July 28, 2022

Throughout the gospels, Jesus is asked nearly 200 questions yet only responds with an answer 3-8 times (depending on which biblical scholar is doing the counting). 

Last Sunday’s gospel reading is one of the times Jesus responds directly to a request from his disciples, “Lord, teach us to pray…” (Luke 11:1). Jesus answers the request by teaching the Lord’s Prayer. We call it “The Lord’s Prayer” because it is Jesus’ prayer and he invites us to join in praying it along with him.

When we are taught something that we really want to learn, what do we do?
Maybe you take notes, make flash cards, and try and memorize it.
Perhaps you try and understand what you’ve learned well enough to explain it to someone else.
In school, maybe you are assigned a bit of homework or extra reading to support what you heard from your teacher.
And in a lot of cases, learning something new requires you to practice.

When we are taught a new Algebra formula or grammar rule, we practice over and over and over again and it becomes ingrained in our math and speech and writing.

When Jesus teaches us to pray, our responses as disciples, as students, is to practice what we have been taught.

There are many ways to practice prayer. We tried out several during the sermon moment of last Sunday’s worship service. You can sit in silence, repeat a mantra as you breathe, take on different postures, sing, talk to God aloud or in your head and heart, write or journal, read scripture or the prayers of another.

The importance is in the practicing.
Find a way to keep on practicing prayer this week. 
Choose a method old or new, use the words Jesus teaches or words that come to your own heart, or no words at all trusting the Spirit as our advocate who intercedes for us.

When someone tells me they feel like they don’t know the “right way to pray,” my general response is, there isn’t a right way, and the only wrong way is to not practice.

Lord, listen to your children as we pray this week and every week.

Grace & Peace,
Pastor Drew