Prayer

Luke 11:1-13

Growing up, I came to learn prayer as something consisting of words. Prayers were requests, or words of thanksgiving. Prayers were high quality if the words were high quality. Prayers happened out loud, almost like a monologue in a play. Pastors and important people prayed.

Prayers can sometimes feel like performances, even when we are alone, can’t they?

Sometimes I struggle to pray for the sole reason that I feel silly coming up with words in my head. Even being a Pastor, I still have a lot to continue learning and exploring when it comes to prayer.

One prayer I will always struggle with is the prayer that doesn’t come with words. The gospel writer of Luke hints that Jesus had a regular practice of daily prayer, he would retreat in solitude and spend time in prayer. Did Jesus speak silently or outloud? I wonder if Jesus simply sat there in silence—that is a form of praying too, probably the most counterintuitive way.

But sometimes prayer is listening and not speaking. Breathing in and breathing out. Sometimes prayer is simply sitting in peace for a while before the day starts, knowing that that peace is the presence of God. We have much to learn, as Christians, from Zen buddhism and its tradition of mindfulness. Meditation and prayer are pretty synonymous and can be a very interchangeable experience.

And sometimes prayer is what we expect, a crying out to God. Or it is an imprecatory word: giving our anger to God at the injustice we witness. Prayer can be a yearning for something to change or stay the same. Prayer can simply be a desperate cry to a parent for comfort.

Whatever that prayer is for you, whether or not you feel comfortable or capable doing it, prayer is a part of being Christian. And if you have absolutely nothing to say and no sense of how to do it, remember that the disciples themselves also felt this way once. And when they asked Jesus how to pray he, thankfully, gave them a straightforward answer. From Luke 11:

“Father, may your name be revered as holy. "May 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 if that feels strange, another version of the Lord’s prayer exists that you likely have memorized. However you pray, dont shy away from it. You might find an experience of God’s love waiting for you there.