, he also told us to pray. The parable that we read from Luke begins by saying Jesus told them a parable about the need to pray always and not to lose heart. Jesus obviously understood the temptation to give up in prayers that seem to fall on deaf ears. Yet, he tells this parable to encourage us in those moments when it feels like we are indeed just talking to a wall. We need to be careful in reading this parable, because you can read it and assume that God is represented by the unjust judge and humankind is represented by the persistent widow. Yet, this is not the correct interpretation. Instead, we need to read this parable without making it into an allegory. The unjust judge does not represent God, he represents himself. This is a story about the very worst human you can imagine. He is greedy, lazy, power hungry, and never does anything to help the people around him. The widow, who also represents herself, is one who is desperate for justice. She begs this judge relentlessly until he finally gives in and grants her request. Sermon given on 2/22/15 Page 2 of 5

3 Jesus uses this story to say, if the very worst kind of person on the planet can be made to give justice to this persistent widow, how much more can you depend upon a loving and merciful God? Now, I know that it sometimes feels like our prayers are being offered to an unjust judge instead of a loving God, but I assure you this is not the case. In the weeks to come we will discuss unanswered prayers more fully. But for now, I hope that it is enough to say that God loves each one of us in the deepest way. When we feel pain and sadness, God feels pain and sadness. Why do bad things still happen? The answers are complicated, but the ultimate truth is that even in the midst of our pain God s love is still there for each and every one of us. THE WRESTLING MATCH When you feel like your prayers are going up to an empty void, it can be helpful to look at the Psalms. The Psalms are a great prayer book. Sometimes, it can feel like you are peeking into someone else s journal and reading emotions that are raw and jagged. Other times, it feels like you are reading your own journal as the voice of the Psalmist begins to mirror your own thoughts and feelings. Psalm 88 that we read earlier is one of the rough and jagged Psalms. It doesn t have a happy ending. It is full of pain, my soul is full of troubles; I am like those who have no help; O Lord, why do you cast me off? It would be easy to tell this person, you just need to keep praying God loves you. But, doing so would dismiss the intense pain this person feels. Instead, it might be helpful to note that there are several Psalms and other stories (Job, Hosea, Jeremiah, Paul) who felt desperate and without hope and yet, continued to lift up their prayers in the midst of frustration. When we remember the story of Jacob who wrestled with God, we see that God does not turn us away when we wrestle. In fact, God seems to encourage the wrestling. It is important to remember in our relationship with God, that the opposite of love is not hate, but indifference. The writer of Psalm 88 is anything but indifferent. The writer is honest and engaged. He knows that God is faithful, loving, and merciful, and he also knows that he is not experiencing any of those aspects of God. Yet, he knows who to ask for mercy and justice. There is a dependence upon God s mercy, even if the writer does not currently feel that mercy. GOD S CO-WORKERS One thing that prayer does is to make us co-workers with God. We are not only invited to wrestle and argue against decisions that don t make sense (remember Abraham arguing with God about destroying Sodom and Gomorrah), but through our prayers we are part of God s plan of salvation for the earth. In 1 Corinthians 3:9, Paul writes, we are God s fellow workers. And, Yancey adds, as God s coworkers we are encouraged to submit our requests, our desires, and our petitions in prayer. Our prayers are a part of the work that God is doing on this earth. Sermon given on 2/22/15 Page 3 of 5

4 There are countless examples of ways in which people have seen the power of prayer in both large and small scales. Every so often an article will be published about how modern medicine has seen evidence that prayer brings healing to those with serious medical situations. In the book by Philip Yancey he lists dozens of examples of how prayer diffused potentially violent situations in former East Germany, the Ukraine, and South Africa during apartheid. Prayer is something that really does make a difference over and over around the world. Most recently, we see the power of prayer from Bishop Angaelos, head of the Coptic Orthodox Church in the United Kingdom. He posted an article on his blog regarding the beheadings of 21 Coptic Christians on a beach in Libya. He urged the Christian community to pray for the families of those who were beheaded, and then he also urged prayer for those who did the beheading. On Friday, he was interviewed by CNN, and the reporter asked him: Q: You and many others had publicly prayed for ISIS to release the Copts and yet they were killed in a brutal manner. How do you maintain faith in God or in prayer after such a horrific outcome? A: I learned a long time ago that when one prays, one prays for the best outcome, not knowing what that outcome would be. Of course, I prayed that they would be safe. But I also prayed that, when the moment came, they would have the peace and strength to be able to get through it. It doesn't change my view of God that these 21 men died in this way. They were sacrificed, but so much has come out of it. They brought the imminent dangers to marginalized peoples, not just Christians, but Yazidis and others in the Middle East, to the attention of the whole world. This Bishop emphasizes that prayer is important, even if the result is different than our prayers. We pray, because we it matters. Prayer may not have prevented this beheading, but that doesn t mean that the prayers didn t matter. IT MAKES A DIFFERENCE In the end, we pray because we cannot help it. We need God in our lives, and we connect with God through prayer. Jesus prayed, and asked us to pray. Jesus told us to pray and not lose heart. And so, we pray. Sometimes, we pray confused or angry prayers, relying upon God to sort out our emotions and troubles. The important thing is not to always pray happy or even confident prayers. The important thing is to keep praying, and keep trusting, because our prayers do matter in the world, they matter in the ways that they change us, and our prayers matter to God. So, let us continue to pray and not lose heart. Amen. Sermon given on 2/22/15 Page 4 of 5

5 Bishop Angaelos, head of the Coptic Orthodox Church in the United Kingdom While it may seem illogical or incomprehensible, we also pray for those who have carried out these horrific crimes, that the value of God's creation and human life may become more evident to them, and in this realisation, that the wider effects of pain brought by this and other acts of brutality may be realised and avoided. We pray for an end to the dehumanisation of captives who become mere commodities to be bartered, traded and negotiated with. Bishop Angaelos Q: You and many others had publicly prayed for ISIS to release the Copts and yet they were killed in a brutal manner. How do you maintain faith in God or in prayer after such a horrific outcome? A: I learned a long time ago that when one prays, one prays for the best outcome, not knowing what that outcome would be. Of course, I prayed that they would be safe. But I also prayed that, when the moment came, they would have the peace and strength to be able to get through it. It doesn't change my view of God that these 21 men died in this way. They were sacrificed, but so much has come out of it. They brought the imminent dangers to marginalized peoples, not just Christians, but Yazidis and others in the Middle East, to the attention of the whole world. from CNN.COM By Daniel Burke, CNN Religion Editor Updated 3:54 PM ET, Fri February 20, 2015 Sermon given on 2/22/15 Page 5 of 5