St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Wesley Chapel, FL
Preacher: The Rev. Adrienne R. Hymes
Proper 12/Year C: July 24, 2022
Luke 11:1-13
It has been a little over one week since I returned from serving in the House of Deputies for the General Convention of the Episcopal Church. A highlight was the gift, and rhythm, of shared morning worship which offered the necessary foundation in Jesus for the work we had gathered to do. In the months leading up to General Convention, the Chaplain for the House of Deputies, The Rev. Lester Mackenzie, offered an online devotion entitled, “Prayer for the House of Deputies.” In this offering, Fr. Mackenzie said that, “As Pilgrims of Jesus, we must pray, for prayer is living with God. To pray is to live with God.” He then urged us to ask ourselves the question, “Shall I live today of myself, and by myself, or shall I live it with God?”
Our gospel passage in the eleventh chapter of Luke opens with Jesus actively praying. Having witnessed this, one of Jesus’ disciples brought to Jesus’ attention that he had not taught them how to pray as John the Baptist had done with his disciples. The disciple wanted Jesus to provide a blueprint for prayer that he had observed was necessary for the lives of those who followed Jesus. When the disciple asked Jesus to teach him and the other disciples to pray, he had asked for something he wanted which he saw other disciples had with John. But Jesus, did not exactly respond with the “how to” instructional guide on prayerful action, as requested. Rather, he responded with what they needed—a “must do” model prayer, showing them that attention and intention must be directed to God first. And, that when one prays, with intention, one asks for God to give what is needed, according to His will, not what is wanted, according to the individual’s will.
What Jesus provided, in three verses, which we know as “The Lord’s Prayer,” was about how to live with God, for prayer is living with God. Notice, too, that there are non-negotiable prayer ingredients. Ingredient one: Clarity about the One to whom prayers are offered. All too often, in response to tragedies, we hear, “Our thoughts and prayers are with the families or communities.” But, rarely, if ever, it is stated to whom those prayers are directed. One might infer that God is the intended object of the prayers, but Jesus’ prayer leaves nothing to the imagination. His prayer is a direct personal address, to God the Father, indicated by the possessive “your”—hallowed be your name; Your kingdom come.
Ingredient two: Accept the posture of servant, completely dependent on the master’s provision of food needed to sustain the human body and the heavenly bread, that is Jesus, to sustain our souls. Give us your daily bread. The word “daily” recalls the wandering Israelites’ sole dependence on God’s provision of daily manna, which would spoil should anyone try to hoard it.2 The Israelites were solely dependent on God and trusted that He would provide for their needs.
The third ingredient is accepting the gift of God’s mercy in His forgiveness of our sins. That forgiveness is inextricably tied to our willingness to forgive those who sin against us. One commentary noted that one who will not forgive cannot receive forgiveness, for God’s mercy flows through the same channel through which the giving and receiving of forgiveness flows. As creatures who have been made in the image of God, created to reflect the nature of God, the words of the prayer that state, “We ourselves forgive…” indicate that forgiveness is what we do because it is who we are. To be able to participate in sharing the mercy of God, with hearts of forgiveness, is the gift we have through our baptism and faith in Christ. The last ingredient is an appeal for God’s protection—that He alone can shield us from times of trials that threaten our lives and our relationship with God.
When Jesus gave examples of the human father who gives good things to his dependent children, I am reminded of when my sister and I were children, being raised by our single mother, would come to mom with all kinds of things we wanted. Mom’s unwavering refrain was, “I will always give you what you need and some of the things you want.” But Jesus emphasized the heavenly Father’s actions, who gives His children the Holy Spirit—the greatest gift for those who ask.
Ultimately, we pray out of need—temporal needs. If we are honest with ourselves, we might find that our prayers are often motivated by our own desires—what we want, and not for God’s will to truly be done. But we pray, also, out of an innate pull toward the eternal—to bring our soul’s deep need to God’s love in faith by the act of prayer.
God answers prayers and God gives us everything we need, according to God’s will. Jesus assured his disciples of this but gave no guarantee that they would receive everything they requested, according to their will. The same applies to us. Don’t fix your expectations on a particular outcome. Use your understanding of God to help you to seek and find all the ways that God has been answering prayers—in God’s time and in God’s divine way. We must not get hung up on how God answers our prayers, lest we become blind to the myriad ways God manifests His movement on our behalf. Focus not on the how, but that God does.
Jesus lived in a state of prayerfulness—a necessity in order for Jesus to fulfill his purpose. Jesus’ very presence, amongst his disciples, modeled living with God, for prayer is living with God.
And while the urgency of developing and maintaining prayerful living with God is not stated in our passage, the urgency is real. God’s kingdom come is coming with Jesus to judge the world.
On that day, at a time that only God knows, when Jesus seeks those who love him—will he find faith on Earth? On that day, will Jesus find that when he knocks, his servants will promptly open their doors, for they have been waiting, with expectant hope, his return?
Like the disciple who wanted Jesus to provide a blueprint for prayer because he knew that it was necessary for the life of Jesus’ disciples, we look to Jesus’ teachings, his ministry, holy scriptures and to the Church. Living with God—prayer—is only possible because, through baptism, we live with Christ and in Christ. In those times when you are struggling with your prayer life, do not be discouraged. Ask yourself the question, “Shall I live today of myself and by myself or shall I live it with God?”
I conclude with the encouraging words of our House of Deputies Chaplain who, at the end of his joyous and spirit-moving prayers, often infused with song and djembe drums, would pray, “Lord, hear our prayers, ‘for we know that you love it when we pray.’” May we never hesitate to pray to God, our Father, either silently or aloud, individually or corporately, kneeling or standing, when we lie down to sleep and when we wake—because God indeed loves it when we pray. And God loves us as we pray.
Amen.
1 Mackenzie, Lester. House of Deputies. Prayers for the House of Deputies – House of Deputies January 7, 2021, retrieved July 23, 2022.
2 Exodus 16:1-34
3 “Luke 11:1-4” in The New Interpreter’s Bible: A Commentary in Twelve Volumes. Volume IX, p. 235.
4 Lk 18:8
