"Prayer: An Introduction"
Gettysburg Presbyterian Church
David C. Wright
Lk.18:9-14; Mt. 6:5-8
September 19, 2010

         This past week my wife Bonnie, went to see the movie “Eat, Pray, Love.”  She invited me to go, since one of the themes of the film is prayer, and our sermons are about prayer for the next few weeks.  But I wasn’t sure I wanted to be seen going to such a major “chick flick,” and I feared the estrogen level in the theater might be more than I could handle.  So I declined!  But Bonnie went with a friend and she reported to me that early in the film, Liz, the character played by Julia Roberts, prays for the first time.  This is her prayer: “Hello God.  How are you?  I’m Liz. It’s nice to finally meet you… I’m sorry to bother you so late at night… but I’m in serious trouble… I’m not an expert at praying, as you know.  But can you please help me?  I don’t know what to do.  Please tell me what to do.”  Whether you like this prayer or not (and I think Jesus probably would have), it reminds us that God has planted a desire to pray in each one of us, which often emerges at a time of crisis.
Although most everybody would agree that prayer is an essential practice for followers of Jesus Christ, many of us have not had satisfying experiences with regular prayer.  We may have tried a couple times, but struggled to know what to do and what to say.  We may have gotten bored with it.  Maybe we didn’t feel anything when we prayed and wondered if it was working.  We may have even questioned if prayer really does any good, whether it really makes any difference.
          In addition to these kinds of questions about prayer, today’s lifestyles make prayer hard for most of us.  I recently spent a week at the beach.  I was sitting beside the ocean on a beautiful day, waves lapping in, birds soaring by, fish jumping out of the water, a gentle breeze blowing.  A wonderful opportunity to relax and bask in the goodness of God’s creation and reflect on the Creator.  But when I looked around me, most of the people on the beach were oblivious to that beauty.  They were on their cell phones and Blackberries, texting friends and answering emails from work!  Prayer takes a certain level of sustained focus, which I believe is becoming harder for many of us, due to the constant presence and interruption of electronic media.  Prayer has always been difficult, but it is even more challenging today.
          Jesus’ disciples apparently felt confused about prayer, too.  They had observed Jesus praying in remote, quiet places and they had seen him pray publicly.  Finally, they simply asked him, “Lord, teach us to pray!”  And that’s what we’re asking the Lord to do for us over the next few weeks- to teach us to pray.  This morning we’re going to look at three things Jesus had to say about prayer, and then next week we’ll look at the prayer he taught.
The first this Jesus has to say about prayer is found in Luke 18:9-14.
         9  (Jesus) also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and regarded others with contempt:
         10  "Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.
         11  The Pharisee, standing by himself, was praying thus, "God, I thank you that I am not like other people: thieves, rogues, adulterers, or even like this tax collector.
         12  I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of all my income.'
         13  But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even look up to heaven, but was beating his breast and saying, "God, be merciful to me, a sinner!'
         14  I tell you, this man went down to his home justified rather than the other; for all who exalt themselves will be humbled, but all who humble themselves will be exalted."
          Let’s remember that Pharisees were good, religious men who took their faith very seriously, gave generously to the poor, and studied the Scriptures diligently.  Tax collectors were seen as traitors, and were widely hated, because they cooperated with the occupying Roman forces by collecting their taxes for them, often cheating their fellow countrymen in the process.  You would expect that Jesus would use the Pharisee as the good example of praying, and the tax collector would be the failure.  But as he often did, Jesus reverses the conventional wisdom.
          On what basis are the prayers of the tax collector judged effective, while the Pharisee’s prayers are ineffective?  It’s on the basis of their humility, or lack thereof.  Notice how the Pharisee told God about all the bad things he avoided doing and all the good things he did, as if to impress God, somehow with his righteousness!  He has no real need for God- he seemed to think he was perfect the way he was!  The tax collector, on the other hand, was keenly aware of his failures and his desperate need for God’s mercy.  And God answered his prayers.
          In 1916 the last of the Hapsburg dynasty funerals was held when Emperor Franz-Josef I of Austria died.  An extravagant imperial funeral followed, with participants ornately dressed and a black and gold draped coffin.  As the military band played, the cortege descended the stairs of the Capuchin Monastery in Vienna.  At the bottom of the stairs was the great iron door leading to the Hapsburg family crypt.  The officer in charge cried, “Open,” to which the Cardinal, standing on the other side of the door responded, “Who goes there?”
          “We bear the remains of his Imperial and Apostolic Majesty, Franz-Josef I, by the grace of God Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary, Defender of the Faith, Prince of Bohemia-Moravia, Grand Duke of Lombardy, Vanezia, Styrgia…”  The officer continued with all 37 titles of the emperor. 
          “We know him not,” replied the cardinal.  “Who goes there?”  The officer spoke again, using an abbreviated and less ostentatious title.  “We know him not,” replied the cardinal.  “Who goes there?”  The officer tried a third time, “We bear the body of Franz-Josef, our brother, a sinner like us all!”  At that, the doors swung open, and Franz-Joseph was admitted. 
If we wish to enter God’s presence in prayer, the starting place is humility.  It’s an acknowledgement that we’re not all that and a bag of chips.  An acknowledgement that we don’t have it all together and that we need God’s help in a multitude of ways.  We enter prayer with humility.
          The second thing Jesus says about prayer is found in Matt. 6:5-6
         5  "And whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, so that they may be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward.
         6  But whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
The Jewish people prayed regularly.  There were stated prayers for any imaginable activity or social gathering.  And there were certain hours when they were to stop wherever they were and offer a prayer.  Prayer was very important to the Jewish people of Jesus’ day.  But even prayer can be warped by our sin.  In this case Jesus is referring to hypocrites who arranged to be standing in the middle of the busiest intersection when the time for prayer came!  Why? “So that they may be seen by others,” Jesus says!
          Jesus reminds us here that God is the audience of our prayers, not anyone else.  Sometimes when we pray in groups, we’re tempted to focus on those who are listening rather than the God to whom we are praying.  God is not impressed by those kinds of prayers.  Instead, Jesus counsels us to get in a private place to pray.  He mentions a closet, which would have meant the storeroom in a Palestinian home.  Now, there’s nothing wrong with public prayer- Jesus and the apostles did it, and they encouraged people in the church to pray together.  But there is also a time for private prayer, which Jesus suggests here as an antidote to those who are tempted to impress others with their prayers!
          The third thing Jesus tells us about prayer is found in Matt. 6:7-8.
         7  "When you are praying, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do; for they think that they will be heard because of their many words (or “vain repetitions” as in the KJV).
         8  Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.  In a Peanuts comic strip, Marcy and Peppermint Patty are at camp sitting at the breakfast table.  Marcy says, “The counselor wants you to lead in our breakfast prayer, sir.”  Patty looks straight up and prays, “Dear Lord, thank you for these pancakes. Amen!”  To which Marcy replies, “No one can accuse you of vain repetitions can they, sir?”  Patty explains, “The pancakes were getting cold…”
          Pagan prayers in Jesus’ day often contained long lists of as many gods as the person praying could think of, hoping that at least one of the gods would answer!  And some pagan praying was repetitive, piling up many words, attempting to get the person praying worked up in a frenzy, in order to impress the gods with the passion of the one praying, so they’d be more likely to answer.  Jesus wasn’t impressed with these prayers, because prayer is not about manipulating God.  And it’s not about our passion or feelings of spirituality either.  At its heart, prayer is a simple conversation with God.
          Let’s review.  Humility is the right attitude when we come before God in prayer.  God is our audience when we pray, not other people.  And prayer is not about trying to manipulate God.  It’s a simple conversation with him.
          I’m a person who likes to try to fix my home appliances.  That comes partly from my frugal Scottish heritage and partly because I like the sense of satisfaction that comes from fixing something.  So I’ll take the dishwasher or dryer apart and try to diagnose the problem.  Then I’ll call the appliance place and try to order the part I need.  That’s when I occasionally run into trouble, because I sometimes lack the vocabulary to ask for what I need!  “Well, it’s that white plastic thingy about 3 inches long that hangs down off the metal rod.”

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