[An updated version of this text is available at medium.com]
Once a diciple of Jesus asked the Master: Please, teach us
how to pray.
They had seen Jesus pray; seen him walk away from them early in the morning, to
seek the heavenly Father in private. They had also seen the religious strivers
and the religious leaders, praying long and beautiful prayers. But yet, it was
Jesus they asked for guidance when they wanted to learn how to pray. Why him
and not the others? Because it was obvious that God were with Him, and not the
others. Even the religious leaders knew that. (John 3,2)
Jesus started his answer with a warning:
"When you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray
standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men."
OK, nice tip. It's not about bragging. Your prayers are not for those around
you. Your prayers are for God. They can corcern the onces around you, but it's
not for their entertainment you pray, it would rather be for their well-being.
Jesus mentions the hypocrites. A hypocrite is one pretending
to be something he is not. The title of this blog, Esse quam
videri, actually means "To be, rather than to seem to be". Be
real, and don't pretend. If you seek God, come as yourself, as is.
Jesus continues:
"I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full."
OK, nice tip again. If you would rather like to get your reward paid as honour
from people around you, make sure people see you when you pray. But don't
expect God to reward you.
Reward?
What is this talk about being rewarded anyway? Isn't that to be quite
megalomanian to think God would reward you for seeking him?
The author of the letter to the Hebrews (6,11b) says:
"Anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he
rewards those who earnestly seek him."
If you earnestly seek God, he will reward you.
"OK," you may say, "I understand this with my brain, but my
heart can't get a hold on it."
Let me help you on that one. Let's read the sentence again:
"Anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists AND that
he rewards those who earnestly seek him."
Do you know what we can derive from this? Prepare; this fact is building faith:
Just as obviously as it is to believe that God exists when you talk to him,
it is that he rewards you when you seek Him! If you believe the fact that God
exists, you should also believe the fact that he will reward you when you seek
him!
Jesus goes on:
"But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your
Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will
reward you."
Jesus states what we just learned: God will reward you.
You don't need to go into a room in a house to pray. Jesus prayed out in the
open, but he went away from the others, he "closed the door" to be
together with God in private. Even the houseless can have a room in this
context.
Don't babble
Jesus said:
"And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think
they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your
Father knows what you need before you ask him."
OK, we do not need to talk to God with many words if we are able to make our
point with few words. It's not the words that count, and God don't count words.
Talk to him as your Father, you don't need to address him as the Creator of the
Universe, King of Kings, Alpha and Omega and so forth, every time you want to
talk to Him. You can say: "Father" or "Dad" or
"God" or something, whatever suit you. Sometimes it's good for us to
use those words, to build our faith, and to remind ourself of whom we are
seeking.
You don't need to explain everything either. He is quite aware of why you are
seeking him. Jesus says that he already knows what you need, even before you
ask him. It's like me overhearing a conversation between my son and his buddy,
planning to go to see a movie. I will then know what he will ask of me when he
sticks his head in and says "Daddy?"
I would definitely be both anxious and suspicious if he came in, crawling
backwards towards me, talking in a strange voice with his eyes shut: "O
Mighty Father, from which I come. Oh, what am I, but dust and dirt, not worthy
to be called a man..." I would definitely NOT let him go to watch a movie
that day :)
Sometimes I find myself anxious to pray for God's will to happen. When I ask of
something, I find myself explaining what I don't mean. It's like the short
story of William Wymark Jacobs called 'The monkey´s paw'. This is what it is
about (excuse me if the details are wrong): A friend of the family comes home with a dried
monkey paw that grants three wishes to each person. If you hold the paw and make a wish, it will come through. But
the paw doesn't care about the person making the wish, so when the Mrs in the
family wishes for more money, her son is killed in an accident, and she
receives a fair amount from the insurance company. And so the story continues.
God is not like this dried monkey paw. He knows what is best, and if you ask
of him anything that will not be good for you, he will say "No, you will
not get what you ask for, for it is not my will to give it to you. My will for
you is good. Trust me on this!"
So, it is safe to say: "Let your will be done."
A last comment on this one: When Jesus tells us not to babble, he is not
talking about praying in tounges. As that is the spirit helping us to pray, we
can trust that we don't babble when we pray in tounges. So keep that up!
The prayer
We all know this one:
"This, then, is how you should pray:
Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one.
for yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever.
Amen."
The different parts of the prayer
We have learned this prayer by heart, and we don't really need to think of what
we are praying. The thing is; by doing so we end up just like the pagans, we
just say the words without putting anything in it.
Our Father in heaven,
God is our Father. Jesus states this as a fact.
He could have said "Father", but he says "our
Father". God is not just my God, and he is not just your God. He is OUR
God.
God care for the society. That's where love can flow. How can God give me love?
Through the society, i.e. other people. My family, my wife, my friends, my
colleguas, through you!
God is love, and love always include. If you shut people out, you don't love.
hallowed be your name,
or "Let your name be holy, lifted above all other names,"
I used to think that this was something we just stated: Your name is holy.
Well, it is, but I can't see the point in stating so when I approach my Father.
I think what this means, is more like this, in the words of Michael W Smith:
"Your name be lifted high in my life."
We are not just stating that His name is hallowed, but we ask of Him to act
through our lifes so that His name continously will be hallowed.
Jesus was a miracle maker, but everything that happened was from our Father.
God was hallowed through Jesus' life. He can (read: will) do the same through
your life.
your kingdom come,
Jesus came with the Kingdom of God. We could talk for hours about the
kingdom of God.
Let me just tell what we are asking of God here:
Let forgiveness come, let sacrifice come, let healing come, let salvation come,
let mercy and grace flow, let life and freedom and life and living water run
like a river. Let the powers of your kingdom come and outlive the things that
are not."
your will be done
on earth as it is in heaven.
It's pretty much the same as above. Let your will be done on earth... We sometimes
say that there is a meaning with everything, often when something bad happens.
Remember then that Jesus also said ...as it is in heaven.
Bad things don't happen in heaven. Evil things don't happen in heaven.
There is no disceases in heaven. Pretty challenging prayer, this one.
God do not want bad things to happen. Some things are meaningless. But God can
bring forth meaningful things even through meaningless situations. But that is
not the same as God has a meaning with the bad things that happens.
You know the Phoenix? The bird that Dumbledore has in his office, and in old
myths is a bird that is born in the ashes that is left of the previous Phoenix
that caught fire and died. That tells me something about God. Everything seems
to be gone, there is nothing left but ashes. But from the ashes of what once
were, a new life is risen. For me this is how God can create something new of
dead stuff. The Bible is full of those stories.
Give us today our daily bread.
This one is not as straightforward as you may think. Note the double
mentioning of the day.
today - daily.
Why not just say: "Give us our daily bread."
I think God provides for this day, not for tomorrow. He will provide for the
day that comes tomorrow also, but not until tomorrow, if you know what I mean.
You can not save what God provides for future needs, because He provide fresh
meals only.
Forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
You can't be unforgiving and yet be forgiven. If you think so, you need to
read the gospels again. If you find it hard to forgive, ask God to provide.
Forgive with your words, and the rest will follow. I will not talk to much
about this, it's too big a topic for this little blog article.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one.
I've heard one preacher saying that this first line, "lead us not into
temtation", is where we ask God to promote us with caution. If He
promote us more than our character can handle, we may be proud, and that is
dangerous. Pride was the cardinal sin of the devil.
for yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever.
Whatever God uses you for, and no matter how high he puts you and promotes you,
it's still his kingdom. You are not in charge, you are still a servant.
His is the power, not yours.
His is the glory, not yours.
Amen."
And all the people said: Amen!
