Let us pray. Teach us to pray, dear Jesus, so that we may
hear God, know God, and be in the presence of God as intimately as you. Amen.
Earlier
this week I reprised something I had in my office at home in Minnesota. It is something that intrigued members of the
search committee, and for some reason, this week was the time for me to do it
here.
My office door is now the “Prayer Door.” On it are names of folks who have asked me to
pray for them, or people who I feel called to pray for. There are also ministries and spiritual
gifts, like hope, love, peace and grace that are things to pray for and about.
When I began this practice a few years ago it was to help
me keep the names and faces of people in front of me, to help me remember that
each had a special need they wanted God to know about. Sometimes, a name would pop unexpectedly into
my mind and I would write their name and put it on the door without knowing
why. I would sometimes sit and focus on one name, think about that individual
and repeat their name, like a mantra, silently, to help me set aside time for
just them and God.
Other times I would say blanket prayers, asking God to cover
all these people, whose names are on my door, in their needs and desires, for
God knows better than I what each needs.
And then there were the focused, individual prayers,
petitioning God with conviction and great emotion to do what was needed.
Always, however, the prayer “Thy will be done.” Thy will be done. I have to release any
control I may think I have over any of these petitions. I have to give it to
God.
So on Thursday, I started the prayer door again. But this door will be different. It will be different because I ask you to add
your prayer requests, the names of your friends, your joys, your sorrows, your
needs, to the door. There is an envelope
with colorful pieces of paper, a marker and tape there for you to use.
No one needs to know the particulars of these requests,
unless you want to share them. But it is
my hope that you will feel led to add your requests to the door, inviting
others to join you in prayer as they are in the office. There is no particular order, there are a
variety of sizes of paper and many colors to choose from.
The door is a visible reminder that we are called to
petition God for our needs and for the needs of others through prayer.
In today’s Gospel, we heard these words: Ask, and it will be given 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.
When I first did this door a few years ago, I hadn’t thought about
the image of the door…the door was just a very blank slate on which to place
these names and photos. I hadn’t
considered until this week, that with each prayer a door would be opened.
Imagine taking a
single name and focusing on it, whether or not you know the person, and seeing
God open the door, ready to receive whatever petition is requested. There are paintings of Jesus opening that
door, with light behind him. Consider
the light, inviting the prayer in, inviting you in to be in the presence of
God.
A warm
welcome. A friendly face. Someone who will embrace you, talk with you,
hear you and be with you. To me, this is comforting. It is like going to the home of someone dear
to me and being invited to enter in, in whatever state I am in, and simply be
in their presence.
That is an image of
prayer that helps me see the depth of relationship that can be developed with
God.
So now, I am
inviting your prayer requests be placed on my office door. The idea is that
everyone who enters the door becomes a prayer partner. The names on the door face my desk when the
door is open, a constant reminder that there are people with a variety of needs
who I can pray for. My door, hopefully,
will be a visible reminder that when we go to God in prayer, we will be
received with love.
The disciples
wanted Jesus to teach them to pray. I
wonder if they wanted to feel the depth of God’s presence the way they imagined
Jesus felt it. I wonder if they wanted
to be in an intimate relationship with God, but didn’t quite understand that it
is through prayer that we enter into conversation with God, opening ourselves
to our vulnerability with God and opening ourselves to hear God speak in
return.
There are so many
ways people pray, so many ways people invite God into their life—through words,
silence, music, art, even science and math—that it can be intimidating and may
appear complicated to pray to God.
But Jesus spells it
out when he gives us the early words of the Lord’s Prayer: “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."
This is the basis of all prayers. It is the model that has been used throughout
time to develop our individual relationships with God in a collective way. We honor God, we ask for God’s presence with
us. We trust that God will provide our
every need. We admit we fail and need to
be forgiven. We admit that we need help
to forgive others. We hope that God will keep us safe.
It is a prayer that has brought us
through the ages, that marks each moment of living.
I’ve asked you to help me fill the
door with names, giving all of us an opportunity to join together in prayer.
And those names are of people and for things many will not know. So, how do we pray? What does it look or sound like?
Let’s explore.
Each week, Deacon Mike adapts one of the Forms of the
Prayers of the People from the Book of Common Prayer. These 6 Forms are wonderful templates to help
us pray about all of life. Please turn
in your Prayer Book to page 383 you will find the prayer forms used throughout
the Church, binding us together in prayer for the church and for world.
Look at the trajectory of each form of prayer.
What do you notice? What is in each prayer?
What do you notice? What is in each prayer?
Now, turn to page 810 you will find an index of over 81
prayers that can also help guide your personal prayers, too. These prayers are more focused on a
particular topic, which can be very helpful when you are at a loss for words to
pray.
What I appreciate about the Book of Common Prayer is that
it gives me a place to land when I want a focused prayer, but cannot find the
words. But it is not the only source to
go to. Here I have piles of books on
prayer. There seems to be mystery in the
art of praying that causes people to seek out different ways to pray, to read
the prayers of others, to find connection with God.
In this pile of books, you will find a number of books with
hundreds of prayers. There are prayers
to meet nearly every human need. Want a
book on table grace? How about one that tells
you about the 10 most necessary prayers?
Do you like imagery? Try this
one. Need instruction on how to pray? People, including me, have written prayers to
be used by others, to help others find the words needed to help develop unique
relationships with God.
Even with all these resources, there have been situations
in the recent past where there are no words that can express what is in my
heart, and silence becomes a prayer, too.
That silence reminds me that God knows, better than I know myself, what
the prayer needs to be.
That silence also helps me to stop so I can hear what God
has to say to me. It is in silence where
I am more able to hear and learn and discern; where I can ponder and grow and
develop; where I open myself to the miracle of God’s grace in my life.
What is prayer? To
me, prayer is a conversation with God.
It is an opportunity to be in relationship with the Holy Trinity. It is a time where I can express the depth of
my-self to my Creator. It is also a time
where I can be vulnerable and shallow and brutally honest, knowing that God
will teach me and love me through those moments.
It is my opportunity to knock on God’s door and say, “Hey
God, it’s me, and I need you with me.
Can I come in?”
Let us pray.
Holy God, Jesus gave us the words to come to you in prayer. Help us to use these words to be in relationship with you, to know you, to love you. Guide us in our prayers to be open to your will, your grace and all that you have to teach us. Fill us with your love so that we are able to pray for others. Remind us that praying to you is a conversation, and in that conversation we can be ourselves. Strong or broken, happy or sad, full or empty, we bring ourselves to you, O Holy One. Amen.
Holy God, Jesus gave us the words to come to you in prayer. Help us to use these words to be in relationship with you, to know you, to love you. Guide us in our prayers to be open to your will, your grace and all that you have to teach us. Fill us with your love so that we are able to pray for others. Remind us that praying to you is a conversation, and in that conversation we can be ourselves. Strong or broken, happy or sad, full or empty, we bring ourselves to you, O Holy One. Amen.