Who's First?

Introduction

In one of my favorite Sci-Fi movies, an alien probe is decimating the earth’s atmosphere. The world is attempting to make heads or tails of what the probe is there to do or how to get it to stop. An ambassador from another planet is there, and the president tells him that he’s stuck, and there seems to be no way to answer the probe. The ambassador quickly replies that it’s difficult to answer when one does not understand the question (ST4).

Last week we talked about the place to begin in prayer, which is with the fact that we can approach God; God wants to talk with us. The whole Biblical witness from Genesis to Revelation talks speaks to God’s desire to be in relationship with us. Even during the fall in when God is doling out punishment—justly, we might want to consider—God also talks of a way for redemption and restoration.

Last week I wanted to show you what a bit of that looked like, but technology failed us. Let’s start this week with looking at how sometimes we approach God in prayer. Let’s take a look.

Skit Guys Video Starts Here (It is set to automatically begin when you advance to its slide.)

God Spoke First

Even if we do start with a good understanding that we can approach God in prayer, we may get ready and not know exactly how we can approach like the last example. We may feel like we’re starting a conversation from scratch, like we’re breaking the ice. But that’s not the case.

In , we see God create humanity, and the very next verse speaks of God blessing us and speaking to us and giving us gifts. John’s gospel begins with a highly stylized view of the creation account. A “theological” view of it, if you will. But the same theme still applies. God creates speaks and gives gifts, not least of which is the Word, Christ himself. Let’s pretend for a second that it’s not Lent…you’ll understand why in a second. And let’s say that I show up at your door with Whitey’s. Your favorite Whitey’s. Now you know why I want you to pretend it’s not Lent. Some of you would say, “Hey! That’s mean!” But if I show up with that and say, “Hi! I brought you something.” It’s a much different scenario than if I just show up, nothing in hand, ring your doorbell and stand there. That would be awkward. It’s also awkward if I show up with Whitey’s and you respond with “O gracious pastor, who bringeth the Whitey’s, grant me this day...” At that point, I might leave. With your Whitey’s, too.

But the point is still there. We’re not starting the conversation, but we’re responding to a God who has been very active in speaking to us. “In the beginning was the Word.” So how do we respond well to God in prayer?

Good Responses Need Good Knowledge

But the point is still there. We’re not starting the conversation, but we’re responding to a God who has been very active in speaking to us. “In the beginning was the Word.” So how do we respond well to God in prayer?

If we find

Image from “The Dating Game” follows the section title. It’s okay to move through section title as I begin “How many of you remember...”

It helps to know something about the person with whom you’re speaking. How many of you remember the show that ran from the mid ‘60’s into the ‘80’s called the dating game? It’s in some ways the forerunner to the Bachelor and and the Bachelorette that runs now. Some of the conversation in those shows gets to be a bit awkward because the people involved don’t know each other. I image there’s a lot of conversation that hits the editing room floor, so to speak. Good conversation happens when we have a good knowledge of the people to whom we’re talking. I have an easier time visiting people now than four years ago? Why? I know you better. You know me better.

The same applies to our prayer life. If we struggle to get prayer going that doesn’t sound like the “Lister” on the Skit Guys clip, then it may be because we struggle to understand who is on the other end. We lack knowledge, so we don’t know what to say. We repeat prayers because they’re familiar and we think they respond to something that the listener wants to hear. We pray the Lord’s prayer verbatim because we think we’re safe, but that’s not the case. We still lack knowledge of the person who gave the prayer.

It’s funny, Katie bakes and I cook. Each of us hates to do the other’s specialty for the exact same reason. We think that it’s too easy to mess up. Katie think’s that if she’s off the recipe in cooking just a little, the dish will be ruined. I think that if I’m off the recipe just a little in baking, the whole thing is ruined. We both like our specialties for the same reason; we know them and we know how to be flexible in them. After cooking for nearly 20 years, I feel like it’s pretty hard to mess up a recipe. I can modify a recipe to “speak” to who’s at the dinner table. It’s because I know and understand. But it took quite a while to get there, and I still have a long way to go.

When we know God, we find that the limits of our prayer expand. We’re free to respond to God in new and powerful ways, because we know who we’re talking to. We know God’s character; we know God’s desires. We can grapple with God more because we know that He engages us in our weakness and doubts and struggles. We can praise with heart and soul along with our words because we have a deep understanding and are deeply understood. We answer the call to pray like the way we open the door to an old friend.

Getting to Know You

Over the course of this series, we will explore prayer, yes, but we’ll also try to address some of the difficulties that we have in prayer and seek to remedy them. This is one of the places that we can struggle in prayer. What are we to do?

The answer is, like this series, simple yet difficult. You may have it already. Read your Bible. Simple, right? I know what some of you are thinking: I might as well have said to read Tolstoy or Dostoevsky. But the Hebrews and John passages for today remind us that the Bible isn’t just an ancient religious text to be studied academically. They remind us that it’s God’s Word spoken to us to tell us who He is. It’s God’s revealing himself to us.

The New International Version Chapter 1

1 In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe. 3 The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word.

God has spoken in various ways. Through history, narrative, theological arguments, poetry, wisdom, letters, and more to reveal who he is to us. More than that, he spoke his greatest word by taking on our injured flesh. The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being. That speaks a lot for how we should approach reading about Jesus in the Gospels and Acts. That doesn’t mean it’s not hard to understand, though. We are talking about trying to understand the Almighty, Infinite One, right? I survived calculus by the skin of my teeth. God isn’t calculus. God is far more than calculus. So let’s be realistic about getting to know God.

Like any good relationship, getting to know one another takes time. Nearly thirteen years of marriage in, I’m still learning more about Katie. That’s a good thing. But it’s not always easy. And I don’t say that as a comment about her, but as a comment about the process of getting to know her. It shouldn’t surprise us when it takes a while to come to a good understanding of who God is. And if we stall on basics, we can’t expect to have more than a basic relationship or basic prayers. So Scripture stands as the antidote to our problem. In it we can see the Word made flesh. We see what grace and truth look like held together. We see the pursuit of humanity through decades, centuries, and ages. We see redemption and justice. We see the “light of life” as John puts it, but we also see the darkness of separation. When we see these things, it becomes difficult to simply say “Jesus was all about love.” or “Jesus was all about justice” or any other one-word summary. Jesus was more than our one-word summaries. Jesus continues both to delight and dumbfound me.

Start tonight if you can. Start reading and asking what it is that God is demonstrating about himself. Ask what it is that God wants you to know about how He feels about you. Read a Gospel. Don’t start in Numbers or Leviticus, let’s be smart about it. But start the process.

It’s a lot, but it all goes to help us respond to the One who has spoken first. If you are struggling with what to say in prayer, let me encourage you to stop and consider: “do I know who’s spoken to me?” That’s a difficult question. For those of us who have been in the church for decades, it’s even harder, but we must ask and answer honestly. It may deepen our relationship in new and unexpected ways.

Start tonight if you can. Incorporate this into your spiritual stewardship. Start reading Scripture and asking what it is that God is demonstrating about himself. Ask what it is that God wants you to know about how He feels about you. Read a Gospel. Don’t start in Numbers or Leviticus, let’s be smart about it. But start the process. Know as well that you have me to come alongside you and help you. If you think I’m preaching right at you at the moment, know that it’s not just you.

And if you already know the joy of knowing God already, then you know the joy of what I’m saying to you. You’ve know the joy of deep, powerful conversation with God, and you seek to know God more every day. You don’t mind this reminder. In either case, be encouraged, because this process takes a long time. We all seek to know God better so that we can respond more deeply.

However, God has made his intentions clear by giving us all of Scripture, His Son, and the Spirit for us to know him better. God’s not in it for a basic relationship. God’s in it for