Prayer

Genesis 18:20 - 32; Psalm 138; Colossians 2:6 - 19; Luke 11:1 - 13

Almighty God, you are always more ready to hear than we to pray, and know our necessities before we ask and our ignorance in asking: Have compassion on our weakness and divisions, and grant that, those things we ask faithfully we may obtain effectively; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

If someone of your family were to go abroad, how will you keep in touch with them? How would you have a relationship with such a person? Would we stop speaking to them and wait until they return? Would be forget them? Would we call them only when we want? The answer I believe is a no. We would no want to lose touch with that member of our family.

Now that is very much that our readings are speaking to us today. Communication. God’s people communicating with God the father. The body communicating with the head. And that is what the bible calls prayer. 

Prayer is a two-way communication. Hence when you pray both get to know each other intimately. There is boldness. There is trust. There is an understanding of each other. There is a relationship built and it grows. Prayer builds up a dependency – God depends on us to fulfill his will and purposes; we depend on God to answer our prayers. Now Jesus’ life was one of prayer. His disciples see that Jesus is a man of prayer. And so they come and ask Jesus to teach them to pray just as John taught his disciples. 

So they saw Jesus as a man of prayer. And they saw John teach his disciples. Now they want to know how to pray. Is it that they didn’t know to pray? I don’t think so. I think they wanted to know how to pray aright because of what they saw in the life of Jesus.

And Jesus gives them a model prayer which we call the Lord’s prayer and we say it every day. A very meaningful prayer. But our focus is not on that prayer itself, but a few points from our readings today. 

First, prayer is not an option. From his baptism to his death Jesus was a man soaked in prayer. He prayed to his father, and it is prayer that gave him strength to fulfill god’s purposes through his ministry on this earth. Many time he went alone to pray. Even in the midst of his ministry, travel, he found time to pray. Prayer was the foundation of his life and ministry. 

Prayer gave courage to be different. Prayer was an instrument to communicate with the father all that he wanted to say, even to communicate his emotions, his concerns, it was also an instrument through which he also heard and understood God's will. It is on the strength of prayer that he did many things on this earth, even suffering and dying for the sins of the world. 

Compare your prayer life with the prayer life of Jesus. See how you can build it to the same level as Jesus. And that must start just as Jesus, from the time of baptized and become stronger with confirmation. Prayer doesn’t happen out of routine of compulsion, but out of reverence and fear and love. 

Secondly, God delights in answering prayer. Before answering God is ever willing to hear us. He knows our hearts and minds even before we come to him. But he wants to hear us. So when we go to him at any time he is ready to listen. He ready to respond. And the parables in the gospel that Jesus uses reveals that to us. Because God 

"He never ever sleeps he never slumbers (Ps 121:3-4). He never tires of hearing our prayers. When we are week he becomes stronger". Is that the experience of your prayer life? Or do you find that God doesn’t answer your prayer, or does God seem to be far away.

Well you need to be persevering in prayer. Jesus says, keep pushing - Seek, knock, ask. To persevere is to be bold. Not afraid to ask. Not afraid to say what is in the heart. This is where we get to our old testament reading.

Our third point is that prayer is a conversation (Genesis 18.20-32). A conversation is not always about me. But it should be about the others, on behalf of others. Analyze the prayers in the bible and see. Here we see Abraham a man of faith. His conversation with God takes the form of a question and answer model. Indirectly he is interceding on behalf of Lot. He doesn’t project himself as righteous, like the Pharisee in the NT. But he is genuinely interceding for the righteous man who is about to be destroyed with the unrighteous. Abraham has faith. And God answers him. Imagine someone coming and asking you many questions. They will get angry. But that's the difference with God. You can ask him he never gets tired. He answers. He will speak with you. 

And so Paul calls us to be connected to the head. And prayer helps us do that. Once you go home, read Psalm 138 over and over again. You will see the benefit of being in constant touch with God. Because God delights to answer us. May we have courage to give time to be in communion with God, hear his voice and do his will though our prayer life and build a close relationship with Jesus. May God enable you to taste the good ness of God through your prayer life. Therefore, pray at all times, in all circumstances.