Welcome: “Jesus had a rich prayer life. Whether it was public prayers and blessings or private prayers on the mountain or in the garden, praying was an important part of his ministry and life. Sometimes prayer can be a bit abstract for us. We may not be sure about how best to weave it into our lives. We understand it is part of our Christian tradition and we practice it here at church. But we may not be as sure about what it can mean for us outside of worship. That’s ok. Jesus’ disciples weren’t sure either and so they asked him to help them. He gave his disciples an example for ways to speak to God in prayer. Over the coming weeks, we hope to explore the many facets of prayer as Jesus showed his disciples.”
Prayers and Petitions:
When we come to the prayer time in our worship, we have been in communication with God throughout the service, but this is the moment when we have heard the Word from the scriptures, we’ve heard a word from a guide, a preacher, who helps us to explore our faith, and now we are ready to ask–“just ask”–for God’s Word to become flesh among us once again as we intercede on behalf of the world. When we bring joys and concerns in this moment, it serves to bring them predominantly into our minds and hearts so that our response to the Gospel Good News is to prepare to be that Good News through our actions in the world. This is the “where” of prayer. Prayer happens where we we are “a-ware” of our need for loving relationship with God, with others, with ourselves. So we are going to share our joys and concerns to bring them top-of-mind and then we will pray with our beads.
What are you thankful for today? We are going to just lift up words or phrases of thanksgiving. I am grateful for [fill in with an example as a way of beginning the “popcorn” offerings]. What are you grateful for?
What concerns you today? Who needs our prayers? I pray for …Who else needs our prayers?
For all these things spoken and the ones spoken in the quiet of our hearts, hear our prayers, O God. Amen.
Reflections
This morning, we listen to the words of Paul in his letter to the Philippians who invites us to “let our requests be made known to God.” And Matthew reminds us that Jesus told his followers to ask and it shall be given to you. Both of these passages and in countless others throughout the Hebrew Scriptures and New Testament speak about the importance of being in relationship to God, the importance of sharing our hopes, worries, struggles and gratitude with the One who yearns to be in relationship with us always. Let us pray,
The Rev. Terry Hershey shared this story in a recent piece he writes called Sabbath Moments. “Every day after school, the young son of a well-known Rabbi would enter his house, place his backpack on the dining room table, leave the house through the back door and head into the woods behind the house.
At first, the Rabbi gave little thought to his son’s ritual. Until it continued, for days, and then for weeks. Every day, out into the woods for almost a half hour. The Rabbi grew concerned.
“My son,” he asked one day. “I notice that every day you leave our home to spend time in the woods. What is it you are doing there?”
“Oh papa,” the son replied. “There is no need to worry. I go into the woods to pray. It is in the woods that I can talk to God.”
“Oh,” the Rabbi said, clearly relieved. “But you should know, as the son of a Rabbi, that God is the same everywhere.”
“Yes, papa. I know that God is the same everywhere. But, I am not.”
This little boy knew, instinctively, that there are two spaces in our lives. And both are important. In the first space, we generate activity, productivity (to-do lists), accomplishment, and achievement (and yes, busyness, worry and a wee bit of stress). In this space we carry our calendars, our smart phones, our iPads, and our to-do lists. But there is a second space. In this space we find sanctuary, quiet, reflection, contemplation, and meditation.
In this second space we find replenishment, spiritual nourishment and renewal. And in this space is born prayer, music, poetry, friendship, amazement, awe, wonder, renewal, and if we are lucky, unrepentant napping.”
“God is the same everywhere. But, I am not.”
– Pádraig Ó Tuama, in his book Daily Prayer with the Corrymeela Community in Belfast, Northern Ireland writes,
“Prayer is a small fire lit to keep cold hands warm.
Prayer is a practice that flourishes both with faith and doubt.
Prayer is asking and prayer is sitting. Prayer is the breath.
Prayer is not an answer, always, because not all questions can be answered. Prayer can be a rhythm that helps us make sense in times of senselessness, not offering solutions, but speaking to and from the mystery of humanity.”
Our first reading from the letters of Paul is a wonderful passage on prayer. It probably should not surprise us that this memorable urging to prayer comes at the end of the letter to the Philippians. The author has spent much of the rest of the letter trying to help the new Christians in the city of Philippi understand more deeply what it means to follow Jesus, especially in the way of crucifixion and resurrection. Journeying in the path of the cross, as the author encourages, is no easy task, especially when there are those who confuse and distort Jesus’ message and ministry. So, Paul’s letter reminds the early communities of faith to stay grounded in prayer as a way to grow as a community of believers, to always focus on Christ and his message to help them when they do feel confused or lost. When things get hard, when the way is difficult, when it’s difficult to discern whom to trust or what path to follow, here is an invitation to breathe through the anxiety and turn toward prayer.
This too, is the way of Jesus, the path of the cross – learning to rely on a relationship with God that can hold every concern, every fear, every uncertainty, every joy, every celebration, every question, every longing. After all the rest of their teaching, the author assures us and the gathered community that discipleship rooted in this kind of prayer practice – grounded, honest, relational – is what will protect our hearts and bring peace in troubled and challenging times.
It’s interesting that Jesus, like the writer of Philippians, concludes his important sermon in Matthew’s gospel by emphasizing the centrality of prayer. He has been speaking about the importance of living out a life of faith and how we are to weave this into our lives and then he connects it all to prayer. Just ask, Jesus seems to be saying, as if part of the blessed way of living he has been describing centers on asking for what you need, being in conversation and relationship with God in ways that allow us to share our deepest hopes and longings and questions so that we may be open to new possibilities. We belong to a God who wants to be near to us. Cultivating this honest, vulnerable, open relationship with God through prayer is at the heart of the Jesus life of love, tender justice, and tenacious hope. Just ask…
The writer Etty Hillesum, a young Jewish woman, whose journals were published long after she died in a camp, wrote this… “Ultimately, we have just one moral duty. To reclaim large areas of peace in ourselves, more and more peace, and to reflect it towards others. And the more peace there is in us, the more peace there will also be in our troubled world.”
Where do we go to replenish the well?
Where do we go to nourish the soul?
Where do we go to be bathed in peace?
Be Still and Know
This morning, I’d like to invite you to join me in a simple movement prayer of centering which is based on Psalm 46:10.
you’re invited to do a simple body prayer using the Psalm 46: “Be still and know that I am God.” With each gesture we will remove one word from the text. Feel free to restate back the words, however, keep yourself on mute.
Bow: BE STILL AND KNOW THAT I AM GOD
Opening with hands extended toward the sky: BE STILL AND KNOW THAT I AM
Bringing hands together over the heart: BE STILL AND KNOW
Turning from one side to another, arms outstretched: BE (turn right) STILL (turn left)
Grounding…placing our hands facedown at our sides, toward the earth: BE(Do once more)