Prayer - Sermon for Midweek Lenten Service

Sermon Lenten Service

Text: Romans 8:22-27

Romans 8:22-27

²²We know that the whole creation has been groaning in labor pains until now; ²³and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly while we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies. ²⁴For in hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what is seen? ²⁵But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.

²⁶Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words. ²⁷And God, who searches the heart, knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.

Grace and Peace to you from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ who meets us in the silence of prayer.

What is prayer? Is prayer that player in the big game pointing to the sky after scoring the go ahead point? Is it the singer who praises God when winning the Grammys? Is prayer Sunday mornings when lead by a Pastor? Or is it constrained to meal and bedtimes? For me growing up those were the normal prayer times of the day. For bedtime we did the Lord’s Prayer. And for meal times we usually always had the same prayer, Come Lord Jesus, Be our guest, let these gifts to us be blessed. What if you don’t use pre-written prayers like Come Lord Jesus though? Do prayers work better when they are spontaneous?

And in our Gospel from Ash Wednesday we read Jesus warning against praying like those who pray standing at corners or in the synagogue so that others can see them. Is prayer then only prayer when no one else can hear us? Does it have to be silent to count?

All these things still lead us to the same questions, what is prayer? And why do we pray? Do we pray because we have to? Or because we are supposed to? Is prayer an obligation? Something we are required to do?

Now I think there are many kinds of prayer. There are prayers of thanks such as at meals, and at bedtime, when we give thanks and praise to God for the daily bread provided for us, and for the protection we found throughout the day. And there are the prayers of intercession during church services, prayers where we pray for general peace, justice, and well-being.

     But, that’s not the kind of prayer Jesus is warning against. Jesus is answering the question why do we pray. The person praying on the corner or in the synagogue is not praying to pray, but to be seen. They want others to see them praying, seeing how devout and great they are. They are praying not for the sake of praying or conversing with God, but for the purpose of making themselves look good. And that completely misses the point of prayer. Praying is not to show off, but praying is conversation with God. We give thanks to God at meal times or bed times, not because we need to make sure that we look good to others, but because we want to tell God our thanks.

Jesus instructs that prayer is conversation and relationship. When Jesus teaches the Lord’s Prayer, he begins “this is how you should pray.” What we want to do then is start talking about what is being said, Jesus is praying for food, for health, etc. And we miss how he is praying. Which is what he says he is doing. Jesus prays like he is in conversation, as if he were writing a letter. When we pray we need to simply talk with God. Prayer is conversation with God, we ask questions, we seek answers, we lay bare our concerns, we bring up joys, and we address our fears.

But, what if those fears and concerns have overwhelmed us? What if words cannot come and we feel completely abandoned of thought. How do we pray when we cannot talk?

How do you pray when you have just been diagnosed with cancer? How do you pray when your loved one has just died? How do you pray when it feels like everything is collapsing upon you?

As Paul says in Romans, we have hope, we rest certain in the power of Christ upon the cross. But, how do you pray when that hope can seem so far away. We, like creation, grown inwardly. I can think of no better way to describe the pain of life collapsing around you. In that pain we can lose sight of that hope, we can only see our own pain and overwhelming anguish. Even if we could think to pray, we have no way to find words, let alone speak them.

And that is where God the Spirit intercedes for us. That is the moment where God the Son meets us upon the cross. That is the moment where God the Father weeps with us in our anguish. When we cannot pray, God intercedes, meets, and weeps with us. When we cannot talk with God, God talks with us.

The strongest prayer is not the prayer we craft meticulously preparing each line perfectly, the strongest prayer is when we stand in the cold winter air at a graveside, tears upon our faces, those surrounding you and the whole world singing of God’s promise. The strongest prayer is in the bedroom, the nursing home, or hospital room, as your loved one in their last moments breathes the Lord’s prayer with family and friends surrounding them. The strongest prayer is the one that the very spirit draws out of our inmost needs.

The strongest prayer is when we do not know what to ask for, or what to wish for, when we have no words and all that surrounds us is silence, and for once all we can do is listen {pause}        and in that silence God speaks to us.

     Ash Wednesday and Lent allow us to reflect on the Cross of Christ marked on our foreheads and let God speak to us in the silence. Prayer is not grand speeches in the courtyard. Prayer is listening to God’s response.

We will now have moment of silence before our hymn.

 "What a Friend We Have in Jesus"   ELW 742   LBW 439