Do you remember those famous photographs of President Kennedy in the oval office with his children? In one picture—probably the most famous, John Jr., who was probably two at the time, was playing under his father’s desk.
Those pictures are memorable for several reasons. The Kennedys were wealthy, glamorous, and powerful—not to mention, photogenic. But I think one reason that picture is so memorable is because here is this little child playing at the feet of his father, who just happens to be one of the most powerful people in the world at that time.
When we see that picture, there is something touching about a little child who only knows that man as “Daddy.”
For a number of years, our oldest daughter, Lisa, was a Sunday School teacher at University Presbyterian Church. One of the children in her class of three-year-olds was the son of former Mariners catcher, Dan Wilson. Lisa was talking to him, and she asked the little boy, “Does your dad play baseball?”
And the little guy got all excited and said, “Yeah, and he cooks eggs for us!”
I think there is something in these pictures of these little children and how they relate to their famous fathers that speaks to us about the relationship God wants to have with us.
It’s wonderful to know all about God. It’s good to study the Bible and theology and be able to explain who God is. That is all good.
But the best thing is to know, as sure as those little boys knew, that God is our father. We can, if you will, walk right into his office and talk things over with him. Maybe even play with him. We can sit down and eat eggs with him. That is what prayer is about.
As a matter of fact, your father God is much more accessible to you than either JFK or Dan Wilson were to their children, because of their other responsibilities. Our infinite God can somehow deal with all of his kids at the same time!
Most of us who have been Christians for a while have a huge amount of guilt when we think about prayer. I would be willing to bet that several of you, when you saw the title of my sermon had at least a twinge of guilt.
You probably think I will be telling you that you need to pray more, and you’ve heard it before. So let me just say it and then let’s get over it: we all need to pray more!
The real question is, Why don’t we? What is it about prayer that is so difficult?
Our scripture for today is just two verses from Philippians 4:
6Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (NIV)
That was the New International Version. Let me also read it as it is translated in The Message.
6-7Don't fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God's wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It's wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life. (The Message)
I’m not a big worrier, but sometimes I do worry or get anxious. All of us do, and for some of us worry and anxiety is a big problem. Paul is trying to help us out here—not to lay a guilt trip on us.
He wants us to understand that we have a heavenly father who welcomes us into his office—into his kitchen—and wants to hear our concerns.
So what happens when we pray? To begin with, when we pray, our hearts are being conformed to God’s heart. Think again of those two little boys—one playing in his dad’s office, and the other in the kitchen watching his dad make eggs for him.
Both little boys are fairly oblivious of just how famous their dad is. The important thing in their minds is that this man is my dad, and he cares about me and he talks to me and he listens to me. We have a relationship. And there is the security of knowing that this father of mine loves me and will take care of me.
That’s how God is to us. He cares about us and he wants to listen to us and speak to our hearts and remind us that he loves us and will always be with us.
And as those fathers are spending time with their children, the children are learning from their fathers. When we spend time with God in prayer, we are learning from our father.
How many times, both for good and for bad, have you heard a person described as a chip off the old block? Children grow up to be very much like their parents. That’s because, from the time they are tiny babies, they are constantly watching everything their parents do and listening to everything they say. That’s how children learn.
Some of us have a few things we need to unlearn, don’t we? Our earthly parents are imperfect, so some of what we learn is not the very best. As we spend time in prayer with God, our heavenly father, we become conformed to his image. We become more Christ-like. We unlearn what needs to go and we learn to be more like our heavenly father.
God is powerful, and so is prayer. But the important thing to you and me is that this God is a God who loves us and takes care of us. That’s why we want to be with him, and that’s why we pray. Not because some preacher told us we ought to pray! But because we so desperately need to spend time with our heavenly father. Like a little child who needs to be with and learn from his or her parents, we need to learn from God.
I love to go to the ocean and walk barefoot on the sand and let the waves wash over my feet. And as I look out at the ocean, I am always amazed at its immensity. And then, because I have seen maps, I think about the fact that the part of the ocean I see—huge as it seems, is only a teeny, tiny part of the whole ocean.
To me, God is like the ocean. I see God’s power and his glory and his vastness. And then, because I have studied scripture, I think about the fact that the part of God that I can imagine—great as it is, is only a teeny, tiny part of God. We can know God, and yet God is beyond our ability to know. If we were able to fully comprehend God, then God would not be God.
And when I stand on the beach with my toes in the water, I am reminded of prayer. In prayer, I connect with God, this vastly infinite God. Like standing at the edge of the ocean, prayer helps me put myself and my anxieties and needs into perspective.
When we come to God with our needs, our anxieties, our hopes and dreams, and our praise and thanksgiving, we realign our lives. We get a new perspective.
Like the ocean, God can seem overwhelming and dangerous. God is so big. That’s one reason Jesus came. Jesus is our priest—he is the intermediary between us and God. So if God in all his vastness seems too remote, Hebrews helps us to understand that Jesus is the one who connects us with God.
Hebrews 4: 14-16 says,
14Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. 15For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin. 16Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
Jesus was both fully human and fully God. In his humanity, he endured every sort of temptation that we have encountered. He understands human pain and human limitations and human weaknesses. That’s why he is the perfect one to hear our prayers. He knows us inside and out, and he invites us to come before God. That’s why so often when we pray we use the phrase, “in Jesus’ name we pray.” When we say that, we are acknowledging Jesus as our high priest.
So how do we pray? Some of us might have some unlearning to do. We have somehow gotten the idea—probably from listening to pastors—that we must pray in somber tones using big, important words. But think about it. Do we really think God is impressed with our eloquence?
God hears our prayers, whether faltering or eloquent. But the Bible says that God looks at our hearts. God would much rather hear the honest cries of our hearts than how eloquently we can speak.
He invites us to come as little children. Once when Jesus was talking to the disciples he called over a little child, and he said to the disciples, “unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”(Mt. 18:1-4)
I think if we want to learn to love to pray, it will help us to think of the little boy playing under his dad’s desk, and the little boy watching his dad cook eggs. Remember that Jesus cooked fish for his disciples. He’s real!
Come to him as a child and simply spend time in his presence. Tell him how you feel. Tell him what you need. Talk to him about how your day is going. Ask him to make you more like him. Don’t you think, as Dan Wilson’s little boy grows up and figures out how much his dad knows about baseball he will want his dad to help him learn how to catch a ball? As you learn to know God, won’t you want him to help you learn how to live?
Let’s take a few minutes of guided silent prayer time. Just relax and talk to God in your own words. He doesn’t want it fancy—he just wants to hear from your heart.
Let’s bow our heads in prayer.
Start by praying for yourself. What do you want from God? How do you want God to help you? Take a minute to tell him.
Now, pray for your family and friends. You don’t have to pray for every single person right now. Just allow the Holy Spirit to bring people to mind and then tell God your desire for that person.
Now, pray for our church. Again, don’t try to solve everything. Let the Holy Spirit guide your thoughts as to how God wants to bless this church.
Pray for this community. What does God want to do right here in this neighborhood.
Pray for our nation. Again, just pray for one or two needs that come to mind.
Pray for the world. The needs are immense, but God is even bigger than the needs of this world. Allow God to touch your heart with some need in this world, and ask God to work in that area.
Lord, we have many things to talk to you about. Remind us to come back to you in prayer again and again—this afternoon, tomorrow, the next day—as we walk along; as we wash the dishes; as we watch or listen to the news. Teach us to be your friends.
Amen
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