Only The Brave Pray

Luke 9:28-36

Here we are.  Its February 11, 2013 and it's still winter.  We should be in the upswing as far as the weather goes.  With the cold and the snow it seems like we are more isolated.  It seems that during these cold months that people just don’t get out of the house as often.  We are hunkered down.  Oh sure we get out to do the necessary things but it is quickly to the car get the groceries then head straight back home.  It is difficult to act leisurely and luxuriate like a tourist in Ludington.  I’m starting to feel like a local.

Did I say last week that I wanted to experience a “real” Ludington winter?   I’m sorry. 

One of the great things that has come into my life that is really helping me through these dark months is the exercise class that Nancy leads here at the church.  Every Tuesday and Thursday morning at 8 am we show up. We chat; we work; we chat some more and we pray.   In March we will have been meeting for a full year.   We don’t always meet though. The weather sometimes gets in the way.  Sometimes we don’t meet because some of us may be out of town.  But, if we are all here and are all healthy we meet. Those weeks when there has been a long break between times, the groans and the complaints are a little more pronounced when we finally do get together.   Our efforts are effective and consequences of not keeping up with them are apparent.

People often say, “I should exercise more.”  I know I have said it. I think it.  A treadmill is over at the parsonage largely unused.  I should use it.  I know it’s good for me. I know that I will feel better and have a more positive outlook if I do use it. 

Do we think of prayer in the same way we think of exercise?  I don’t think there is anyone here that thinks that praying is a bad idea.   I have never heard anyone suggest that one should stop praying, or that one shouldn’t pray too much.  Yet praying is not a priority in many lives.  Prayer often is “squeezed” into a schedule.  It is inserted when there is nothing else pressing for your time. Obligatory prayers are given from rote memory at the beginning of a meal.  Is this what Jesus intended when he taught his disciples how to pray?

Imagine someone that you love very much and desire to spend as much time with as possible comes to you and the only interaction this person has with you is that they give you a daily report of what their problems are?  It’s better than nothing I suppose.  What if someone you love and care for deeply came and spent only one hour a week with you and the whole time was distracted and thinking about other things?

Praying is spending time with God. 

There are different things we can say about prayer.  We can say that prayer is effective.  There are studies that show that people with serious illness who have people praying for them recover faster than people that don’t.  But that’s like saying that people with families get more pumpkin pie at thanksgiving.  That may be true but it’s more of a side effect.  Having more pumpkin pie is a good thing but the real blessing is the family relationships.

Praying is about spending time with God.

Being an introvert by nature I find renewal in solitude.  I
took this pic on a hike with a group of 3rd graders.  Our
guide stopped for a teachable moment about who-knows-what
while I stole a moment of solitude in appreciating the rising
sun. 

We can say that prayer changes you.  When Peter, James and John went with Jesus to the mountain top they went with the intent to pray.  “As he (Jesus) was praying, the appearance of his face was transformed, and his cloths became very bright, a brilliant white.” Jesus appearance to his disciples changed.  Or perhaps, for the first time, they could see Jesus for who he really is.  Prayer does change you. But not into something that is foreign but it changes you into the image that God had originally intended for you.  God created you uniquely and for a purpose.  We have allowed our brokenness to distort that image.  We have notions of how we want things done.  In our humanity we desire control and power so that we have a sense of security.  Jesus calls us to trust him and leave all that behind. When we pray we are connecting with God.  This is a powerful thing.  It’s no wonder that many people don’t have strong prayer life.  Truly seeking and connecting with God is a transformative experience, and most people don’t want to change.   But if we say that the purpose of prayer is to change, well then it is nothing more than a self-help program.  If you enter into anything with your mind on the benefits you will receive, then you are at the center and not God.

Prayer is about spending time with God. 

We can say that prayer will bring you a sense of well-being.   Peter certainly wanted to make permanent the moment of exultation on the mountain top.  He wanted to build shelters for Jesus, Moses and Elijah. But prayer isn’t about you. Prayer is about the Kingdom of God.  Prayer is about bringing ourselves into accord with the will of God.  Prayer is more about listening than it is about speaking.  We get that part backwards all the time. 

When Peter offered to build the shelters a cloud came and overshadowed them, and they were afraid. Then a voice came from the cloud, saying “This is my Son, My Chosen One.  Listen to him!” Listen! Jesus didn’t bring Peter, James and John to have an experience.  He brought them to pray.  And when they were fumbling around trying to respond to what they did experience, they were interrupted by God saying, “Listen to him!”  Jesus has instructions.  Jesus has guidance.  Jesus has commands.  They are in Holy Scripture. Read it! Heed it!  Jesus has written his law on your hearts.  Listen to it.  The Holy Spirit guides us and empowers us. Listen for it!

Yesterday four youth participated in a prayer retreat here at the church.  They were presented with different ways people have approached God in prayer.  Part of that learning process was the practice of quieting our minds so that we can hear God speak.  It’s hard work when it hasn’t been practiced.  Just like Nancy’s exercise class.  When you haven’t done it in a while, it seems difficult when you begin again.  Our schedules, our routines fill up quickly with other things and it is easy to put off, delay or even completely remove prayer from our lives.  But this is what we are built for.  We are disciples of Jesus Christ, the One who saves, and the one who shepherds us.  How will we know our God’s will for us unless we spend time with God?

This is the scary part about prayer.  This is why most people don’t pray.  Because when you understand the will of God for your life then you have to make a choice whether you will act on that information.  It is easier to keep your ears shut and go about living life according to your terms.  God might just have something for you that doesn’t fit into your plan.  And that can be scary.  But let me tell you from every bit of my being and experience that if God leads you to it he will guide you through it!

Praying is bout spending time with God.  You will be so blessed when you deepen your relationship with God.

How is it with you today?  Are you tenacious enough to work those prayer muscles and get past the initial pain of feeling like you aren’t doing it right or not doing it well enough?  Are you brave enough to listen for God’s will in your life?  Are you willing to be directed in a way that you cannot predict right now?  This the way of the disciple.  I invite you to this adventure of faith.