Just ASK!

When a doctoral student at Princeton asked, "What is there left in the world for original dissertation research?" The great thinker Albert Einstein replied, "FInd out about prayer. Somebody must find out about prayer." Today’s topic is prayer.

According to a Gallup poll, more Americans will pray this week then will exercise, drive a car, have sex, or go to work. The poll reports that nine in ten of us pray regularly and three out of four claim to pray every day. To get some idea of the interest in prayer, type prayer or pray in an internet search engine and see how many million of links pop up. Yet, behind these very impressive numbers lies a conundrum. In interviewing ordinary people, people like you and me, about prayer and their prayer life the results typically go like this:

Is prayer important to you? Oh yes, most certainly.

How often do you pray? Every day- most every day.

Approximately how long? 5 minutes, may be 7.

Do you find prayer satisfying? Ummmm....not really.

Do you sense the presence of God when you pray? Occasionally, not often enough.

What would your response look like? Why does prayer rank so high on surveys of importance and so low on surveys of actual satisfaction? There seems to be a gap between prayer in theory and prayer in practice. In theory, prayer is the essential human act that puts us in touch with the God of the universe. In practice, prayer is often confusing and fraught with frustration. Why?

Advances in science and technology no doubt contribute to our confusion about prayer. In former days farmers lifted their heads and appealed to the heaven for an end to drought. Now we study low pressure fronts, dig irrigation canals, and seed clouds with particles. In former days when a child fell ill the parents cried out to God; now they call for an ambulance. Not bad advances by any means, in fact most of the advances are very good- but they have changed our need for prayer- and perhaps even our perceived need for God.

Modern skepticism taints prayer. We breath in an atmosphere of doubt. Why does God not intervene- we ask? What good will prayer do against nuclear threat, terrorism, hurricanes and oil spills?

Prosperity dilutes prayer. The wealthy rely on talent and resources to solve immediate problems- insurance policies and retirement plans to secure the future- not the God of the universe.

Time pressures crowd out the leisurely pace that prayer seems to require. Even our communication with each other has gotten shorter; emails, texts, instant messages and tweets. We have no time for conversation let alone contemplation. We have the constant sensation of not enough; not enough time, rest, exercise, leisure; not enough. Where does God fit in, in a life that already is behind schedule?

If we do have time to look inward, to bare our souls, therapists and support groups offer outlets once reserved for God. At least they give immediate feedback or a visible nod in sympathy.

In today's gospel text from the writer Luke we hear the disciples, followers of Jesus, just like you and me, asking Jesus for help when it comes to their prayer life. Let’s listen in:

Jesus was praying in a certain place, and after he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, "Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples." Jesus said to them, "When you pray, say: 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." And he said to them, "Suppose one of you has a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say to him, 'Friend, lend me three loaves of bread; for a friend of mine has arrived, and I have nothing to set before him.' And he answers from within, 'Do not bother me; the door has already been locked, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot get up and give you anything.' I tell you, even though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, at least because of his persistence he will get up and give him whatever he needs. So I say to you, 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. Is there anyone among you who, if your child asks for a fish, will give a snake instead of a fish? Or if the child asks for an egg, will give a scorpion? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!"

"Lord, teach us to pray," asks the disciples of Jesus. His reply? Basically, "just ask"... seems simple- doesn't it. Just ask... A. S. K. ask. A - ask and it will be given. S - search and you will find. K - knock and the door will be opened. Prayer -- how we communicate, talk, are in relationship with God.

The word prayer from the Latin "precari," to entreat, implore, beg, plead with. Simply put -- to ask.

Prayers come in all kinds of forms- from the simple prayers we learned as children.

A simple table grace: God is good. God is great. Let us thank him for our food. Amen.

A classic children’s bedtime prayer: Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep; if I die before I wake I pray the Lord my soul to take. Amen.

To prayers that have been written down and used, repeated, used over and over again:

Like the Serenity Prayer used in AA groups and other 12 step groups around the world- translated in many languages: God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change- the courage to change the things I can... (and if you use this prayer you are saying it along with me)... and the wisdom to know the difference. It was written by Reinhold Neibuhr.

•Or the prayer I used to begin this sermon-time: Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you O Lord, my rock and my redeemer. Amen. Did you know it was from the Bible- Psalm 19? The Bible is full of prayers- a resource book of sorts with prayers of praise, grief, lament and joy.

To prayers of the heart- prayers where we simply, or not so simply, come before God and speak. Sometimes praising- sometimes confessing- most often times asking, for ourselves or others. Thus the title for today’s message: Just ASK- ask seek knock- ASK.

I believe that the basic problem with prayer is deeper than science and technology advances, wealth and even doubt. I believe that, at our core, prayer is an unnatural activity. Unnatural because from birth we have been learning the rules of self-reliance as we strain and struggle to achieve self-sufficiency. I can do it myself- are words that I fondly remember my children saying to me.

Finally- was my inward response- my parents too as I learned to tie my own shoes and make life decisions apart from my parents!! Prayer is alien to our proud human nature- our original sin. It is an assault on human autonomy, an indictment of independent living. To people in the fast lane, determined to make it on their own, prayer can seem to be an embarrassing interruption. I can do it myself!- we say to God, and truth be told, much of the time we can. Oh really- is God’s response- and God is waiting when we can no longer- do it ourselves.

And yet, somewhere, someplace, most all of us have or will reach the point of falling to our knees, bowing our heads, fixing our attention on God, and praying. We may look both ways to be sure that no one is watching; we may blush... yet, we pray. Gallup polls indicate that we do it all the time. Why?

We pray because we yearn to be in relationship with God- with something or someone beyond ourselves- and we know from our most intimate human relationships that the only way to do this is to talk- to have conversations- about small things... and about big things- about everything!! We most commonly pray in the morning, before meals, at church and before bed.

We pray because, by intuition or experience, we understand that the most intimate communion with God comes only through prayer. We know this in our hearts of hearts. Ask anyone who has faced tragedy, grief, failure or defeat, ask them what happened when they finally, finally fell on their knees and poured their hearts out to God.

Such people have told me, "I can’t explain it, but I felt like God understood me, like God was really listening." Or, "I felt surrounded by God’s presence; at peace." A peace that surpasses all understanding is how the apostle Paul would state it.
I too have shared these experiences of prayer, not every day, but enough to know that there is a God who is present and who is listening.I have shared this experience before, but it bears repeating today as it relates to prayer:

Many of you are aware that my mom died many years ago, still relatively a young woman, age 63.She died of a heart attack- suddenly. My parents were then living at the cabin near CrossLake, MN. As I drove to be with my Dad, to make arrangements, to see if it was really true; I wondered how I would continue to function without the woman who believed in me more than anyone else, a mentor and a role model for me, my mom. As I drove along the highway it began to rain. It was September and the landscape was ablaze with Fall color and as the raindrops hit the windshield I began to cry out to God. Not with words so much as with tears. I wrestled with God: Why did this happen? How am I going to recover from losing my mother? God, if you really are a God of love, then how could you do this to me? And suddenly, the sun broke out of the clouds and a the most beautiful rainbow appeared across the sky, as if God was speaking directly to me, saying: I am enough for you, trust me, I am with you.

This experience may sound unreal to you-- it did to me. It shook me to my core, but the results were unmistakable. Grief yes, I will always miss my mom. She died too young. I needed her. I still do. But in the midst of a dark day, driving north on hwy. 169, I experienced an intimate moment with God and this gave me the courage, reassurance and hope I needed to walk through this valley in my life, seeing the light, and the rainbow of God’s promise.

Prayer.Just ask. A-S-K. Ask, seek, knock. The disciples had seen Jesus pray. They had gone with Jesus to a deserted place in order to pray. They had watched as Jesus blessed 5 loaves and 2 fish and from them fed 5000 people. They had seen Jesus communicate with his Father in the morning, in the afternoon and in the evening. Some of the gang had ascended to a mountaintop to pray with Jesus, and they watched as he was transfigured, gleaming white in God’s presence. Yet still, the disciples want to be taught to pray, and they come to Jesus and say, one more time, show us again, teach us how to pray and he does, offering them a way to pray.

The prayer recorded in Luke’s story is a much briefer than the one found in Matthew’s story. It starts with the emphasis being placed on God--God’s name is to be hallowed, set apart as holy--and God’s kingdom is to come. The emphasis is then moved from the one to whom the prayer is offered and placed upon the one who is offering the prayer as we are taught to ask for bread- what we need for daily life, for forgiveness and for protection. Jesus teaches the disciples one simple prayer with 5 petitions. This is the how-to he says- and you know it:

Our Father who art in heaven... (together invite)

Jesus’ lesson on prayer does not stop with this one prayer and 5 petitions. The lesson continues with a word on persistence saying: I tell you, even though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, at least because of his persistence he will get up and give him whatever he needs.

Persistence works. My kids have asked me for many things over the years, from a cabbage patch doll and Legos when they were young, to iPhones and other electronic gadgets. You name it and they have asked for it. I can ignore them much of the time, but my ears perk up when they persist, because persistence usually means they are serious about something.

God too places a premium on persistence. Unlike a human parent, God does know our true motives, whether we are aware of them or not. I find it tedious to repeat the same requests over and over again, surely God tires of hearing them. Why must I pound on the door? Why won’t a single request suffice? Jesus seems to be saying that God needs to hear from us, over and over again, asking for what we need, placing our request within the realm of God’s will and kingdom, not ours. "Ask and it will be given you; search and you will find; know and the door will be opened." Our Bibles often translate this portion as if we are to ask, search and knock once or twice. However the Greek verbs in this account are in the present tense suggesting that we should keep on asking, keep on seeking and keep on knocking. We must ask, seek, knock over and over and over again.

Think about it: A child is taught how to write by using a large pencil and copying letters onto pieces of paper filled with wide lines to help guide them. The teacher shows the student how to make the letters, but the only way the writing is perfected is for the student to copy the letters onto the pages of the notepad over and over again. In practicing the student is changed, the writing gets more legible, and the act of writing becomes easier.

Practice is essential, whether learning to write, to hit a golf ball, to strike the soccer ball, to hit a baseball, to master a dance move. We too need to repeat, ask, seek and knock. And in the asking, seeking and knocking what we are asking for becomes more clear to us and to God, and with persistence, with practice, we become more adept at asking, and often it is you and me who are changed. In the persistent asking we are changed as our hearts are open to God's will.

We grow in faith as we keep on reminding ourselves that is is God’s kingdom and not our kingdom that is to come, that must come.

Go ahead. Just ask, ask, seek knock. Jesus is waiting to hear from you.

Persistence in prayer--just asking--keeps bringing us together with God, with several important benefits. Not the least of these, as we pour out our soul to God, we get it off our chest, so to speak, unloading some of our burden to the One who can handle it better than us. In short, prayer invites God into our world and ushers us into God’s- thy kingdom come.

The good news is that while the process can require as much patience and persistence as learning how to write, or even how to dance. God continues to listen to and for us, responding with good and perfect gifts. For thy kingdom comes, forever and ever.

Amen.

©2010 Linda VanEaton