Prayer Practice - talking to God

Last summer as a church we went through a whole series on faith practices. Each week we looked at a different spiritual discipline historically used by the people of God to grow as disciples of Jesus. Admittedly we blitzed through them all rather quickly. The idea for that series last summer was to provide an overview of the many faith practices that are available and give everyone just a taste of what those practices look like. Since we are all different people with different personalities, we may all end up with a different set of faith practices that work best for each of us in our own personal discipleship plans.

However, through that series last summer we found that a handful of these faith practices are essential and universal to all of us. These are faith practices that everyone needs in order to live as more complete disciples of Christ. This includes such faith practices as scripture and gratitude, as well as a faith practice that I am going to focus in on for the next several weeks: prayer. Do you remember several months back when we all read through the book of Nehemiah together how striking it was to see the deep level of commitment and consistency Nehemiah had in his life of prayer? Even though Nehemiah is a book of action and activity and plans that produce results, everything for Nehemiah revolved around prayer.

“The whole reason why we pray is to be united into the vision and contemplation of him to whom we pray.” —Julian of Norwich (14th century)

prayer is communion with God, the way in which we express and embrace our union with God

Whether it is in the Old Testament or the New Testament, prayer is central to a life that is connected to God. Therefore, I want to take the next few weeks and do a deeper dive into the faith practice of prayer. Let’s consider together what prayer is and how prayer works. Let’s consider different kinds of prayers and learn to define expected results of prayer. Julian of Norwich wrote in the 14th century that “The whole reason why we pray is to be united into the vision and contemplation of him to whom we pray.” These ancient nuns and monks of the late middle ages embraced prayer as something that produced union with God. Prayer is more than communication with God; prayer is communion with God; prayer is the way in which we express and embrace our union with God.

practice — talking to God pattern — talking with God posture — listening to God presence — being with God

So then, whether you have never really explored a prayer life before, whether you want to expand your prayer life into some new practices that enrich your prayer with God, whether you feel like your prayer life is stuck in a routine and needs some revitalizing, this series is for you. Let me set out a roadmap of where we are going over the next four weeks. There are four perspectives on prayer I would like us to work through together. Practice, Pattern, Posture, and Presence. The practice of prayer gives us insight into what it means to talk to God. The pattern of prayer gives insight into talking with God. The posture of prayer focuses our attention upon prayer that listens to God. And the presence of prayer brings us into awareness of being with God as we pray. We begin today with the practice of prayer considering what it means for us to be people who talk to God. At the very outermost basic level, this is an entry point into prayer. It is a way in which we—the people of God—may talk to God.

talking to God — scripted form prayers that are prepared and written out

I want to make a distinction between what I am talking about this week and what we will move on to consider next week. Today we are looking at prayer as a way to talk to God; next week we will look at prayer as a way to talk with God. Let me explain the distinction. Right now here in a Sunday morning church sermon I am talking to you—which means I am the one doing the speaking and you are the ones doing the listening. After the service time when the coffee and refreshments are out is when I get to talk with you—which means we have conversation that goes back and forth. Conversation tends to be quite extemporaneous; that means it moves along in the spur of the moment. Conversation is something we more-or-less make up as we go along. That is what taking with one another looks like.

Alternatively, when I come up here on a Sunday morning and deliver a sermon, I am not making it up as I go along. These are not spur of the moment words. I have prepared these words ahead of time, and now I am presenting these words to you…I am talking to you, not with you. If you have the kind of job in which you occasionally need to give a prepared report, or students in school get an assignment to give a presentation to the class, these are examples of talking to others. These are words that you take time to prepare in advance. You spend some time collecting your thoughts and bring together information. In fact, these are words that actually heavily rely on the words of others. Students who prepare and deliver a presentation in school often use and incorporate resources that come from other people through research, ideas, and quotes. Similarly, I pour over biblical commentaries and other books preparing a Sunday morning message. Often the ideas which all come together to shape a sermon are actually collections of ideas that I pick up from others—these are not all original thoughts of my own; I am presenting to you what I have learned from others.

Practicing the Way by John Mark Comer

For instance, the structure for this entire four-week series on prayer I picked up from a book called Practicing the Way by John Mark Comer. (I will be making more reference to that book in the coming weeks.) As it just so happens, my friend Brandon Haan who is one the pastors down the road at Ivanrest CRC just finished a series on prayer at that church using the exact same book as a resource. What you get here in the next four weeks may end up being very similar to what the folks down the road at Ivanrest CRC got last month. That’s because we use the same ideas that come from the same resources.

using prayers written by others: 1. teaches us how to pray 2. enriches our prayers in new directions 3. connects our prayers with others

For today, then, the practice of prayer—prayer that talks to God—is prayer that uses already written words. These are scripted prayers provided as resources by others to help guide our prayers. There is nothing wrong with using the words of someone else in our prayers to God. In fact, I recommend it as a necessary component of your prayer life. Using the prayers of others teaches you how to pray. Using the words of others enriches and stretches our prayers into directions we might otherwise not go when we just use our own words. It truly is a practice of prayer. Practice is what brings about improvement and makes us better. I know my golf game won’t get better unless I spend some time on the driving range practicing my swing. I know I will never get any better at playing the guitar unless I have times of practice. Spending time in prayer using the prayers of others gives us practice in our prayer skills. It allows us to use the guidance of others to help sharpen and hone our own focus and abilities to pray.

Psalms are a book of prayers

What better place to start in finding scripted prayers than to go straight to the Bible. The book of Psalms is a prayer book. these poems in the Psalms are written as the prayers of Old Testament Israel to use in their times of worshipping God. In the Psalms we find rich resources to teach us how to express ourselves to God in prayer by using the words of prayer already there. In fact, I am using a passage from the Psalms in each of the four sermons on prayer in this series. Today we start with a few verses taken from Psalm 119.

Psalm 119:97–104 (NIV)

Psalm 119:97–104 NIV

97 Oh, how I love your law! I meditate on it all day long. 98 Your commands are always with me and make me wiser than my enemies. 99 I have more insight than all my teachers, for I meditate on your statutes. 100 I have more understanding than the elders, for I obey your precepts. 101 I have kept my feet from every evil path so that I might obey your word. 102 I have not departed from your laws, for you yourself have taught me. 103 How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth! 104 I gain understanding from your precepts; therefore I hate every wrong path.

Psalm 119 — acrostic poem which follows all the letters of the Hebrew alphabet

Psalm 119 is known for being an extremely long chapter. It is an acrostic poem which follows all the letters of the Hebrew alphabet. If you have a Bible open to this chapter you will notice that each section of eight verses is headed by a symbol with a name. For example, verses 1-8 are all under a symbol with the heading aleph. That is the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet. And the first word in each of those eight verses begins in Hebrew with the letter aleph. Our passage picks up at verse 97 with the Hebrew letter mem. And so, the first word in each verse from 97 to 104 begins in Hebrew with the letter mem. Each of these sections in Psalm 119 speaks about the law of God. This is reference in Old Testament Israel to the first five books of the Bible known as Torah. The psalmist does not have a narrow view of using the word law to just mean rules and regulations. It is a reference to the entire covenant of God given to Moses at Sinai after the Exodus from Egypt. The covenant words of this law are not just instructions for Israel to follow. This is God’s love letter to his people. This is the frame of mind which the psalmist uses to speak about the word of God.

law of God is seen as a covenant love letter from God to his people

Psalm 119 is a personal prayer (personal pronouns addressing God directly)

reference to the word of God: word, law, precepts, statutes, commands

reference to what is gained from the word of God: wisdom, understanding, teaching, insight

response of the one praying these words: love, meditation, obedience

You get the sense from the tone of language in these verses that the psalmist treasures the words of God as something of highest value. And yet this is at the same time a prayer. Look at the way in which the Psalm uses first person singular pronouns (I, me, my); he is speaking with his own voice as a personal address. Similarly it is a prayer being addressed directly to God; we catch that in the use of second person pronouns (you, your). Notice all the ways these verses reference the word of God: word, law, precepts, statutes, commands. And notice also all the way these verses reference what is gained from the word of God: wisdom, understanding, teaching, insight. And what about the approach the psalmist uses to embrace the word of God? Verse 97, I love your law; I meditate on it. Verse 99 repeats, I meditate on it. Verses 100 & 101, I obey it. Love, meditation, obedience. This is not an approach to scripture as a Bible study lesson or an instruction manual or a textbook. These are words of wholehearted prayer giving expression to God.

using the words of scripture as a component of your prayer life helps to keep your prayers on track

If you need a place to begin with a life of prayer, or if you need a way to bring your life of prayer out from being stuck in a complacent routine, may I suggest beginning by praying the Psalms. Use the words of these prayers already written and given to us as a way to broaden and expand a life of prayer. Pick a Psalm, any Psalm. Go with a new Psalm each day, or meditate upon the same Psalm all week long. Using the words of scripture as a component of your prayer life helps to keep your prayers on track. It keeps us praying correctly in the right way. It helps keep our prayers from going off the rails. The Psalms are not the only place in scripture we see this. Consider how Jesus responds to this request from his disciples in Luke 11.

Jesus taught his disciples ow to pray

Luke 11:1–4 (NIV)

Luke 11:1–4 NIV

1 One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.” 2 He said to them, “When you pray, say: “ ‘Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come. 3 Give us each day our daily bread. 4 Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. And lead us not into temptation.’ ”

Or this lesson of Jesus in Luke 18.

Luke 18:10–14 (NIV)

Luke 18:10–14 NIV

10 “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’ 13 “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’ 14 “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”

Jesus teaches his disciples to pray in ways that shift focus towards the will of God. Jesus teaches his disciples to approach God in a posture of humility. These resources of prayers give us a necessary balance in our expressions before God. It is not cheating or oversimplified to use the words of others in your prayers.

other prayer resources: Book of Common Prayer —Episcopal Church (1662-2019) Seeking God’s Face —Philip Reinders The Lives We Actually Have —Kate Bowler

Beyond scripture, there are so many other wonderful sources of prayer available. For over a century the Episcopal Church has regularly used a collection of prayers called the Book of Common Prayer to outline different prayers for each week of the year. Often in this church Pastor Barb and I reference the book Seeking God’s Face as a wonderful resource to help guide daily prayer. One of my other favorites is a book by Kate Bowler titled The Lives We Actually Have. It is a book of 100 prayers separated by topic in categories that connect to the everyday experiences we all share.

mealtime prayer

I have mentioned before the priority I have in my house to make a meal my family sits down and all eats together around the table at least four times per week. It is also part of that mealtime priority that we begin each meal with the same scripted prayer that we all recite out loud in unison together. Those are some of the meaningful prayer routines that have found significance in my life. What do you have like that in your life?

one new prayer resource I will use this week:

Our start for this week in embracing a practice of prayer is to enfold at least one new form of praying a form prayer of some kind that expands your life of prayer in a new direction. Use the word of God as it comes in the prayers of the Psalms. Use one of the other mentioned resources I presented here. If you are connected to our Fellowship Church prayer email line, I will include some links along with Monday’s prayer email for additional prayer resources. Our takeaway for today is to try at least one new form of prayer this week. May our communion with God be enriched and expanded as we draw upon the vast wisdom of others to guide our prayers to God.