1. Please pray with me. May the words of my mouth and the meditation of our hearts, be pleasing in Your sight, O Lord, our Rock, and our Redeemer. Amen. The message from God’s Word as we continue our sermon series on the Lord’s Prayer is taken from Luke 11, Matt. 6, John 15 and Phil. 4. It’s entitled, “What to Say When We Pray?” Dear brothers and sisters in Christ.
2. I’ve always been intimidated by my teachers and professors. I find myself overthinking what I should say, fearing that I will look foolish in the presence of people I admire so highly. I’ll never forget the time, after I was ordained as a Pastor, when I was engaged in a conversation with one of my former seminary professors. I had emailed him a question, and he reached out to discuss it further. Whatever insecurity I had was quickly removed when, after saying, “Hello, Dr. Carter,” he responded by saying, “John! Please, call me Rich!”
3. Too many people operate with a greater level of this sort of insecurity when it comes to speaking with God in prayer. I’ve talked with so many people who don’t pray because they fear they won’t say the right thing, as though prayer is a magic incantation that only works if you use the right phrase. Or, more to the point, they are worried that, because they are not worthy to be in God’s holy presence, God is not interested in their prayers. But, much like Dr. Carter (or, should I say, Rich?), Jesus kindly removes our insecurities and establishes confidence by saying, “Dear friend, pray then like this: ‘Our Father . . . ’” (Matt. 6:9, cf. John 15:15)
4. Martin Luther puts it this way in the Small Catechism: “With these words God tenderly invites us to believe that he is our true Father and that we are his true children, so that with all boldness and confidence we may ask him as dear children ask their dear father.” Martin Luther, Luther’s Small Catechism with Explanation (St. Louis, Concordia Publishing House, 2017). 19. By giving us the familiar name by which to call upon him, God is showing us that he not only hears our prayers, but desires them! He tells us how to address him and then gives us the words to say.
5. The Holy Spirit says to us, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made know to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 4:6–7). God is so adamant about us making our requests known to him “in everything” that he gives us prayers to pray in every circumstance. We don’t need to fear that we don’t know what to pray because God gives us the prayers in the Scriptures! Though these prayers are scattered all throughout God’s word, it is specifically in the Lord’s Prayer and the Psalms where we are given prayers to pray.
6. In our Lutheran Christian tradition prewritten prayers are used in our worship services. I’m quite thankful for this as I tend to ramble when asked to pray on the spot. But, there are some Christians who believe that our prayers should be spontaneous and from the heart if they are to be sincere and faithful. I would suggest this is a false dichotomy. The Lord hears our prayers based on his promise, not based on how well written they are, nor on how sincere they are. What is more, both types of prayers are necessary and complementary. In giving us the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus gives us a “prewritten” prayer that we are to pray. But he doesn’t give it so that we thoughtlessly parrot these words back to God. Rather, the Lord’s Prayer is our school of prayer. It is the grammar school that teaches us the language of prayer. It is the launching pad for the rest of our other prayers. It teaches us our need—what we are to pray for. As we learn to speak the language of the Lord’s Prayer, we begin to make it our own. We begin to see our needs in light of the petitions Christ has given us. Our prayers, and our lives for that matter, are viewed in light of this wonderful prayer.
7. Jesus gives us seven petitions to pray and separates them into two categories which we will designate the “Thy Petitions” and the “Us Petitions.” “Thy” Petitions. The first three petitions have to do with God’s work in and amongst us: Hallowed by thy name; Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. In the Small Catechism, Luther explains each of these petitions by reminding us that God will accomplish all that we ask for here according to his will, whether we pray or not. However, in each petition, we are asking that God would allow that work to be done among us as well. (Ibid. 20).
8. Also, each of these petitions is directed towards God, but also against our persistent enemies who seek to undermine faith and the work of Christ. It is the devil who seeks to defame God’s name, prevent his reign from being proclaimed, and stop his gracious, saving will from being accomplished in our midst. Praying the “Thy” petitions is, to use Martin Marty’s phrase, “a declaration of war.” Martin Marty, The Hidden Discipline (St. Louis, Concordia Publishing House, 1962). 73. Here we find ourselves aligned with Jesus over and against the assaults of sin, death, and the devil. We pray these petitions with the sure and certain hope that God has answered these prayers for us already in the dying and rising of Jesus and is glad to confer Christ’s benefits upon us.
9. “Us” Petitions. If the “Thy” petitions focus us on God’s will, the “Us” petitions cry for God to focus on our needs. Here, we who are on the earth pray for God’s will to be done for us on earth: Give us this day our daily bread; Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; Lead us not into temptation; Deliver us from evil (or, better translated, the evil one). For those who think God is not concerned with the ins and outs of our everyday life, the Lord’s Prayer is a beautiful reminder that all our life is lived under the shelter of his wing. The eyes of all creation look to our Father for their food, and he gives it in due season (Ps. 145:15), so we ask him for our daily bread. It is our Father who so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son for the forgiveness of sins (John 3:16), so we pray that our trespasses would be forgiven and that we would forgive others in kind. He is the God who always gives a way out to those in temptation (1 Cor. 10:13), and so we cry out to him when the devil is drawing us away from his will, trusting with a certain hope that he is our Father who will deliver us from the evil one. Our Father is the God of creation and redemption who cares for both our eternal and temporal needs. Jesus teaches us how to pray to the Father of heavenly lights who gives all good gifts to meet those needs (James 1:17).
10. THE PSALMS. If the Lord’s Prayer is the school of prayer, then each petition has a list of psalms for its syllabus. Dietrich Bonhoeffer once said, “All the prayers of Holy Scripture are summarized in the Lord’s Prayer, and are contained in its immeasurable breadth . . . It makes good sense, then, that the Psalter is often bound together in a single volume with the New Testament. It is the prayer of the Christian church. It belongs to the Lord’s Prayer.” Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Psalms: The Prayer Book of the Bible (Minneapolis, Augsburg, 1970). 16. Here, the Holy Spirit, by whom we cry “Abba, Father!” (Rom. 8:15), gives voice to every need we have.
11. To parrot Ecclesiastes, for everything there is a psalm, and a psalm for every matter under heaven. There are psalms for times of fear, anxiety, joy, celebration, anger, confusion, repentance, and praise. There are psalms for protection in times of danger. There are psalms that teach you to lament and direct your anger towards Him. And, there are psalms that simply allow you to praise and give thanks to God. The Psalms guide us in prayer through all of life’s circumstances. But, more importantly, they guide us through life’s circumstances to Christ Jesus. In his flesh, he prayed all of these prayers for you. He prays them now with you as he intercedes for you. The book of Psalms is the prayer book of the Bible that both gives you Jesus and takes you to Jesus in your prayers.
12. CONCLUSION. The Lord’s Prayer and the Psalms are the very prayers Jesus has given you as a gift. You need not be worried about whether or not God wants you to pray. After all, you are the one he has given this gift to! With his shed blood, Jesus has reconciled you to your Father, who welcomes you into his presence with open arms to embrace you and open ears to hear your prayers. So, like a child with a new present on Christmas morning, take the gifts he has given you and use them in his presence. After all, your Father delights in your prayers! The peace of God that passes all understanding guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus until life everlasting. Amen.
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