~Finding God::9~

...in prayer.

Because this is also my blog I use for stuff other than NZ, here is an entry that can be part of finding God because I think it is important to that too. BUT I use this blog as a place for my sermons. I wrote the following sermon as an entry to the Ronald Goetz Essay for Elmhurst. It's an annual essay contest and you can write a sermon or essay which reflects theology/society/ vocational call/anything having to do with God.
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So here's mine. It's entitled::::: It could be weeds in a vacant lot: An exploration of prayer

How often do you pray? What do you pray for? Who do you pray for? What position do you place yourself in when you pray? What purposes does it fulfill for you? How would you define prayer?

This is not part of a test or questions to help me with research. Rather, they are only to get your minds thinking, get the wheels turning. In our busy lives of work and school, extracurriculars and meetings, friends and sleep, when are we supposed to pray? Isn’t it the worst when you lay down for bed start praying and next thing you know you wake up the next morning kicking yourself because you realized you forgot to finish praying before you fell asleep! Oh well, isn’t it enough to say the prayer our parents taught us to say before dinner? Doesn’t God already know our prayers before we speak them anyway? I don’t think God would want to listen to me, I haven’t tried in years. What’s the point? If you find yourself asking these questions, you are not alone. Let us explore three questions, shall we? What is prayer? How do we pray? And what do we pray for?

When the disciples asked Jesus how to pray, all he gave them was “Our Father in Heaven, hallowed by your name...” For most people, that just isn’t enough. We are told to pray for those who persecute us (Mt. 5:44), pray for peace (Ps. 122:6), pray for whatever (Mk. 11:24). Jesus prayed all the time.

So then what is prayer? You could survey a group of 100 people and I think it would be a safe bet to say no one would say the same thing. Prayer is personal and powerful. It is a harbinger of hope, faith, vulnerability, and humility. I believe prayer has been around since the beginning of time. People find a special kind of hope in prayer and the humility comes from the recognition that we are not God. We pray because we hope, we have faith, that something bigger and greater than us is looking out for us and will have His/Her/Its will done on earth. Last semester during my internship at St. Peter’s UCC in Elmhurst I was working on a project which required interviewing some of the older members of the congregation about their experiences in the church and community. While interviewing one particular older woman we started talking about thanks. We got on a simple, divine tangent and she said, “Every time I misplace something, when I find it I pick it up and say ‘Thank You God.’” She went on to say that it doesn’t matter what it is, how small or large, important or unnecessary, she says thank you. Simple forms of prayer. Little words here and there help remind us of our purpose on earth. They remind us that we submit ourselves to a higher power whom we trust.

It hasn’t been until recently that I’ve really come to understand the power of prayer. (Studying abroad for a semester will do that to you.) Marjorie Thompson in talking about fasting says, “Do not underestimate what God can accomplish in you through the consistent offering of such a discipline.” We can apply this to prayer because it is such an integral part of spiritual discipline. When asked about how to pray, Jesus said to the disciples, “When you pray…” He didn’t say IF you pray, but WHEN you pray. There are several accounts of Jesus praying in the Gospels and if we intend to be followers of Christ in word and deed, we must not forget the word part. Prayer plays a vital role in our spirit. Mirabi Starr tells us it is simple being. The Eagles and Don Henley tell us it means learning to be still. Saint Teresa of Avila says it is as simple as being on terms of friendship with God. Some say it’s a conversation.

So then, let’s look at the next question. How do we pray?

We are people made to be in relationship with one another; it is an extremely important part of our lives. An essential part of those relationships then is conversation. When we are conversing with others we share and receive, speak and listen. That’s what makes it a conversation after all, right? It is no show and tell. Sometimes we get caught up in petitioning God for what we want or need. I tend to forget that beautiful notion of conversation… the idea that we need to listen. I read somewhere that listening to our lives is a part of prayer. It is something you must experience. I can’t tell you how to listen to your life because as God is still speaking, God speaks in different ways. Individuals hear God in their own ways. I have heard God in the beauty of land, people, love, conversation, animals, voices… the list goes on. So technically I have the ability to say this is not a question for me to answer.

Hear these words of Mary Oliver…

It doesn't have to be the blue iris, it could be
weeds in a vacant lot, or a few
small stones; just
pay attention, then patch

a few words together and don't try
to make them elaborate, this isn'ta contest but the doorway

into thanks, and a silence in which
another voice may speak.

“This isn’t a contest but the doorway into thanks, and a silence in which another voice may speak.” God is still speaking. Are you listening?

Joan Chittister, Benedictine nun and international speaker, gives us other ideas. In her book The Monastic Way she says, “When we kneel down, we admit the magnitude of God in the universe and our own smallness in the face of it. When we stand with hands raised, we recognize the presence of God in life and our own inner glory because of it. All life is in the hands of God. Even the desire to pray is the grace to pray.” She goes on to suggest that, “When we have prayed prayers long enough, all the words drop away and we begin to live in the presence of God.” We are to become a living prayer. Inhaling and exhaling God’s love for the world. Letting go of all that burdens us and giving it to God helps us to begin living in the presence of God. Because, after all, it is the grace of God that allows us to pray.

So we know that we can pray with a few words, with thanks, with small stones, or weeds in a vacant lot. But what do we pray for?

I have been participating in an online blog from my home church in Michigan during Lent. A few weeks ago we discussed the topic of prayer, specifically from the Beatitudes. In the entry for that day, our pastor said that he realized he doesn’t pray to keep God informed about his life, but rather to keep himself informed about what is important to God. In prayers we realize what is important. We realize what is significant to humanity and to this world. Also, in remembering the Lord’s Prayer he discussed the phrase “this day.” He views prayer as having a 24-hour shelf life. We must keep reminding ourselves what is important and necessary as well as the hurts of the world. We find ourselves recognizing the pain of humanity day in and day out when we see the news, hear the prayers uttered from others, and listen to others lives and stories.

Again, Sister Joan Chittister offers these words for us. “The Talmud reads, ‘Never pray in a room without windows.’ Never pray without the world in mind, in other words. The purpose of the spiritual life is not to save us from reality. It is to enable us to go on co-creating it.” What are we doing with prayer? Asking for healing? For help? To solve the world’s problems? Chittister helps us picture prayer in another way. We are here to help co-create reality. God sent us to earth to create, in harmony with Her/Him/It, this reality of the Kingdom. This is why when we are living in the presence of God we become more one with God, helping to co-create. Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel also gives us words. He says, “Words of prayer are commitments. We stand for what we utter. The word of prayer is like a pledge in the making.” We stand for that which we pray. We are co-creating. Through prayer and the presence of God we are creating this reality of the Kingdom that is full of peace, love and hope. Through prayer we become aware of our passions, our calling, our purpose which helps us on this struggle for justice and peace in this not-yet-created reality of divine life.

So then, when you pray “Do not heap up empty phrases.” Offer a blue iris if you wish. But know that weeds and small stones are acceptable. Then take the doorway and hear the voice.

No matter how you pray, why you pray, what you pray… remember these words of James 5. “The prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective.” So pray with purpose. Pray with love. Pray until you enter God’s presence.

Amen.



thoughts are always welcome.