April 3, 2006

Prayer is a Way of Life

And he said to them, "When I sent you out with no purse or bag or sandals, did you lack any-thing?" They said, "Nothing." He said to them, "But now, let him who has a purse take it, and likewise a bag. And let him who has no sword sell his mantle and buy one. For I tell you that this scripture must be fulfilled in me, 'And he was reckoned with transgressors'; for what is written about me has its fulfillment." And they said, "Look, Lord, here are two swords." And he said to them, "It is enough." And he came out, and went, as was his custom, to the Mount of Olives; and the disciples followed him. And when he came to the place he said to them, "Pray that you may not enter into temptation." And he withdrew from them about a stone's throw, and knelt down and prayed: "Father, if thou art willing, remove this cup from me; nevertheless not my will, but Thine, be done." And when he rose from prayer, he came to the disciples and found them sleeping for sorrow, and he said to them, "Why do you sleep? Rise and pray that you may not enter into temptation." - Luke 22: 35-46

“Prayer is an exercise of faith in the fullest sense of the phrase. Prayer requires a good bit of conditioning and there are no short cuts. This is hard news and hard work – especially for lumpy people like me. We wear out too quickly.” (Rev. Bill Carter, from a 2001 sermon).

Jesus prayed and the disciples slept in a grief-filled slumber.

Jesus could pray to God in his greatest hour of anguish because that was his pattern in life. There are those who do not pray through a sense of fatalism. “Why pray,” they will say, “if the only thing I am going to get is what God desires.” We tend to forget that the struggle we go through in praying is of great value – no matter what the outcome. Our relationship with God – and not the consumerism which only gives meaning to something if we get what we want – is the chief goal to why we pray.

Prayer is a way of life because it is based on a relationship with the living God. It would be different if we were believers in a “Star War’s” religion – latter day Stoics who believe that the universe ruled by an impersonal force. Then our task would be merely to adjust ourselves to whatever life placed in our path.

The whole aspect of our beliefs as Christians is based on our belief in a God of love and grace. It was out of this love that Jesus came into the world. It is the basis of salvation for us and for our world. It was his belief in such a God that Jesus could kneel in the garden on the night of his arrest and pray that the “cup might pass him by.” It was also this relationship and trust that also allowed him to say – in the midst of it all – in the silence –

“Nevertheless not my will, but Thine, be done:"

The best way to understand prayer is to start – to become involved with a dialogue and a relationship with God. For in this world which gives us – at times - eyes that are too weary – we are told by what Jesus said and practiced that prayer is essential. Our relationship with God will make all of the difference in the world – both in this world and in the next.

Submitted by Rev. Bob Wright