Adapted from "Teach Us to Pray" by Rev. Dr. David Lose

A local St. Paul congregation has a “prayer partner” program. They pair up youth and elders in the congregation and invite them to pray for each other throughout the year. A couple of times a year, they also invite the pairs to sit together in worship. What someone noticed at one of the “prayer partner Sundays,” though, was that the pairs don’t actually ever pray together. “They might as well call it, ‘Sit with your prayer partner Sunday,’” someone remarked.

 

But of course we know why they don’t actually have the prayer partners pray for each other: most people aren’t comfortable praying aloud for each other in public … or maybe even in private. We might say prayers to ourselves, say table grace, or read the prayers in the bulletin, but we don’t often say prayers aloud for each other. Why? Because most of us were never taught how. And, like most adults, people are very uncomfortable doing things they haven’t developed some measure of competence in. Why else does the pastor always pray when invited to dinner? Because the pastor knows how; indeed, the pastor is the expert.

 

So…given today’s lectionary gospel text is from Luke 11:1-13 and focuses on Jesus’ teaching his disciples to pray, let’s think about what we might learn from Jesus and the prayer he taught:

 

First, the Lord’s Prayer is pretty simple. After asking that we act in a way to keep God’s name holy and live the kingdom life on earth, Jesus’ prayer covers sustenance (daily bread), relationship (forgiveness), and safety (bringing us through the time of trial). These are the basics of life, and Jesus contains himself pretty much to these essentials. In short, prayer doesn’t need to be complex to be faithful.

 

Second, faithful prayer is honest. Jesus’ parable invites us to imagine that, like a man confident of his neighbor’s hospitality, we should ask for whatever we need. That means that prayer isn’t about saying the right words or sounding particularly elo-quent or pious. Rather, it’s about saying what’s on our heart in our own words.

 

Third, prayer is based on trust. Jesus promises that just as we desire to give those we love good things, so does God even more want to give us every good gift. Because we trust this is true, we pray. This may be one of the most difficult parts of prayer, I know, because we often see prayers go unanswered. Yet we still trust that God is listening and we continue to pray because we believe God loves us and all the world.

 

So that’s it: prayer is simple, honest, and offered in trust. That’s something each of us can do. But of course when it comes to learning something new, what’s essential in moving from nervous paralysis to competent and confident performance is practice.   This week, consider using one of the suggestions below to practice prayer:

• Write down one simple, trusting request.
• Pray for someone you know is hurting, lonely, or going through a difficult time. 
• Try a breath prayer – Repeat one phrase with each breath in and out. “Jesus, you are the light of the world. Fill my mind with your peace. Fill my heart with your love.” 
• Read a Psalm prayerfully. 
• Review your day in thanksgiving. 
• Choose a moment or feeling from your day and talk to God about it. 
• Pray the Lord’s prayer.