After I chose the title for
this sermon, I realized that it might not be the best one to use. “Praying
Properly” suggests that I’m going to tell you how to pray in the right way – something
like “three easy steps to effective prayer.” But that’s not what I have in mind
at all. In fact, I’m convinced that giving you “three easy steps to effective
prayer” wouldn’t be a good thing to do at all; because prayer can’t be boxed
into “three easy steps.” Maybe the best way to start is to take a look at
prayer itself and go on from there.
Prayer, at its most basic,
is simply communication with God. Prayer is getting in touch with the one who
created the universe, the one who is the source of all blessings, the one who stands
by us when life throws us a curve ball. Christian writer Anne Lamott (I highly recommend her books to you) believes
that there are really only three kinds of prayers: “Wow!” “Thanks!” and “Help!”
“Wow!” is a “joyful expression
of wonder in response to astonishing moments great and small.” Did you ever
stand in awe at the grandeur of nature – the vastness of the Grand Canyon,
perhaps; or the crash of ocean waves on a rocky coast; or the deep orange hues
of a sunset – and as you stood there, you were amazed at the creativity that
designed all of it and gave us the capability to appreciate its beauty? You
just prayed a “Wow!” prayer. Or maybe you marveled at a coincidence that put
you exactly where you needed to be exactly when you needed to be there; and you
said to yourself, “That had to be God’s doing!” That was a “Wow!” prayer, too.
Oh, I know – you didn’t use any words. But the reality is that sometimes, no
words are adequate to capture what we are feeling, especially in “Wow!” moments.
Paul tells us in his letter to the Romans (8:26-27) that the Spirit puts those
prayers into words when we can’t. Sometimes “Wow!” is all we need to say; and
the Spirit knows exactly how to interpret that.
Then there are the “Thanks!”
prayers. You all know what they are. We pray them every single week here in
church. “Thanks, God,” we say, “for all the things that you have done for us.” But
“Thanks!” prayers aren’t limited to just Sunday mornings. If you have ever
appreciated a warm home while a blizzard rages outside; or if you have ever
been thankful for a cold glass of fresh, pure water on a hot August day; or if
you have ever held a baby in your arms and felt a rush of gratitude for that
new life – well, then, you have prayed the “Thanks!” prayer. And just like the “Wow!”
prayer, sometimes we can’t put our gratitude into words. And on those times,
the Spirit does its thing and puts our prayers into appropriate words that go
straight to God.
That leaves the “Help!”
prayers – those 911 prayers that we shoot up to God when we are in trouble. And
on those occasions, we aren’t at a loss for words. No, at times like those, we
tell God exactly what we want! When we are in a difficult situation, we want
God to get us out of it; when we have been wronged, we want God’s justice; and
when a loved one is suffering, we want God’s healing. We’ve all prayed those
kinds of prayers. But even as we cry out to God for the things that we want –
and we should cry out to God when we
need help – it’s worth remembering that sometimes we don’t pray for the wisest
things. After all, those “Help!” prayers ask God for something in the future:
relief or justice or healing. We don’t have that problem with “Thanks!”
prayers, because they appreciate something that is in the past. We don’t have
that problem with “Wow!” prayers, either, because they marvel at something that
we are experiencing right now. But those “Help!” prayers… They respond to
what’s taking place now and spring ahead into the future. We don’t always ask
for the wisest things where the future is concerned. So, especially where
“Help!” prayers are concerned, we need to let the Spirit help us to pray.
But… how do we do that? Praying
through the Spirit starts with a healthy humility, and the knowledge that we don’t know everything that God is doing
right now. We don’t know where God is working in our lives or in the lives of
others; and so, what we praying for might be the exact opposite of what God is
trying to do! Here’s an example. Mike is in a tough situation. He just got a
job as a stock boy in a local chain store; and his supervisor is making Mike’s
life difficult. He’s abrupt; he’s demanding; sometimes he’s downright rude.
Now, the temptation is to pray that Mike gets another job. But what we don’t
know is that Mike’s supervisor is having a terribly tough time himself. His
wife just died suddenly and left him with two small children to raise; so he’s
being hard on all the employees that he supervises to make sure that he doesn’t
lose his own job. Mike is in a position
to be a listening ear, and maybe even a support for him; but if Mike gets
another job, that support will be gone. We don’t know where God is working in the
lives of others. A better prayer would be that Mike is able to do his job well,
and to understand why his supervisor is so tough on him.
I know that it’s tempting
when we pray to tell God how to fix thorny situations. But God has better
solutions than we do! So maybe we should be less specific in what we ask for in
prayer. Maybe we should simply lift those situations up to God and let God
handle it! Instead of praying, “O God, fix things so my child doesn’t get into
any more trouble” (which isn’t really a bad prayer), what if we prayed, “O God,
I lift up my child to you. I am worried about what she is doing. Please work in
her life so that she learns the difference between right and wrong.” That’s a
better prayer, because it gives God room to work – and isn’t that what we
really want?
Finally, we should pay
attention to what the Spirit says to us. The Spirit not only talks to God for
us, you know; it talks to us for God. But to be able to listen to the Spirit,
we have to listen more and talk less. If we have decided beforehand how God
should answer our prayers, there is no room for the Spirit to guide and
instruct us. You may remember, way back at the beginning of this sermon, I said
that prayer is being in touch with God. Communication with God is a two-way
street: we talk to God, and God talks back. That is especially true in “Help!”
prayers. Take time to meditate on what you are praying about. Give the Spirit
room to enlighten you to other ways that your problems might be solved. Remind
yourself that we don’t know everything there is to know; and that God might
want to let you in on some things!
So… how do we pray properly? We pray properly by letting the Spirit speak for us and to us. We pray properly by lifting our awe and our thanks to God,
and not worrying about always using words to do it. We pray properly by lifting
our concerns to God, and not assuming that we know what the outcome ought to
be. We pray properly by asking the Spirit to help us every single time that we
start to pray. The Spirit is with us and in us! This morning, as we are in
prayer, I invite you to listen to what the Spirit has to say.
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