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March 29, 2009 “Lo-Cal Prayer” - The Rev. Vicky Ney
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March 29, 2009 “Lo-Cal Prayer” The Rev. Vicky Ney
Text: Luke 13:1-11
A kitten climbed up a tree in the backyard of a minister’s house. Unfortunately, the kitten was too terrified to come down. The pastor coaxed, offered warm milk, etc.—all to no avail. The tree was not sturdy enough to climb or wide enough to hold a ladder, so the pastor decided that if he tied a rope to his car and pulled it until the tree bent down, he could then reach up and get the kitten. So, that’s what he did. It seemed to be working. He just needed it down a tiny bit more, so he inched the car a little more forward. But then the rope broke. The tree went BOING. And the kitten sailed through the air out of sight.
The pastor felt terrible and walked all over the neighborhood asking people if they’d seen a little kitten. No. He prayed, “Lord, I just commit this kitten to your keeping.” And then went on about his business.
A few days later he was at the grocery store, and met one of his church members. He happened to look into her shopping cart and was amazed to see cat food. This woman was a dog lover who didn’t like cats at all and everyone knew it. So he asked her, “Why are you buying cat food when I know you don’t like cats?”
She replied, “You won’t believe this,” and then told him how her little girl had been begging for a cat, but she kept refusing. Then just days before, the child had begged again. The mom finally told her little girl, “Well, if God gives you a cat, I’ll let you keep it.” She told the pastor, “I watched my daughter go out in the yard, get on her knees and ask God for a cat. And really, Pastor, you won’t believe this, but I saw it with my own eyes. A kitten suddenly came flying out of the blue, with its paws outspread, and landed right in front of her.”
Wouldn’t it be nice if everything we asked for came just like that—flying out of the sky? It puts a whole new spin on “Ask and you shall receive.”
Also, I have a feeling that little girl will grow up to be a great pray-er. When she asks for something in the future, she will honestly pray believing it will come to fruition. Isn’t that what we say we do when we pray—believe that God will grant it? Or do we? Just like some diets are low on calories, maybe some of our prayers are a little low on faith.
That being said, I think that sometimes our prayers become a list of nonnegotiable demands to the Almighty. We frequently treat God as though God was a genie that comes out of a magic lamp and grants us whatever we request—regardless of how selfish our request may be.
Tony Campolo remembers an example of that with his own son. The little boy marched into the living room just before going to bed one night and said, “I’m going to bed! I’m going to say my prayers….Anybody want anything?”
Other times, though, I think some people pray by bargaining with God. They tell God that if God delivers what they want, they will deliver what God wants in the way of some good works. Sometimes it may even seem like a form of blackmail.
There’s a story of a little boy who begged God for a new BMX bicycle in his bedtime prayer. His mother corrected him and explained that prayer should not be an attempt to get our selfish desires met—that praying for a new bicycle was not a good prayer. It happened to be the Christmas season. When the little boy’s mother went in the living room the next day, she noticed that something was missing from the manger scene under the Christmas tree. The little figure of Mary was gone. In its place was a note that read, “Dear Jesus, “If you ever want to see your mother again, you had better get me that BMX bicycle.”
Have you ever wondered about the kinds of prayers that God likes to listen to? Standing, bowing, kneeling, eyes open, eyes closed, every morning, every night, alone, with someone else or in groups, quietly, loudly, sung, chanted, written prayers, memorized prayers. My goodness, there are all kinds of prayers. One of my favorite prayers came from a 16th century nun who prayed, “From silly devotions and from sour-faced saints, good Lord, deliver us!”
So what kind of prayer does God like? A quick answer might be a prayer from the heart. It doesn’t matter how theologically precise we are, whether grammar is correct, whether written or made up on the spot, I think it’s safe to say God listens to prayers from the heart.
But there is another, more complex answer than just offering God heartfelt prayer. Our gospel lesson today presses us to examine not just what we should pray, but how we should approach God with our prayers. Jesus had just finished praying when a disciple, apparently overheard him, and asked Jesus to teach him to pray like that.
The fact is, Jesus prayed a lot. His disciples had watched him spend hours in prayer. Whenever Jesus was missing from the group, they assumed he was somewhere praying. Sometimes his disciples went with him, and they would fall asleep. Other times Jesus would go by himself to a quiet place and pray. In Marks’ Gospel, Jesus is seen as rising “long before dawn” in order to pray, probably two or three hours before the first traces of light. (Mark 1:35). In Luke’s Gospel, Jesus is said to have prayed all night. (Luke 6:12). That actually ought to be a good first clue about our prayer lives. If Jesus, who was God incarnate, spent time communing with the Father, how much more do WE need to spend time in prayer?
When we don’t spend time with God, I believe we lose something—we lose the deep connection with God which only true conversation can give. Think about it, what would happen if married folks just took spouses for granted and spent little time on communication? If they said, “O well, he or she should know me by now. Why do I have to communicate everything?” We know very well what happens if—when—we just assume or expect certain things in any relationship instead of communicating what we need. Actually, nothing happens!
We need to be in touch with God. And God wants to hear from us. There’s a passage in Isaiah 65 that says: “My people will call, and I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear.” (v. 24). That sounds to me that God is even anxious to hear from us—waiting to hear from us—which makes sense to me. I don’t know about you, but as a parent, I look forward to phone calls from my children—I look forward to time spent with them. If we are made in the image of God as the Bible says, I can imagine that God feels that way about our time spent with him as well.
Does this sound familiar to you? “I usually say my prayers when I go to bed at night. Unfortunately, I’m so tired, I frequently fall asleep before I’m finished!” I hear that from many people—and I have to admit I’m guilty of that as well! So, let me suggest to you that nighttime may not be the optimum time to pray! Maybe we need to do it when we’re more wide awake.
In early Christianity, the monastics—priests and nuns in monasteries—gave the best parts of their day, their “first fruits,” to prayer. Work was something they did in their free time! What a thought! Pray first before anything else! If you limit your conversations to bedtime prayers, then you are missing out on a whole wonderful world of sharing your life with God, of letting God come into your life, of having God fill your life. And just let me add here, that when you let God into that space in your life, you will NEVER be the same again.
So what makes our prayer life so “Lo-Cal?” Let me give you a couple of ideas to make our prayers more “high caloric,” so to speak.
First, we often think of prayer as a technique when it is really a grace. We want to put our best foot forward when we come into God’s presence—we don’t want to be petty, silly, selfish or bad. So we wait until we feel strong, more “good,” more unselfish. Or, when we pray we put on our best selves—our most eloquent selves—and try to be something we’re really not. Prayer is a time for you to be you—who you are—talking with a best friend.
Second, keep praying. Our gospel passage this morning speaks about persistence—not so much that God will finally do something to get rid of us—I don’t believe that’s what Jesus meant by the parable he told. But praying is something to do continually. Don’t stop. Results will happen.
Third, do some studying. It may help to get to know God more. After all, don’t we have better conversations with people we know, rather than strangers? True study is searching the mind of God. Reading the Bible and Christian books, listening to music, even singing can be forms of prayer. There’s an old Jewish proverb that says, “An hour of study is in the eyes of God as an hour of prayer.” And another proverb says, “Those who sing pray twice.”
Fourth, praying isn’t doing all the talking—it’s also about listening. Silence. Waiting for the inner voice of God to speak to us. Trust me when I say, it’s usually not loud! It even takes time to learn to recognize it. That being said, prayer is not just “idle thoughts”—sort of like the parsley flakes that are food decorations. Prayers before public functions and sports events are often like the parsley that appears on a dinner plate. Every fancy chef thinks it’s necessary to have parsley, or something similar, for a garnish for a pretty plate. But few people pay attention to it and even fewer utilize that parsley in any way. In other words, that can’t be our steady diet.
Prayer is actually one of the most powerful things we can do in this life. The Lord’s Prayer was so special in the early church that only the confirmed members could pray it. They figured that spectators and inquirers weren’t ready for the power and mystery of the prayer. It was called the “Believer’s Prayer.”
I don’t think Jesus wants us just to say the Lord’s Prayer. I think Jesus wants us to become the Lord’s Prayer. Real praying is God moving in us through the Spirit. Real praying is the Spirit of God praying in and through us, making us into the likeness of Christ. Real praying happens when we start not only to pray our prayers, but when we start to live our prayers. It’s when we live out our prayers that our prayers become truly effective.
We often ask: Will God really act on our prayers? Can prayer move God’s arm? Jesus turns this question around on us and asks us, “Will the Son of Man find faith when he returns?” (Luke 18:8). In other words, he is asking: “Can prayer move your own arm?” Are you willing to put your actions where your words are?
If you want to show someone how badly you feel for them, or how deeply you love them, do you only tell them in words, or do you put your arms around them? If you see someone really in need, do you just talk to them, or do you do something?
God always has relied on his children—that’s us—people like you and me—to usher in his kingdom—to be about the business of God’s kingdom right here on earth. God promises to give us strength, God promises to empower us, but we still need to live out our prayers for things like justice, truth, equality, peace, help for the poor and sick—all the things we say with our lips.
Are our prayers “Lo-Cal” prayers or are they effective prayers? The answer may be: “It depends on how effective we make them.”
Tony Campolo, Let Me Tell You a Story, Word Publishing, 2000.
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