Later in the Sermon on the Mount – after his words about not praying like the hypocrites and even after the famous Lord’s Prayer – Jesus revisits the heart of prayer with these words:

Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks find; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened (Matt 7:7-8).

Here Jesus teaches another fundamental principle of faith: simply ask. As Ben pointed out yesterday, this stood in sharp contrast to popular opinion that the gods could be constrained by an effluence of fancy words. Some people today apparently still believe that.

But not so with God. No need for coercion (as if we could), dispense with all manipulations, and abandon the art of “getting what you want.” Just ask – then let go of the need to ensure the outcome. In fact, we need to let go entirely of the incessant human compulsion to be in control:

Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or, if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him. So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you. for this sums up the law and the prophets (Matt 7:9-12).

In other words, God is good. Wanting to be in control is foolish because what we receive from God is a gift – and God only gives good gifts. The only reason we seek to outmaneuver God in prayer is because we believe we know better. We doubt the goodness of God and seek to hedge our bets by trying to outmaneuver him verbally or convincing ourselves that he prefers our methods and agenda.

But if we pay attention to the end of this section we discover, perhaps surprisingly, that this turns out to be a fundamental principle of all good human relationships as well, because directly after this teaching on prayer Jesus imparts the famous “golden rule.” With each other, as with God, we’re to simply ask for what we want – and let go of the need to control the outcome.

This is the heart of the beloved community: all our relationships depend on prayer, not on our ability to persuade each other, lead each other, teach each other, or even be good to each other. Our community depends on the goodness of God and our surrender to Him in front of each other in prayer.

Prayer Exercise
Today we’re going to try journaling. Get hold of a notebook and pen or pencil and start by reading this passage (Matthew 7:7-12) slowly. Imagine how your life would look if you trusted God completely. Now write. Let your thoughts spill out onto the paper in free-form. Ask questions. Answer them. Express your feelings. Make arguments. Praise.

(This exercise was written by Ben Sternke as part of our prayer journey with Christ Church, Fort Wayne)

Our series on prayer began last week by focusing on the Lord’s Prayer. This week we will be looking at several passages from the gospels where Jesus teaches about prayer. Today we start with a look at Matthew 6:5-8. Take some time to read the passage slowly and carefully, jotting down any thoughts or questions you have. Then continue on to read the rest of this post and do the prayer exercise at the end.

Praying to be seen
Jesus teaches us not to pray “like the hypocrites,” who love to pray in public spaces, not because they love God but because they love the commendation they receive from others when they do so. The word “hypocrite” is simply what we would call an “actor” today: people who are pretending to be someone else. The hypocrites are those who are pretending to pray, but really they are simply seeking the recognition of other people. “They have received their reward,” Jesus says. In other words, their prayers had nothing to do with God, so God stayed out of the way. The purpose of their project was getting the attention of other people. That which they sought, they got: attention from others. It had nothing to do with God, so God didn’t involve himself where he wasn’t invited or wanted.

Instead, Jesus tells us, we are to go to our rooms and close the door and pray to our Father, who sees what is done in secret and will reward us. The point is not that public prayer ought never to occur. This would outlaw any kind of corporate prayer. The point is that we ought to simply and honestly bring our concerns and petitions to God, without giving much thought to how we appear to others. When we pray in this way, Jesus tells us we can expect a reward from our Father.

Praying to accumulate merit
So we are not to pray like hypocrites. Jesus also teaches not to pray like “pagans,” people who “keep on babbling” because they think if they shout loud enough or stay fervent enough that the gods might answer because they are impressed with their desperation. These are people who are worried that unless they continually present the “shopping list” to God, he’s going to forget what their needs are. Jesus tells us quite clearly, “Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.” Ours is not a god who is far-off and uninterested, like a father who’d rather read the newspaper and watch TV than engage with his family. The God we call Father is absolutely good, absolutely able, and absolutely wise to carry out his purposes and provide for our needs.

Prayer exercise
Set aside a good 20-30 minutes for this exercise. In this short passage Jesus is teaching that the basis of our prayer life needs to be a confidence that God is an interested, caring Father. Many of us struggle to really live in the constant awareness that God sees us, knows our needs, and longs to meet them. In order to take this from an abstract concept into a concrete belief, we’re going to riff off Psalm 136.

Psalm 136 starts with a general call to give thanks to the Lord, because his love never quits. It then goes into some very specific events in the life of Israel, always echoed by the refrain, “His love never quits!” You’re going to write your own personal Psalm 136:

• First draw a graph of your life. The horizontal axis is time and the vertical axis is how close you felt to God, or how well you felt your life was going. Think of significant events, both good and bad, and trace a path of your life.
• Now think of the significant moments those points on the graph represent, and begin writing your Psalm, using the words below as the general pattern.

I thank you, High God
Because your love never quits.
Your love has been with me
From the moment of my conception until now.

When I first said ‘yes’ to you as a child, naïve and trusting,
Your love was there.
When I spent years in apathy and wanting to fit in
Your love was there.
When I first gave you my whole life, laid everything down,
Your love was there.

…etc…

And now as you’re bringing me into an unknown future,
Your love is here.

• Simply pray your Psalm back to God and rest in his love.

(This exercise was written by Ben Sternke as part of our prayer journey with Christ Church, Fort Wayne)

The last part of the prayer Jesus taught his disciples to pray is as follows (Mt 6:13):

And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one.

These two phrases are asking that we not be put through trials. Which, at first glance, seems kind of selfish doesn’t it? But it is simply a stance of humility.

Of course God doesn’t tempt people. It’s our own selfish desires and the interference of the enemy that tempt us and take us far from God’s grace. What we are praying for here is that we be kept as far from temptation as possible. This is because we recognize that we are weak and not very confident in our ability to resist temptation. We’re all recovering sinners, so much like a recovering alcoholic isn’t wise to wander into bars to “test” her resolve, it’s best for us to stay as far away as possible from the things that draw us into sin. We are voting “no confidence” in our ability to resist temptation, and asking God to keep us away from it.

These petitions remind us that we can’t stand up under very much pressure, that we’re voting “no confidence” in our ability to resist temptation, and that it isn’t a good thing for us to suffer. We also pray for deliverance from the evil one, or “Spare us from bad things that might happen to us”. This is a simple acknowledgement that it isn’t a good thing for us to suffer, and a prayer that we would be help safe from every bad thing that could happen. The trials and sufferings we go through always challenge our faith, and as such they are dangerous! Watch how quickly people start attacking God when they’re going through a rough time. We do well to humbly ask for deliverance from evil.

We get into a lot of trouble when we have confidence in the strength of our own faith (what some might call “faith in faith”). Remember Jesus’ disciples James and John, the “sons of thunder”, the ambitious brothers? They are seeking to advance their own position in the kingdom Jesus is about to set up, so they engage in a little behind-the-scenes political maneuvering, asking if they could be second and third in charge. Jesus asks them, “Can you go through what I’m going to go through?” They answer very confidently: “Yes sir! We can do it! We will ride with you!” Of course they had no idea what they were talking about, and we have to avoid such a cavalier attitude about such things. This prayer helps us.

So fine: it’s good to pray for deliverance from trials. But what about when bad things do happen to us? When we go through trials and are tempted? What are we to make of those situations?

First of all, if we learn to live in this prayer, we will probably begin to recognize how often God does prevent bad things from happening to us, how often he spares us. We’ll start to see how often good things happen to us, and how little we deserve those good things. But when bad things do happen, we can rest assured that evil never has the last say. Every trial or evil that comes our way has a special function in God’s plans. Just like with daily food for daily needs, God also provides daily for the trials and and evil we experience. We may not obtain the answers we want, but we can rest assured that God is good and is working righteousness in us through our weakness, combined with faith.

That was Paul’s astonishing secret: “So, living for Christ, I am delighted when I experience weaknesses, insults, desperate needs, persecutions and difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am powerful” (2 Cor 12:9-10). This kind of experience-based trust is what lies behind many of the Psalms, such as 23, 34, 37, and 91. God does not promise that we will have no trials, but he does promise totally unbroken care, along with adequacy to do whatever is needed. “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.” 1 Cor 10:13.

We must understand that usually God does protect us from trials, but when he allows them, it’s because he has something better in mind for us than freedom from trials.

Prayer Exercise
Find a time and place where you can spend 20-30 minutes in prayer.

Slowly pray through each phrase of the Lord’s prayer, applying specific points of application in your life after each phrase, according to your understanding of the petition.

After praying “deliver us from the evil one” read through Psalm 91. Spend some time journaling on some of the following questions.

• Does this passage seem unrealistic or overly optimistic?
• Does Psalm 91 seem to reflect your experience? If not, why not?
• What would your life look like if you walked in this kind of confidence all the time?
• Ask God to give you the first step you can take toward living the kind of life outlined in Psalm 91.

Just when we’re getting friendly with the idea of depending on God for bread, Jesus crosses into terribly dangerous territory:

Forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.

We tend to trip over these words because we’re fond of speaking about forgiveness as the “free” gift of God. We can’t earn our pardon, or purchase the grace that pulsates through God’s heart.

If only it were that easy.

Jesus teaches that forgiveness must be given in order to be received – and that doesn’t mean we’re buying our forgiveness. When we give our seeds to the soil hoping to receive a crop we aren’t purchasing a harvest, we’re participating in it. When we plow the dirt, or weed and water the crops, we aren’t earning life, we’re submitting to it.

The difference is control.

The stuff we earn belongs to us and the property we buy is private – we control its movement. We’d prefer to think the same is true of gifts like forgiveness. Once we have it, it’s ours to keep. But forgiveness can’t be owned because it isn’t a badge or a boundary – it’s a substance for carrying life, like water for the crops or blood in the body. If we don’t send it out it can’t nourish, and eventually everything withers – including us. We must give in order to receive, we must die in order to live, we must forgive in order to be forgiven.

And that takes faith.

Prayer Exercise
Set aside 15-20 minutes where you won’t be interrupted. Start by reading a favorite Psalm, singing a favorite song, or repeating the petition above from the Lord’s prayer.

After you feel centered, stop and consider “forgiveness” in your life. What are the withering relationships at home, at work, with friends? Pray for each situation, asking God to show you what forgiveness and reconciliation would look like in each situation. Imagine what actions, if any, you may need to take.

(This study was written by Ben Sternke as part of our prayer journey with Christ Church, Fort Wayne)

Today we continue our week of focusing on the Lord’s Prayer by heading into the third petition of the prayer, found in Matthew 6:11

“Give us today out daily bread”

As we pray for God’s name to be hallowed and for his kingdom to come on earth as it is in heaven, we pray this simple petition; that God would grant us our “daily bread,” which refers to everything we need for day-to-day life. It’s an image that hearkens back to God’s provision for the Israelites during their wilderness wanderings, providing manna to eat and sustaining their clothing so it didn’t wear out.

It’s a very simple request that we would be given what we need to continue to join with God in bringing his kingdom on earth.

This is the way children do it, isn’t it? If I discovered that my children were saving up scraps of leftover food in their beds, just in case we ran out, I’d have reason to be alarmed. A child in a healthy family trusts her parents to provide day by day. My children don’t fret over how much food is in the cupboards or monitor our supply of milk. They don’t ask for a box of crackers so they can spread them out over a week; they simply ask for a snack when they are hungry. This is as it should be.

Jesus teaches us to pray in the same way: asking for the things we need for today. Food and clothing, yes, but also for spiritual strength, emotional stability, grace to make it through another moment. Graham Cooke says there’s no such thing as good days or bad days, only days of grace. Sometimes you receive grace to enjoy the day. Other times you receive grace to endure the day. But either way, we pray for and receive the “daily bread” of God’s provision and grace day by day.

Prayer Exercise
Spend some time slowly reading through Philippians 4:6-7:

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

• Then, turn your attention and focus to God. Still yourself and become aware of his presence with you. Then work through the following exercise, based on an old Quaker prayer exercise:
• Start with your palms facing up, and let those things you are worrying about come into your mind.
• One by one, speak out those worries and imagine them filling up in your hands.
• Then, turn your hands over so your palms are facing down, releasing those situations and worries into God’s hands.
• Then present your requests to God – ask God for “daily bread” for each situation, each worry.
• After you have released your worries and prayed for provision, wait for the promised peace of God and rest in his presence.

Yesterday, according to Jesus’ instructions, we learned to begin prayer by honoring God as our good and powerful Father and remembering how he continually cares for us. Today, in Matthew 6:10, Jesus teaches us to pray as revolutionaries:

“Your kingdom come,
Your will be done
On earth as it is in heaven.”

This portion of Jesus’ prayer resembles classic Hebrew poetry, where two parallel lines interpret and explain one another other.

“Your kingdom come, your will be done”
Christians talk quite a bit about “The Kingdom of God” and its coming, and for good reason – the “kingdom of God” or the “kingdom of heaven” was Jesus’ central gospel message. This portion of the prayer teaches us what the kingdom of God actually is: the place where his will is being done.

“On earth as it is in heaven”
Jesus follows up the theological lesson on the kingdom with this startling line where we are taught to pray for God’s kingdom to come on earth. Jesus is teaching that in prayer we are to think of the ways in which God’s will is not being done on earth, and pray that his powerful rule would come to those situations.

This brings up some disturbing questions: Doesn’t God always get His way? Isn’t He in control? If so, why would Jesus teach us to pray that His will would come about and what do our prayers have to do with God’s power coming to earth?

And yet, this is how Jesus teaches us to pray. Take some time to do so now.

Prayer Exercise
Find time to pray alone and uninterrupted for at least 15 minutes. Pray this portion of the Lord’s prayer several times, allowing it to sink into your heart. Meditate on the words. Then, ask yourself: where is God’s will not being done in your life, in your city, in the world? Imagine how those situations would be different if God were getting His way. Pray for that.

This week we’ll pray through the Lord’s prayer as an outline, one line at a time. Today, read the first line, verse in Matthew 6:9:

“Our Father, in Heaven,
Hallowed be your name.”

Think about each word and what it teaches you as you pray it.

“Our Father”
Jesus calls God his father, an unusually intimate term for his culture. What does “father” mean to you? What would it mean for you to see God as a good father in your life? How does this affect your concept of God?

“In Heaven”
Jesus didn’t mean Heaven the way we tend to think of it – as a distant cosmic place. Rather, Heaven was the realm of power in which God was fully in charge; Jesus, and all of the Old Testament scriptures, depicted heaven as the place where God’s rule and reign were unspoiled and uninterrupted by sin, disease, violence, and death. God occasionally broke into the present earthly realm, but he lived and worked from heaven. Given this, what does the concept of God being from heaven mean to you?

“Hallowed be your name”
Hallowed means to revere or honor. In the culture of the ancient near east where Jesus and the other Jews lived a person’s name was more powerful and meaningful than it is to modern Western societies. A person’s name was their identity. It reflected their character and purpose. Likewise, the name of God throughout scripture reflects His character and purpose. There are many names for God in the Old Testament, and each depicts, in some way, his divine character as witnessed by the ancient Hebrews. Here are a few:

• YHWH-Yireh — “The LORD will provide” (Genesis 22:13-14)
• YHWH-Rapha — “The LORD that healeth” (Exodus 15:26)
• YHWH-Niss”i — “The LORD our Banner” (Exodus 17:8-15)
• YHWH-Shalom — “The LORD our Peace” (Judges 6:24)
• YHWH-Ro’i — “The LORD my Shepherd” (Psalm 23:1)
• YHWH-Tsidkenu — “The LORD our Righteousness” (Jeremiah 23:6)
• YHWH-Shammah — “The LORD is present” (Ezekiel 48:35)

Prayer Exercise:
Find a quiet place to pray, uninterrupted for 20-30 minutes. Begin by addressing God as your father, then pray through some of these names of God listed above, asking God to be your “provider,” your “healer,” your “peace,” etc. Pause with each one as consider what this might look like in your life and pray for the specific situations that come to mind. Thank God for the ways in which He has already acted in this way for you.

Afterward, share a bit of your experiences in the comments below. Was this a good exercise? Was it easy or difficult? What did you experience?

During our Sermon on the Mount Series last Fall I was particularly struck by the fact that at the very heart of the Sermon of the Mount is the Lord’s Prayer. If we don’t get prayer, I fear we won’t get the Kingdom.

So, what is prayer? What did Jesus teach and demonstrate concerning prayer? How can we pray effectively as individuals and as a community of faith? Whatever you’ve learned thus far, I want to challenge you to set aside your assumptions and learn about prayer afresh over the next 5 weeks as we explore what scripture teaches. Here’s how this will work:

• Prayer will be our topic of study and meditation during our next 4 Sunday night gatherings.
• Between those gatherings, we’ll use this website as a community “gathering place” for meditations on prayer every Monday through Friday.
• Each day we’ll post scripture readings and exercises in prayer for you to experiment and leave your comments.
• Please be sure to leave your comments. We learn from each other and we can’t do that if you don’t participate.
• We’ll explore prayer from an individual and group perspective during the coming weeks, and experiment with different forms of prayer.

Also, I’m excited to announce that Christ Church, a new missional church community in Fort Wayne, Indiana will be joining us for this journey (or, maybe we’re joining them!). Their Pastor, Ben Sternke, will be sharing blog posting duties with me during this time – so some of the posts you see here will be from him. Take some time to visit their site, welcome them, and perhaps even engage in their conversations on prayer!

Merry Christmas! For this important day we have two readings to go along with the lighting of the Christ candle:

Isaiah 9:1-7

¹ Nevertheless, there will be no more gloom for those who were in distress. In the past he humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the future he will honor Galilee of the Gentiles, by the way of the sea, along the Jordan-

² The people walking in darkness
have seen a great light;
on those living in the land of the shadow of death
a light has dawned.

³ You have enlarged the nation
and increased their joy;
they rejoice before you
as people rejoice at the harvest,
as men rejoice
when dividing the plunder.

⁴ For as in the day of Midian’s defeat,
you have shattered
the yoke that burdens them,
the bar across their shoulders,
the rod of their oppressor.

⁵ Every warrior’s boot used in battle
and every garment rolled in blood
will be destined for burning,
will be fuel for the fire.

⁶ For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given,
and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

⁷ Of the increase of his government and peace
there will be no end.
He will reign on David’s throne
and over his kingdom,
establishing and upholding it
with justice and righteousness
from that time on and forever.
The zeal of the LORD Almighty
will accomplish this.

Luke 2:1-14

¹In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. ²(This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) ³And everyone went to his own town to register.

⁴So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. ⁵He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. ⁶While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, ⁷and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

⁸And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. ⁹An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. ¹⁰But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. ¹¹Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. ¹²This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

¹³Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
¹⁴“Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.”

Daily Advent Reading, #25

• Adults & Kids: Matthew 25:31-46

³¹“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. ³²All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. ³³He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

³⁴“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. ³⁵For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, ³⁶I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’

³⁷“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? ³⁸When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? ³⁹When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

⁴⁰“The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’

⁴¹“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. ⁴²For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, ⁴³I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’

⁴⁴“They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’

⁴⁵“He will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’

⁴⁶“Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”