Grace to you and peace from our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen
The text for this meditation is written in the 11th Chapter of the Gospel according to St Luke: Verses 1 - 13
The Lord’s Prayer
Now Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, gas John taught his disciples.” And he said to them,
“When you pray, say
“Father, hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come
Give us each day our daily bread,
and forgive us our sins,
for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us.
And plead us not into temptation.”
And he said to them, “Which of you who has a friend will go to him at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves, k for a friend of mine has arrived on a journey, and I have nothing to set before him’; and he will answer from within, ‘Do not bother me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed. I cannot get up and give you anything’? I tell you, though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his impudence3 he will rise and give him whatever he needs. And I tell you, ask , and sit will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent; or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”
In today’s Gospel we heard Luke’s account of the Lord’s Prayer from the English Standard Version of the Bible. It sounds a little different because we tend to know the more traditional King James Version of the Lord’s Prayer as found in Matthew’s account of the Gospel.
Prayer is something so simple for us that we teach children to pray. We tell them that they are talking to God and that He wants to hear everything that is on their minds. We tell them that they don’t even have to pray the words out loud because God can hear their very thoughts. Many of us grew up with prayer and we sometimes forget what a profound gift God has given to us in such a simple package.
Perhaps it would help us appreciate prayer a little more if we look at some of the pagan prayer practices in the Bible. Sometimes, we have a greater appreciation for God’s gifts when we compare them to the practices of some of the false religions.
Back in 1 Kings 18, we have a confrontation between the prophet Elijah and the prophets of Baal. In the interest of time, I will give you a synopsis of the confrontation. Elijah challenged the prophets of Baal to a contest. Each side would prepare a burnt offering, but not burn it. Instead, each side would pray for their god to set the burnt offering on fire. Elijah let the prophets of Baal go first.
The prophets of Baal prayed all day and nothing happened. Then it was Elijah’s turn. Elijah prayed a short prayer and the fire of God not only consumed the sacrifice, but it also consumed the altar and left a smoking crater in its place. The people were impressed and killed the prophets of Baal.
Now I would certainly encourage you to read the entire account in 1 Kings 18, but, today, I just want to focus on the prayer practices described in this confrontation between the prophet Elijah and the prophets of Baal.
Listen to the intensity and the sincerity of the prophets of Baal as they call on Baal to ignite the sacrifice. The prophets of Baal [1 Kings 18:26–29] took the bull that was given them, and they prepared it and called upon the name of Baal from morning until noon, saying, “O Baal, answer us!” But there was no voice, and no one answered. And they limped around the altar that they had made. 27 And at noon Elijah mocked them, saying, “Cry aloud, for he is a god. Either he is musing, or he is relieving himself, or he is on a journey, or perhaps he is asleep and must be awakened.” 28 And they cried aloud and cut themselves after their custom with swords and lances, until the blood gushed out upon them. 29 And as midday passed, they raved on until the time of the offering of the oblation, but there was no voice. No one answered; no one paid attention.
Notice the intensity of the prayer of the prophets of Baal. They prayed all day. They cried aloud; that means they shouted as loud as they could. They even mutilated themselves. Nothing happened. These prophets were very sincere. They worked hard and long. Never the less, nothing happened. Neither the quality nor the quantity of prayer means a thing when you are praying to a god who is not there.
As evening approached, it was Elijah’s turn. He not only prepared a sacrifice, but he also totally drenched the sacrifice in water. Then [1 Kings 18:36–38] Elijah the prophet came near and said, “O Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that you are God in Israel, and that I am your servant, and that I have done all these things at your word. 37 Answer me, O Lord, answer me, that this people may know that you, O Lord, are God, and that you have turned their hearts back.” 38 Then the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt offering and the wood and the stones and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench.
Elijah’s prayer was short and to the point. There was no crying out. There was no bodily mutilation. The prophets of Baal prayed all day. Elijah prayed for less than a minute. The prophets of Baal got nothing. Elijah received fire from the Lord. It is better to pray a simple prayer to the true God than it is to pray an impressive prayer to a false god. Given that there were 450 prophets of Baal and only one Elijah, we can also say that it doesn’t make any difference how many people pray. When you pray to a false god, you are praying to someone or something that does not exist. There is no one there to hear your prayer. How can there possibly be an answer.
Sadly, the sinful human imagination has come up with all sorts of false gods. Many of these false gods were quite cruel. A review of the worship practices of the false gods found in the Bible exposes a wide variety of cruel practices. The prophets of Baal merely cut themselves. Other false religions actually sacrificed human beings to false gods. Some even burned their own children alive as a show of faithfulness to their false gods. It is hard work to worship a false god.
As sad and tragic as these false religions are, there are a couple of things they get right. First of all, it is a true and precious privilege to share our thoughts and feelings with the sovereign God of all things. It is worth any sacrifice to speak with Him and receive His blessing. Second of all, there is something broken between us and God that blocks that sharing. Even the most primitive cultures recognise that this is a fallen world and we are an unworthy people. The really sad misconception that all false religions have is that there is something that we can do to fix the brokenness that we have with God. That is the reason that many religions require such extreme sacrifices and other rituals before their god will listen to them. They actually believe that their sacrifice will bring them into a right relationship with God so that they can speak with Him.
The true religion recognises the sad reality that there is nothing we can do to fix our relationship with God. We are sinners through and through. We are sinners before we are even born and our daily sins only increase our condemnation before God. We have no right to pray to God. In fact, we have no right to any blessing from God.
If this is the case, how can Jesus say what He said in today’s Gospel reading? Jesus instructs us to pray. He not only instructs us to pray, but He also instructs to be confident enough to call God our Father. He instructs us to be persistent in prayer. He instructs us to pray and expect God to give us exactly what we need … exactly what is best for us. How can Jesus instruct us to do this if we are such wretched sinners?
The answer is in the very one who instructs us to pray. The one who teaches us to pray is the one who set His face to go to Jerusalem. He set His face to go to Jerusalem in order to tear down the wall of sin that makes us enemies of God. He tore down that wall by offering Himself up as a sacrifice to make the payment that our sin requires. Jesus allowed His enemies to nail Him to a cross so that He could offer those same enemies a place in His family. With His suffering and death on the cross, He makes us His brothers and children of our heavenly Father. This is a certainty because Jesus did not remain in the grave after He died, but He rose from the dead and has ascended to rule at the right hand of the Father.
In his explanation to the introduction of the Lord’s Prayer, Dr. Martin Luther gives a meaningful insight: "Our Father who art in heaven. What does this mean? By these words God would tenderly encourage us to believe that He is our true Father and that we are His true children, so that we may ask Him confidently with all assurance, as dear children ask their dear father."
The difference between the false religions of the world and the one, true religion can be summed up in this way: the false religions teach us to pay the sin debt we owe … in some cases even to the point of sacrificing our children. The true religion is Jesus Christ the Son of God sacrificing Himself to pay the sin debt we cannot pay.
Jesus invites us to pray boldly to God as dear children talk to their dear Father. He can extend this invitation to us because He shed His blood to break down the wall of sin that stood between us and God. Jesus offers to make us children of God. The Holy Spirit gives us the faith that takes Jesus up on that offer. Through the Holy Spirit’s gift of faith, we are the children of God, the heirs of His Kingdom, and He gives us the right to pray boldly to God.
Jesus teaches us to pray. The throne room of heaven lies open before us. God is ready to listen to whatever we have to tell Him. The privilege of prayer is there for all who believe. It is one of the many gifts God gives to us with His presence here in time and forever in eternity. Amen
The love and peace of our Great Triune God is hat is beyond all human understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen
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