In his book, Why Christianity must Change or Die, Bishop John Spong writes that he has always wanted to be a person of prayer. He says that he has yearned to have that sense of immediate contact with the divine.
For Bishop Spong it was the reworking of his image of God that finally brought solace and meaning to his prayer life.
Canadian, religious writer Tom Harper also writes of his struggles with prayer. He blames his struggles on his personality. He writes that most prayer books are written by people who are internally focused or introverted, they get energy from time alone in silence and contemplation, while most people who buy these books on prayer are externally focused or extroverted. They get their energy from interacting with people.
Traditional Christian prayer is internally-focused. Monks, nuns, priests and ascetics traditionally have retreated from the world for prayer and contemplation. They have become the role models for the rest of us who live in the world. And for those of us who are extroverted, this style of prayer is challenging.
And so I feel that I am in good company, in the company of Bishop Spong and Tom Harper and yes, even the disciples, those who were Jesus' best friends, when they ask, "Lord, teach us to pray."
How are we, in the United Church, ever to know how to pray, if no one ever teaches us? I have seen senior women, women who have been faithful church-goers for 50 years, crying because they didn't know how to pray. – Because no one ever taught them.
I have mentioned before that in ancient days, all praying was out loud. People would pray aloud so that others could hear them, so that others could gather around them and pray with them and teach them how to pray.
Two weeks ago, I attended the Billy Graham School of Evangelism in Lake Louise. This was an intense, exhausting and sometimes frustrating 5 days of continuing education. What struck me was that this ancient style of prayer is still very much alive in evangelical circles. We would break up into small groups of 3 or 4 and pray for about 10 minutes. And there would be this very loud, noisy style of prayer. It was quit different from what I was used to and the noise drove Chris crazy. But I think that this style of prayer certainly has its merits because at least people learn one style of prayer in a very concrete way.
The Roman Catholic Church teaches its followers the rosary and other set forms of prayer.
But what do we teach in the United Church? We teach the Lord's Prayer and we emphasize studying the Bible. But studying the Bible isn't what one thinks of when one thinks of prayer. Although, it just may be the time when people experience that sense of immediate contact with the divine.
"Lord, teach us to pray." one of the disciples asks of Jesus. God love that disciple for not knowing how to pray. God love that disciple for asking the question. And then Jesus teaches us the Lord's Prayer. – a beautiful prayer that covers so many aspects of life.
"Lord, teach us to pray." So many of us want more.
In his book, "The Power of Positive Thinking", Norman Vincent Peale presents Christianity as a practical, healthy, better way of living. Prayer in particular is presented as a practical, positive thing to do that benefits our life. Norman Peale offers one method of prayer that I have recently embraced. In fact, I have already experienced positive results. He recommends this formula: 1. prayerize 2. picturize 3. actualize By the term 'prayerize' he means an every-day system of prayer. Like Bishop Spong, Norman Peale believes that our image of God deeply effects our ability to pray. So, Peale encourages us to think of God as being with us where ever we are - at office, at home, on the street, in our automobile, and always nearby as a partner ready to listen and talk. This often can mean thinking of Jesus being with us at all times.
The Bible calls us to pray without ceasing. Peale interprets this to mean that we should go about every day talking to God about our concerns in a natural, normal way. The Presence of God will eventually come to dominate our conscious and unconscious thinking.
If we think of God or Jesus as being our friend who is always with us and who is someone we can talk to about anything, if we think of God who loves us and understands us, then we can fill our daily life with prayer – we can live by prayer.
The second step is what he calls picturization. This is where we picture the desired result. For many problems, we just don't know the best answer and we must trust that God knows what to do. We should always pray first to be shown what God's will is. When this prayer is answered, when we think we know what God's will is, then it is time to pray for that outcome. Peale encourages us to print a picture of that outcome in our minds. He tells us to hold the picture firmly in our consciousness. We must pray with faith, knowing that what we are praying for is completely possible for God. But still, all the while we continue to surrender the picture to God's will - we put the matter in God's hands – and follow God's guidance.
So then, we work hard and intelligently to do our part in solving the problem. We practice believing and continue to hold the picture firmly in your thoughts. Do this and you will be astonished at the ways in which the picture becomes reality – that is the picture "actualizes." So the actualization is the fun and easy part. Sit back and wonder at how your prayers were answered, and give thanks to God for doing it.
So, I have been trying this method of prayer for about two weeks. I picked a friend I am concerned about. My friend is going through major upheaval in her life and I don't know what the answer is, so at first I was having a difficult time trying to figure out what to picture in my mind. Then it came to me that I should pray for wisdom for her and the picture in my mind was of a pulsating brain (which is kind of a funny picture). So every time I would think of it I would picture this pulsating brain. I am quite a visual person so this was quit easy for me to do. This to be one of the few things I can do while I am up at night with my pregnancy-induced insomnia.
So, I phoned her the other day and I told her I was doing this and she was curious and asked me when I had started this. I told her and she said that she had felt so clear-headed lately. And was able to look at her situation from a very clear perspective for the first time.
Well, I was so encouraged that I decided to write this sermon. "Lord, teach us how to pray."
Find an image of God that is one you can relate to – one that is life-giving. Talk to God in a way that is normal and natural to you so that you can give any concern to God and leave things in God's hands. Picture in your mind the end result you and God would like to see happen. Watch your prayer and picturization become a reality.
And so we pray, not because we feel guilty if we don't and not because we feel that we should – although we may feel both those ways – but because when we pray we live better lives with prayer than without prayer. We feel better, we sleep better, we do better, and we are better. Thanks be to God. Amen.
