Praying Like Jesus

Pentecost 9 (C)Luke 11:1-13
He was praying in a certain place, and after he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, ‘Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.’ He said to them, ‘When you pray, say:
Father, hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come.
Give us each day our daily bread.
And forgive us our sins,
for we ourselves forgive everyone indebted to us.
And do not bring us to the time of trial.’
And he said to them, ‘Suppose one of you has a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say to him, “Friend, lend me three loaves of bread; for a friend of mine has arrived, and I have nothing to set before him.” And he answers from within, “Do not bother me; the door has already been locked, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot get up and give you anything.” I tell you, even though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, at least because of his persistence he will get up and give him whatever he needs.
‘So I say to you, Ask, and it will be given to you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. Is there anyone among you who, if your child asks for a fish, will give a snake instead of a fish? Or if the child asks for an egg, will give a scorpion? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!’

Sermon
One of the long running TV dramas of the 1980’s, St. Elsewhere, had an episode where in one scene a grandmother was walking along the beach with her beautiful grandson. He was a sight to behold from the brim of his hat down to the polish on his shoes. The weather was beautiful. The sun was out. A perfect day. Then suddenly, a giant wave came in and scooped the boy out to sea. The grandmother was beside herself. Yelling! Hollering! Then praying. “God, oh help God! Please help!” Pretty soon after that, another wave washed up and pushed the boy back onto the beach. He was soaked, still surprised, but ok. Grandmother looked him over carefully, hugged him, and straightened his hair. Then she looked back up at heaven and said, “You know, Lord, he was wearing a hat.”

If you are like many people, you weren’t sure if you should laugh or be concerned about the grandmother’s response to God. Perhaps you conclude that she must have had a dry sense of humor and was just being herself with the Almighty. Or perhaps you thought she was ungrateful and unappreciative of what just happened. Maybe you conclude it was a little of both. When it comes to “talking to God” or prayer, many people have mixed feelings. They want to be serious in prayer but they still want to be themselves. They want to do it, but aren’t quite sure how. They think it’s important but can’t seem to work it in.

When you read today’s gospel lesson you can see that Jesus’ first disciples struggle with prayer. They saw that other religious types, the followers of John the Baptist, seemed to know what they were doing. They saw how naturally Jesus prayed. They saw how meaningful it was. And they wanted to know how to pray. Now, you must know that asking Jesus to teach you to pray is a lot like asking Peyton Manning to show you how to throw a football. Asking Jesus Christ, through whom and in whom all things came into being, how to pray is a lot like asking Warren Buffet how to invest. Asking Jesus Christ, God’s only begotten Son, how to pray is a lot like asking Bill Gates how to work your computer. You don’t know exactly what to expect but you know it’s going to be good. Not only is he going to give you the best feedback available he is going to teach you to do something he can actually see you do.

Jesus tells his disciples that when he sees them talking to God he sees them praying intimately. He says that when he sees you praying he sees you praying intimately. When you pray speak address him as your “Father.” Say “Our Father.” Actually the word Jesus uses here for “father” is the Aramaic word “Abba.” Aramaic is the language Jesus spoke. It’s a dialect of Hebrew. “Abba” in Aramaic means “dad,” “daddy,” “pop,” “poppy,” or “dada.” It’s the kind of address that a child would use with their earthly father in the most intimate terms.

When you use the word “daddy” you speak from a special place in your heart, whether you’ve had a “daddy” or not. When you talk to God, speak to him from that place deep inside your heart that is vulnerable. That place that is tender. That place that dependent. This might be a big change for some of us. It certainly was for people in Jesus’ day.

Before Jesus gave this prayer, religious types were taught to approach God with such incredible reverence. They were taught that every time you called upon God to couch it in term befitting his nature. They were taught to address him as Ruler of the Universe, or Commander of the Heavenly Hosts, or Creator and Redeemer. In fact, the one of the most commonly known prayers was “Baruk atta Adonai Eloheynu…” which means “Blessed Art Thou O God Ruler of the Universe…” This formality can create kind of a distance between you and God.

Jesus dispensed with all that formality in personal prayers to God. It was unnecessary and even unwanted. It would be as if when you as dad get home from work and your kids hear you walk in the house. They come running to find you and then fall to the ground lying prostrate before you, shouting “Hail O Great Procreator and Provider! We celebrate your magnanimous presence in our lives. We beseech thee to grant us leave thine presence to search our souls for the love thou dost deservedly call thine own.”

Is that what you get! No! Is that what you want? No! Or, mostly no. What usually happens is you get home, shut the door, and if your kids are small they come running to greet you in the kitchen “Daddy! Daddy!” They leap into your arms and tell you about their day. Jesus says when you go to God, run to him. Hurl yourself at him. Call out for your Daddy. And expect that when you leap into the air he is going to catch you. Jesus says to that when sees you praying, he sees you praying intimately.

Jesus says that when he sees you praying he sees you praying shamelessly. That is without shame. Before we move on this morning let’s make sure you understand the difference between shame and guilt. They are not the same. Guilt is that feeling you get when you do something wrong. You say something, do something, go somewhere, or think something you later regret because it was wrong. This feeling of guilt is there to motivate you and me to remedy the situation, to seek reconciliation with others and God. It drives us toward others.

Shame, on the other hand, is much different. Shame tells you not that you did something wrong, but that you are personally flawed. It’s not that you made a mistake but that you are a mistake. It is the feeling that you are, at your deepest levels as a person, defective. Shame doesn’t drive us toward others but away from others. It causes us to hide our true selves because we fear that if people were able to see us deep down they would cringe in horror or run in fear. Shame causes us to hide.

One of the earliest examples we have of shame in the Bible is Adam and Eve. Working as a team, they eat the forbidden fruit. They do something wrong. They feel guilt, of course. But they also feel shame. As soon as they cross the line they cover themselves with leaves and hide from God.
Jesus says that when he sees you praying he sees you praying shamelessly, without shame, without the feeling that you are defective or flawed. He tells the story of praying being like a man who receives guests a midnight. But he has nothing to offer them. For whatever reason, he has no food or refreshment to put before them. In that culture at that time, that was shameful. It was inexcusable. It was nigh unforgiveable. In this shameful situation, the man runs to his neighbor for help. He was shameless in his asking for help. You don’t need to feel embarrassed when you go to God. There is no need to cover things up. There is no call to feel like you got caught with your pants down before your Dad. Just go to him.

Jesus says that when he sees you praying he sees you praying intimately. He says that when he sees you praying he sees you praying shamelessly. He also says that when he sees you praying he sees you praying expansively. At times we pray as if God was a short order cook where you need to give things slowly, in order, and without confusion. We focus-in, with near-sighted obsession, on the one thing that is pressing against our heart and mind. Expand your thinking. Jesus says “Imagine. If you who are imperfect know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Dad give good things to those who ask?” How much more?

You know how this works if you are parents or care-givers for children. Who among you when going through the McDonald’s drive through window get your kid a Happy Meal then tell the cashier “hold the toy.” Then handing your child the bag say “here’s your food, but no toy for you!” Or how about you take your family to your favorite pizzeria, order your favorite pizza for you and your spouse, all those peppers, onions, olives and other goop that leaves your breath smelling like the underside of a possum’s belly. Not only that you get yourself your favorite adult beverage. Your kid sees what you order and says “I don’t like that. I can’t drink beer.” Who among you is going to say “Well eat the crust and get some water?” Noone. If you and I who are knuckleheads know how to give good things to our children, how much more will God give to those ask?

Martin Luther said that Christians need to “expand their thinking when it comes to prayer.” Don’t just pray for the daily bread but for the crops and the rain and farmers that make bread possible. But don’t stop there. Pray for the health of the land and the quality of the weather and the stability of the government that makes harvest possible. Expand your thinking. God is at work right now dreaming up new possibilities for you, new gifts for you, new goodness for you.
Look beyond your immediate circumstances. Look beyond your immediate time table. God is so far ahead of you in knowing and anticipating your prayers. He has already put in motion the process to bless you with gifts and surprises that you haven’t even asked for. It delights him to bring goodness into your life even before you ask for it or know that you needed it. Some of you know how this works. We live in a community that obsesses about its children. You know how to work in advance of your children. Just a couple of days ago, I was sitting in front of the TV with my two teenage girls watching some reality show called “Say Yes to the Dress.” The girls love it. They’ve seen dozens of weddings, been in several with family. They know what they want when the day arrives. They are prepared and have been working on it for years. But not for as many years as Karin and I have. Since they were walking we have looked forward to celebrating their weddings. We decided long ago to live our lives financially so that when the time came we could not only put them through college but pay a nice wedding for them as well.
Jesus says when he sees you praying he sees you praying expansively, not just for the things you know you need or want now but the things you don’t know you need or want. The gifts and blessings your Dad has already put in motion for you to receive.

You can do this. When you pray Jesus sees you praying intimately, from that tender, vulnerable, dependent place in your heart trusting God like a little child. When you pray he sees you praying shamelessly, knowing that there is no situation that you can’t to him with. When you pray Jesus sees you praying expansively, with imagination wide open to the possibilities that are there for you in your Father’s heart.