S ome of the best advice I’Äôve ever gotten in my life came, unsurprisingly, from my mom.  I think it was at some point in high school when she told me, ’ÄúRob, never stop praying.  If you are mad at God, tell him.  If you are angry with God, let him know.  No matter how bad things get, or how much you don’Äôt believe God is listening, even if you’Äôre yelling at God, just don’Äôt stop communicating.’Äù  What I think is so great about this advice is that it doesn’Äôt assume anything about what is going to happen in our lives.  It doesn’Äôt pretend that prayer will make everything alright, but it does attempt to keep us in a relationship with a God who is there for us.  I was never told that God would always give me what I want, but I was told that God will always be there to listen.

In this morning’Äôs gospel lesson, we find Jesus returning from time spent in prayer.  This is hardly the first time that Jesus is shown praying in Luke.  In fact, Luke emphasizes Jesus’Äô prayer life more than any of the other gospels.  Jesus is shown praying at his baptism, before he chooses the 12, before he predicts his death and resurrection, and before the transfiguration.  For Luke, the fact that Jesus is constantly in prayer is of particular importance and for the disciples, it’Äôs also a point of great curiosity. 

Now, I sincerely doubt that prayer is new concept for any of the disciples.  These God-fearing, Jewish men are people who knew how to pray.  Yet, as Jesus finishes with one of his prayers, we still find the disciples asking him, ’ÄúLord, teach us to pray.’Äù  What do you think the disciples noticed?  What was it that caught their attention? The disciples must have noticed something different about who Jesus was because of his prayer life.  They made a connection between what they saw happening in Jesus’Äô life and his relationship with God in prayer.

How to pray is the only thing that the disciples ever ask Jesus to teach them.  All things considered, I think that’Äôs pretty remarkable.  If I were one of the twelve, I have to admit that my first request would probably be ’ÄúJesus, could you teach me to walk on water?’Äù  But, even in the midst of Jesus’Äô miraculous life, at the center of it, the disciples were intrigued most by Jesus’Äô prayer life.  It seems that through prayer, Jesus had a different type of relationship with God than any of the disciples had ever seen.  And so that prompts their request, ’ÄúLord, teach us to pray.’Äù 

I don’Äôt know for certain what prompted the question on this particular occasion, but Jesus’Äô response begins with something rather amazing.  The first thing out of Jesus’Äô mouth invites the disciples to relate with God in a new way.  Jesus begins by saying, ’ÄúWhen you pray, say: Father.’Äù  Immediately, Jesus invites us into the same type of relationship that he shares with God’Äîan intimate and familiar relationship between a parent and a child.  For many, Jesus’Äô use of the term ’Äúfather’Äù is problematic, but we must remember that Jesus uses this term not to assign God a gender, but to demonstrate a closeness and an intimacy with God.  The Presbyterian Catechism reminds us that ’ÄúScripture uses diverse images for God, female as well as male.’Äù  The fact that we are told to address God as father in this passage shows that we are invited to share a new and special relationship with our creator that no one had ever before been invited to experience.  Relating to God as a father lets us know that God has known and loved us since long before we can remember with intensity unmatched by even the world’Äôs very best parents.  That’Äôs the God to whom Jesus invites us to speak to when we pray.

Not only do parents love their children, but children demand a lot from their parents.  As soon as a child is born, that child needs things from its parents’Äîfood, protection, love; and our parents must provide those things for the child to survive.  Just as a child must rely on a parent, by inviting us to say ’Äúfather,’Äù Jesus instructs us to rely on God. 

Relying on God, Jesus tells us to approach God with our needs’Äîto ask God for things.  And, although we are encouraged to petition God, Jesus’Äô prayer comes with a reminder to first be still and to listen.  ’ÄúHallowed be thy name’Äù reminds us to quiet ourselves and remember that God is in charge.  Remembering God’Äôs holiness, we must realize that God’Äôs response will not always be understandable or what we expect.  But, like children learning from their parents’Äô yeses and no’Äôs of the past, we develop our trust in God as our relationship grows. Jesus and Luke encourage that trust, telling us that God will respond to our prayers with great love and generosity.  To show this, Jesus tells the parable of the Friend at Midnight.

When I first read this parable, I was a little confused as to what Jesus was getting at.  Could it be that Jesus and Luke want us to pester our heavenly father until God finally gives in?  At least where I grew up, that would much more likely get me sent to my room than change my parents’Äô minds.  Upon a little further reading, I discovered that this parable has very little to do with persistence, but a lot to do with how God joyfully responds to our needs. 

In the sentence that reads, ’ÄúI tell you, even though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, at least because of his persistence, he will get up and give him whatever he needs.’Äù  The Greek word, anaideia, which our bibles say means persistence, would be better translated as ’Äúshamelessness’Äù or ’Äúnot to have shame or respect.’Äù  The part that the scholars seem to disagree about is whose shamelessness Jesus’Äô parable is talking about: the man who is sleeping, or his friend who is asking for the bread.

The first way we could look at it is that ’Äúhis shamelessness’Äù refers to the sleeping man.  This would make sense in an honor-shame society, such as one in which the parable takes place. If the sleeping man were to deny his friend, the society would see the act of denial as shameless and it would dishonor him.  So, the important part is not that the friend is repeatedly nagging his neighbor until he caves, but that his neighbor responds to avoid the public shame that would come if he didn’Äôt.  This shows us that if even a tired neighbor will get up in the night to give his friend what he needs, how much more would God care for us, who responds not out of obligation, but as a loving parent.

The other way this can be read is that the man seeking bread is the shameless one--for knocking at such a late hour.  This tells us that we should never worry about approaching God, even if we think our doing so might be considered inappropriate.  If a person would get up at such a late hour for this man, God would be that much more willing’Äîparticularly because God doesn’Äôt sleep.  Either way we look at this story, we are encouraged to ask, search, and knock’Äîknowing that God will respond to us as if we were each God’Äôs own child.  And so Jesus invites us into prayer with confidence that God will be there for us whenever we need God.

The level of trust that Jesus places in God seems particularly difficult in today’Äôs world.  Jesus tells us that our very first requests are to be, ’ÄúYour Kingdom come’Äù and ’ÄúGive us each day our daily bread.’Äù  Yet, we live in a world rampant with poverty and greed, and where 18,000 children die every day from hunger, many of whom are probably praying to the same God for their daily bread. God’Äôs kingdom seems far away indeed and for many, bread is anything but daily.  Earlier this service, we sang a hymn repeating, ’ÄúOh Lord, hear our prayer.’Äù  If we’Äôre honest with ourselves, I think we spend a lot of time asking whether or not God really does hear our prayers. 

When Jesus tells us to take our needs to God, I don’Äôt think he meant to suggest that prayer would shield us from the harsh realities of our world.  Taking another look at the scripture, it seems that Luke and Jesus do understand those hardships’Äîespecially considering that the parable is about someone lacking bread.  But its also important to remember that Luke and Jesus do not simply end today’Äôs scripture with fish and eggs.  No, they place the greater emphasis on God’Äôs gift of the Holy Spirit.  God gives us the Holy Spirit to empower and transform us.  It’Äôs what lets us know that we are never alone and that we can abide in the confidence that God is always with us.  

With God in our hearts, we can be certain that God is also working through us.  Sometimes God simply being with us to comfort us is enough, and still other times, God works in relationship with us to be that comfort the world so badly needs. 

In Luke, Jesus shows us that prayer is above all else a relationship.  Relationships take time and while they have their ups and downs, with time they also strengthen and grow.  Coming into and developing a close, intimate relationship with God also means that we must make ourselves available to do God’Äôs work.  Like a good parent, God is there to field our difficult questions and to comfort us during the toughest of times.  But, as in any close relationship, both sides also have a role to play.  Petitioning God for different things, we need to be prepared to be a part of God’Äôs response.  Kathleen Norris put it well when she said, ’ÄúPrayer is not asking for what you think you want, but asking to be challenged in ways you can’Äôt imagine.’Äù  We need to make ourselves available to be the community with which God responds to the world’Äôs many cries. 

The disciples saw something different with Jesus’Äô prayer life.  They saw a son, talking to a Father, asking for his needs to be fulfilled and being asked to sacrifice for the world.  Never stop talking to God, ask God the tough questions, yell if you feel like you need to.  God is faithfully listening to our prayers and God will respond, just don’Äôt be surprised when you find that you are part of God’Äôs answer.

                  ✞