Mark 9:14-29
Prayer carries us, propels us, to the very frontier of
the spiritual life.
Brief intro to George Herbert's poem "Prayer I." I find it very compelling that the
first line of the poem about prayer is, “Prayer, the church’s banquet.” When we think of the church’s banquet,
we think of the great feast, the great meal, the mystery of the Last Supper,
and it seems George Herbert, in the very first metaphor of a poem full of
metaphors, links pray to the most holy meal of our faith. It is as if to say
prayer is another part of the great sacramental mystery.
If study of our faith transforms the
mind. If meditation introduces us to our
inner lives.
It is prayer that brings us to the
deepest and highest work of the spiritual life.
Prayer is the central street, the Main Avenue, God uses
to mold us, to transform us, to heal us. The more we open to this molding
this transformation, this healing, the more we desire to conform to the Christ. Prayer helps us understand the frailty of our own desire and helps us to desire that which is sacred.
To be conformed to Christ leads us to
desire the very things that Christ desires; to love the things he loves, to
will the things he wills. Prayer is the main business of our
lives. I want to say that again – prayer is the main business of our lives.
We must ask ourselves if prayer is our
steering wheel or our spare tire?
Is prayer that which guides our day,
which helps us know where to go and how to get there, or is prayer that part of
our lives kept underneath the trunk of our car amid the other stuff that only
comes out when we clean our car in the Spring or when we are stuck on the side of a road during our journey. Prayer is not a little habit tacked on
onto the agenda of our days. Prayer is central to life itself.
There
are many types of prayers, many ways to pray, some work for some people and
some do not. My point this morning is not to go through all the different ways
to pray but to make the point that prayer is central to the Christian life. So,
I will briefly cover four points which I believe are central to prayer:
1. Prayer
is a learned discipline.
2. Scripture is central to Christian prayer.
3. Listening
4. Intercession
/ Petition
1.
Prayer is a learned discipline that must be practiced – In Luke 11:1 the
disciples say, “Lord, teach us to pray.” They had prayed all their lives yet
when in the presence of Jesus they realized they did not really understand how
to pray. There were still some things they had to learn. Prayer is a learned process, feel free to experiment and sometimes even experience dryness in
order to see what type of prayer works for you. (example)
2.
Scripture – The written word reveals the living Word, Jesus Christ. If our
prayer lives become un-hinged from Scripture our prayer lives, and our whole
beings, risk becoming un-hinged from God. Read some Scripture and take it into
prayer. There are wonderful ways, tried, tested and true, of praying through
the Psalms or praying through the Gospels. (SU resources)
Example:
I enjoy Gospel Contemplation (describe).
3.
Listening – I don’t think we can even know what to pray for without listening
for the silent thunder of God’s voice amid the silence. Like Jesus we need time
to withdraw from the busyness of the world. God gave us the Sabbath – not for
God but for us.
4.
Intercesssion / Petition – Listening to the Lord is the first thing, the second
thing and the third thing necessary for successful intercession. We hear what
to ask for in the silence… and we petition in hope. Pray in faith. Pray in
hope. Pray in love.
Let
us never forget a point made by Peter, “The enemy of our souls prowls about
like a roaring lion.”
Prayer
is like a diver’s breathing tube. It is our source of fresh air, sustaining
fresh air, which ushers in peace…joy…hope.
Offer prayer clinics / Quiet Days / guest speakers...etc...
Let
us pray.
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