Since the disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray, it got me thinking, “Who taught me to pray and what did I learn?” Somewhere along the way my parents and Sunday School teachers taught me to close my eyes, bow my head and put my palms together. The first prayer I learned was not the Lord’s Prayer, but “Now I lay me down to sleep…” which I discovered is from the New England Primer, which was the first American reading anthology written for children in the 1700s. Since about 2 million copies were sold in the 18th century this prayer became more popular than the Lord’s Prayer. From this I learned to assume a powerful God was out there somewhere keeping my soul safe, yet it raised the disturbing notion of death. I remember being afraid to go to sleep after this prayer and wondering if this night would be my last.
I was fascinated with prayer in my college days, and the Baptist school I went to taught me much about intercessory prayer. Much of what I read in those days was and exhortation to pray for things that needed to happen and that persistence was the key. I learned another song that went:
Seek ye first the Kingdom of God, and God’s righteousness. And all these things shall be added unto you. Allelu! Alleluia! Knock and the door shall be opened unto you. Seek and ye shall find. Ask and it shall be given unto you. Allelu! Alleluia!
When we are taught the Lord’s Prayer, it isn’t always linked
to what comes after in Luke’s Gospel, which is this teaching that God is generous
and good and desires to be bountiful to us, much like any good parent would be
to their children. So ask, seek and
knock and you will get what you need.
But the key is to seek first the
One book that stands out was E.M. Bounds classic “The Power of Prayer.” Like many 18th and 19th century revivalists, Bounds taught that God moved in the world as a response to fervent prayer. God brought revival, healing and prosperity when the petitioner had a pure heart and persistent attitude. I read stories of pastors who wore out the knees of their pants and wore grooves into the floorboards, and that this was the key to their successful preaching. I was inspired and at the same time felt guilty that I wasn’t capable of such devotion. As a runner I wasn’t sure I wanted to give up my knees for Jesus, but I found myself bored and unable to sustain long hours of prayer, which made me question my lack of faith.
Other questions began to arise. I discovered that Bounds had been a chaplain in the Confederate Army, which made me wonder what he prayed for from 1861 to 1865. I also saw that bad things happened despite fervent prayer. Good people died of cancer despite prayer chains of hundreds of people asking for their healing, while other people survived despite not really showing any great deeds in their life. Sometimes the good or evil that falls on a person seems rather random and arbitrary. People say to me “Everything happens for a reason.” While I agree that many things happen and only later can we see that good came of it, there is just too much senseless violence and suffering that never seems to get redeemed. I do not think there is a great algorithm in heaven that runs the world based on the persistence and purity of prayer or at least I did not pay enough attention in algebra class to understand such things.
This leads me to the next leg of my prayer journey. In my early 40s I struggled with my faith and explored Buddhism, where I learned a very different form of prayer. It was a relief to sit on a pillow rather than wreck my knees even if I did get stiff sitting on the floor. I learned to breath from my diaphragm and let go of all my thoughts in my busy “monkey mind.” While I was learning to breath through my toes and out the top of my head, I also learned to be in the moment, accept what is and experience a connection with life around me.
Buddhist prayer taught me the importance of acceptance. Acceptance is the ability to see things as they are and deal with the truth. If I can’t accept the truth about myself, the world or a given situation and the imperfectability of all the above, then no real change is possible. That probably sounds like a paradox, and that is the Buddhist thought like things. The ability to accept and let go was a powerful skill when I had several surgeries. I learned to be at peace even though I felt so powerless. When the doctor came to take out my drains I would say to myself, “I accept that this is the time for my drains to come out. This will be painful, but that is a part of life, so breath deeply, relax and accept it.” Then as the plastic tubes were ripped out of my body, I’d think, “The Buddha isn’t kidding, Life IS SUFFERING! I accept that. I don’t like it, but I accept it.” Acceptance gave me strength to endure and heal. I noticed that nurses would hang out in my room, as a breather from grumpy patients (so I got very good care!)
Buddhism also taught me about mindfulness. Mindfulness is the ability to be in the present moment and having an open awareness of what is happening. Mindfulness embraces the golden sunset with gratitude and notices the suffering of another person with compassion. It is an awareness of all that I feel-the good, the bad and the ugly-and what those feelings can teach me. In trying to practice being mindful, I was lead back to my Christian faith, because I started to experience a sense of the loving God at the heart of creation and in my own heart. One day while practicing a Buddhist breathing prayer, and meditating on what they call the fifth chackra (which is the seat of creativity and expression) I had a vision that I would preach again. So I often say that the Buddha found me in the wilderness of my faith and led me back to Jesus. Thank God because I like the hymns so much better!
Now when I say the Lord’s Prayer I experience it with new
eyes and ears. Unlike “Now I lay me down to sleep…” which focuses on my own
immortal soul and its peril, Jesus teaches us to pray to “our Father.” This is a prayer meant to be said together as
a community. Yes, that probably sounds
incredibly obvious, but sometimes the obvious escapes my attention. When the disciples asked for instructions on
how to pray, they were given a common prayer, not a private one.
The importance of the Kingdom in the Lord’s Prayer leaps out at me now. “Thy Kingdom Come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” and again at the end “For thine is the Kingdom and the power and the glory, forever and ever.” Luke emphasizes Jesus’ teachings about the coming reign of God, and its presence in our midst. God’s reign is like a great banquet where even the poor and the lame are invited in to feast. It is like a pearl of great price that we would give all to hold in our hand. God’s reign may start among us like a tiny mustard seed, barely noticed, but will grow to be our shade. It is a future hope, and a present reality. Just like the two disciples on the road to Emmaus recognized Jesus in breaking bread with him, whenever two or three of us gather, there is Jesus and the Kingdom. The Lord’s Prayer lays out the practical basics of what God’s will looks like. There should be enough bread for everyone (and clean drinking water, health care, etc.) forgiveness and grace are practiced, and God will help us resist temptation and accompany us in the face of evil.
In this light, I see the Lord’s Prayer as a commitment to participate in the work of the coming reign of God. We pray together as our bond of trust that we are committed to being in right relationship with one another. I think this is what I’ve come to learn about prayer. I used to pray with a mindset that it would make me more effective. Prayer would give me greater insight, strengthen my work, make me a better person. But now I see prayer as seeking to be in right relationship with God and others.
Seek ye first the Kingdom of God, and God’s righteousness. And all these things shall be added unto you. Allelu! Alleluia! Knock and the door shall be opened unto you. Seek and ye shall find. Ask and it shall be given unto you. Allelu! Alleluia!
(I think I will end the sermon singing this again.)
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