A Perfect Prayer
Sermon
Together In Christ
Sermons and Prayers For the Christian Year
Most of us would admit without too much prodding that we are not perfect, that we are a frustrating blend of good and evil. Oh, I've known a few Christians who think they are without sin because they are saved, but these are people who don't understand themselves or the Scriptures. For the rest of us, I think we'd all confess that we are flawed and fallible, imperfect at best.
But what about our heroes? What about the people we idolize in sports or entertainment, in religion, politics or business; why are we always surprised when these heroes turn out to be human beings who make mistakes? Why are we disappointed and disillusioned to learn that our heroes are imperfect, just like us?
Most countries create myths about their greatest heroes to make them look larger than life. For instance, I have a book at home which I bought several years ago in Moscow (written before glasnost came to Soviet history books). It is about Vladimir Lenin, father of the Soviet Union. Did you know that according to this book, Lenin never made a mistake? In all his years as leader of the Russian revolution and as head of the Soviet government, he never made a wrong decision! Remarkable man, that Lenin.
But the Soviet Union isn't the only country with remarkable heroes. Did you also know that George Washington never told a lie? It's true! I read it in school as a child.
We have a pitiful, human need to worship someone of flesh and blood, so all around the world, we create these myths about our heroes. We build them up to feel better about ourselves, but at the same time, we make these ordinary men and women more different and distant from us. It's hard to relate to a human hero who never made a mistake or never told a lie.
The people of Israel were more realistic; they did not build up their heroes into false gods. Their history book is the Bible and there we see heroes who are good, bad and ugly. We see the patriarch Jacob cheating his own brother, Esau. We see the mighty Samson being a fool for Delilah. We see King David lusting after a woman as she bathes and then taking her for himself by having her husband killed.
There is the same truthfulness about the great figures in the New Testament, as when Peter, the "rock of the church," denies Jesus and runs away. We should be able to relate to these people in Scripture and find great comfort in them. They are heroes of our faith, but they are human like you or me.
The biblical honesty even carries over to King Solomon, the greatest king Israel ever had - the king of Israel's golden age. When Jesus spoke of splendor in His Sermon on the Mount, He reached all the way back one thousand years and spoke of Solomon (Matthew 6:29). Solomon ruled over a glorious empire. He built up trade and commerce throughout the ancient world. He built the magnificent temple in Jerusalem. His was an age of power and wealth which Israel had never known before or since.
But the Bible is honest about its heroes, so it also reveals the bad side of Solomon. He ruthlessly killed his rivals for the throne when he was just twenty. He married hundreds of foreign women and worshipped their pagan gods. He laid crushing taxes on the people and even forced them into slave labor for his great building projects. Solomon was an ambitious man who was not above sacrificing principles or morality to get what he wanted.
It is good that Scripture gives us both sides of its heroes. We see their good sides, so we are inspired by their examples. But we also see their bad sides, so we learn not to worship heroes, but worship God alone. And because we see the bad sides of Bible heroes, we can't use them to excuse ourselves from being good. We can't say about Solomon, for example, "Well, of course we can't please God like Solomon did - after all, he's in the Bible!" Yes, Solomon is in the Bible, but the Bible records very plainly that he had his weaknesses just like you or me.
God came to Solomon in a dream soon after he had become king and asked him what he wanted. I suppose you could say this is everyone's fantasy: make a wish for anything at all, and it will be instantly granted to you. What would you wish for?
We know what Solomon asked for: "Lord, give Thy servant an understanding mind to govern Thy people, that I may discern good and evil; for who is able to govern this Thy great people?"
You may remember that Adam and Eve ate fruit in the Garden of Eden to know good and evil (Genesis 3:22), and ever since then, people have struggled for an understanding mind. This is what Solomon prayed for. He wanted to rule with fairness and justice, according to the commandments of God; in order to do that, he needed more than knowledge and information.
Solomon had the best knowledge and information his world could give him. But understanding means being able to see things as someone else sees them. It means being able to see yourself as others see you. The deepest understanding is to see yourself as God sees you and this is the hardest kind to attain.
One of our Native American nations had a saying, "You cannot know someone until you have walked in their moccasins." Well, today we live in the Information Age. Through computers and the mass media, we have more information at our fingertips than anyone in history, but we have precious little understanding! Solomon prayed for understanding.
His request was pleasing to God. Though he was an imperfect man (as the Bible makes abundantly clear), he made a perfect prayer. He asked for something which would help him do God's will in the world. So God said to him: "Because you have not asked for riches or long life or the death of your enemies, I will give you an understanding mind. But more than this, I will give you the riches and honor you didn't ask for. And if you walk in My ways and keep My commandments, I will give you a long life."
Maybe Solomon's prayer pleased God so much because God hears so many of the other kinds of prayers. God hears so many prayers by people who put prosperity above discipleship and consumption above commitment. He hears prayers by Christians who have bought the "name it and claim it" gospel which is always so popular: name the blessing you want and claim it in the name of Jesus. Their religion is self-esteem; their god is found in the shopping malls of mammon and not in the churches of Jesus Christ.
This popular religion which God hears too much of today is perfectly embodied in a young man named Mike, who left his hometown and became a success in the business world. He was also a "sanctified" Christian in the biggest, wealthiest and fastest growing church in the city. Mike really seemed to have it all.
It certainly seemed that way when Mike went back one day to visit the town in which he was raised. Everyone marvelled at his expensive suit, his glittery gold watch and his brand new BMW.
Mike drove over to visit the pastor of his boyhood church. "My, you certainly are prospering these days," the old preacher said, "Yes, I am," said Mike, "and you know, pastor; God gave me all these things: the car and clothes, my condominium and my brand new camper. God wants the best for His people."
Then the preacher said to Mike, "Well, it's interesting that God gave you all these things. He gave His only begotten Son a cross! He gave Paul, His best disciple, a beheading, imprisonment, stoning, shipwreck and a thousand other troubles!"
I saw a similar faith when I was asked to address a national meeting of "born again" Christians a few years ago. Though I must say that social issues involving the poor were not very high on their agenda, I nevertheless jumped at their invitation to speak about my experiences in inner city ministry.
I gave my talk, and at the end of it, a woman stood up and said, "I came here because I thought you were going to praise the Lord. I'm tired of all this talk about justice and poor people and what's wrong with our society." (She didn't realize I had spoken as I did because I knew that this was the part of Biblical faith they most needed to hear.)
Later that evening, there was a worship service. There was a lot of prayer and testimony as people spoke about what God has done for them in their lives. But for all their piety and praises, not once during the whole two hours did anyone speak about anyone except themselves! The only part of God's world they cared about was their own little gathering of people! It's as if Jesus had given them a new commandment: "Love yourself and forget about your neighbor."
As the service ended with some very moving gospel music, I saw the same woman who had complained to me earlier. She was standing up with her arms raised high in the air, as if filled with the Holy Spirit. And I was sick at heart. I wanted to go over and shake her out of her ecstasy! I wanted to speak to her the words of the prophet: "I hate, I despise your [praises], and I take no delight in your [worship]. Take away from Me the noise of your songs. But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream" (Amos 5:21-24).
But I didn't do any of that. Seeing her made me too sad, so I simply left that church to its singing and walked out into the night. And I lamented in my heart how the spirit of selfishness in the world has infected and perverted the Body of Jesus Christ.
There are many people (including Christians) who live and pray for what they can get. Their dominant motives in prayer are selfish. If you don't know what I'm talking about, watch just once any of the television preachers, or listen just once to any of their clones preaching in the local church. You'll quickly see what I mean.
See how often you hear the words "I" or "me" when they speak. See how happy and prosperous they look, and see how often they promise you the same. Ask yourself if these Christians look or act much like Jesus. I tell you, these are the "wolves in sheep's clothing" our Lord warned us about (Matthew 7:15). Theirs is a religion of what God will do for you, but the Bible is equally concerned with what you must do for God.
If you want to offer God your own perfect prayer, remember James and John, the sons of Zebedee. They, too, had a self-centered religion; they wanted the seats of glory at Jesus' right and left hand. Remember, also, what Jesus said to them. He said, in effect: "You are asking only for yourselves, and you do not know what you are asking for. Are you prepared to drink the bitter cup which I am about to drink? Do not seek glory and honors, that you may lord it over others as the Gentiles do; but come instead and be a servant" (cf. Matthew 20:20-28).
Remember also how Jesus taught us to pray. "First," he said, "go into a room and shut the door. Don't be like the holy hypocrites who love to pray in front of an audience, so that people will call them righteous" (Matthew 6:5-13).
Then Jesus told us what to say as we pray: "Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done." The prayer begins with a focus on God - not on oneself. It begins by asking that God's will - not our will - be accomplished on earth, even as it is in heaven.
Then Jesus says, "Give us this day our daily bread, forgive us our debts, deliver us from evil." The words "I" or "me" appear nowhere in our Lord's Prayer! Jesus is telling us that when we pray, God should be the focus of our prayer, and we should pray for others and our community even as we pray for ourselves.
Earlier we found much the same message in Solomon's prayer: be more concerned with what you can offer God with your lives than with what God can offer you through your prayers. Seek first the will of God when you pray. Seek first to live in His kingdom and practice His righteousness, and the other things you need will be yours as well.
Paul writes in our text: "We do not know how to pray as we ought." We need to learn. We need to learn not by the spirit of selfish success which surrounds us, but by the Word of sacrifice and service which Christ has put within us.
Remember that like Solomon, we can offer God our own perfect prayers, even with our imperfect lives. We can pray for an understanding mind and for the grace to live rightly in God's ways. Remember that God is the power in our prayers to Him, not ourselves, and what finally matters is not our will, but God's will be done. Amen
Pastoral Prayer
Almighty God, who was so majestic as to come into the world as a humble servant, teach us to offer prayers with our lips and our lives which are acceptable in Your sight. Keep us from vain praises and selfish piety. Never let us forget the human family with whom You have called us to be as one. Put in our hearts a desire to make our prayers pure and our lives a reflection of our perfect prayers. Make us worthy of the name we bear in honor of Your Son, worthy of the name "Christian."
Most Holy and Gracious Lord, we ask all these things with confidence and infinite hope, for we look, not to ourselves but to You for the answer to all our prayers. Let Yours be the power and the glory forever." Amen
But what about our heroes? What about the people we idolize in sports or entertainment, in religion, politics or business; why are we always surprised when these heroes turn out to be human beings who make mistakes? Why are we disappointed and disillusioned to learn that our heroes are imperfect, just like us?
Most countries create myths about their greatest heroes to make them look larger than life. For instance, I have a book at home which I bought several years ago in Moscow (written before glasnost came to Soviet history books). It is about Vladimir Lenin, father of the Soviet Union. Did you know that according to this book, Lenin never made a mistake? In all his years as leader of the Russian revolution and as head of the Soviet government, he never made a wrong decision! Remarkable man, that Lenin.
But the Soviet Union isn't the only country with remarkable heroes. Did you also know that George Washington never told a lie? It's true! I read it in school as a child.
We have a pitiful, human need to worship someone of flesh and blood, so all around the world, we create these myths about our heroes. We build them up to feel better about ourselves, but at the same time, we make these ordinary men and women more different and distant from us. It's hard to relate to a human hero who never made a mistake or never told a lie.
The people of Israel were more realistic; they did not build up their heroes into false gods. Their history book is the Bible and there we see heroes who are good, bad and ugly. We see the patriarch Jacob cheating his own brother, Esau. We see the mighty Samson being a fool for Delilah. We see King David lusting after a woman as she bathes and then taking her for himself by having her husband killed.
There is the same truthfulness about the great figures in the New Testament, as when Peter, the "rock of the church," denies Jesus and runs away. We should be able to relate to these people in Scripture and find great comfort in them. They are heroes of our faith, but they are human like you or me.
The biblical honesty even carries over to King Solomon, the greatest king Israel ever had - the king of Israel's golden age. When Jesus spoke of splendor in His Sermon on the Mount, He reached all the way back one thousand years and spoke of Solomon (Matthew 6:29). Solomon ruled over a glorious empire. He built up trade and commerce throughout the ancient world. He built the magnificent temple in Jerusalem. His was an age of power and wealth which Israel had never known before or since.
But the Bible is honest about its heroes, so it also reveals the bad side of Solomon. He ruthlessly killed his rivals for the throne when he was just twenty. He married hundreds of foreign women and worshipped their pagan gods. He laid crushing taxes on the people and even forced them into slave labor for his great building projects. Solomon was an ambitious man who was not above sacrificing principles or morality to get what he wanted.
It is good that Scripture gives us both sides of its heroes. We see their good sides, so we are inspired by their examples. But we also see their bad sides, so we learn not to worship heroes, but worship God alone. And because we see the bad sides of Bible heroes, we can't use them to excuse ourselves from being good. We can't say about Solomon, for example, "Well, of course we can't please God like Solomon did - after all, he's in the Bible!" Yes, Solomon is in the Bible, but the Bible records very plainly that he had his weaknesses just like you or me.
God came to Solomon in a dream soon after he had become king and asked him what he wanted. I suppose you could say this is everyone's fantasy: make a wish for anything at all, and it will be instantly granted to you. What would you wish for?
We know what Solomon asked for: "Lord, give Thy servant an understanding mind to govern Thy people, that I may discern good and evil; for who is able to govern this Thy great people?"
You may remember that Adam and Eve ate fruit in the Garden of Eden to know good and evil (Genesis 3:22), and ever since then, people have struggled for an understanding mind. This is what Solomon prayed for. He wanted to rule with fairness and justice, according to the commandments of God; in order to do that, he needed more than knowledge and information.
Solomon had the best knowledge and information his world could give him. But understanding means being able to see things as someone else sees them. It means being able to see yourself as others see you. The deepest understanding is to see yourself as God sees you and this is the hardest kind to attain.
One of our Native American nations had a saying, "You cannot know someone until you have walked in their moccasins." Well, today we live in the Information Age. Through computers and the mass media, we have more information at our fingertips than anyone in history, but we have precious little understanding! Solomon prayed for understanding.
His request was pleasing to God. Though he was an imperfect man (as the Bible makes abundantly clear), he made a perfect prayer. He asked for something which would help him do God's will in the world. So God said to him: "Because you have not asked for riches or long life or the death of your enemies, I will give you an understanding mind. But more than this, I will give you the riches and honor you didn't ask for. And if you walk in My ways and keep My commandments, I will give you a long life."
Maybe Solomon's prayer pleased God so much because God hears so many of the other kinds of prayers. God hears so many prayers by people who put prosperity above discipleship and consumption above commitment. He hears prayers by Christians who have bought the "name it and claim it" gospel which is always so popular: name the blessing you want and claim it in the name of Jesus. Their religion is self-esteem; their god is found in the shopping malls of mammon and not in the churches of Jesus Christ.
This popular religion which God hears too much of today is perfectly embodied in a young man named Mike, who left his hometown and became a success in the business world. He was also a "sanctified" Christian in the biggest, wealthiest and fastest growing church in the city. Mike really seemed to have it all.
It certainly seemed that way when Mike went back one day to visit the town in which he was raised. Everyone marvelled at his expensive suit, his glittery gold watch and his brand new BMW.
Mike drove over to visit the pastor of his boyhood church. "My, you certainly are prospering these days," the old preacher said, "Yes, I am," said Mike, "and you know, pastor; God gave me all these things: the car and clothes, my condominium and my brand new camper. God wants the best for His people."
Then the preacher said to Mike, "Well, it's interesting that God gave you all these things. He gave His only begotten Son a cross! He gave Paul, His best disciple, a beheading, imprisonment, stoning, shipwreck and a thousand other troubles!"
I saw a similar faith when I was asked to address a national meeting of "born again" Christians a few years ago. Though I must say that social issues involving the poor were not very high on their agenda, I nevertheless jumped at their invitation to speak about my experiences in inner city ministry.
I gave my talk, and at the end of it, a woman stood up and said, "I came here because I thought you were going to praise the Lord. I'm tired of all this talk about justice and poor people and what's wrong with our society." (She didn't realize I had spoken as I did because I knew that this was the part of Biblical faith they most needed to hear.)
Later that evening, there was a worship service. There was a lot of prayer and testimony as people spoke about what God has done for them in their lives. But for all their piety and praises, not once during the whole two hours did anyone speak about anyone except themselves! The only part of God's world they cared about was their own little gathering of people! It's as if Jesus had given them a new commandment: "Love yourself and forget about your neighbor."
As the service ended with some very moving gospel music, I saw the same woman who had complained to me earlier. She was standing up with her arms raised high in the air, as if filled with the Holy Spirit. And I was sick at heart. I wanted to go over and shake her out of her ecstasy! I wanted to speak to her the words of the prophet: "I hate, I despise your [praises], and I take no delight in your [worship]. Take away from Me the noise of your songs. But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream" (Amos 5:21-24).
But I didn't do any of that. Seeing her made me too sad, so I simply left that church to its singing and walked out into the night. And I lamented in my heart how the spirit of selfishness in the world has infected and perverted the Body of Jesus Christ.
There are many people (including Christians) who live and pray for what they can get. Their dominant motives in prayer are selfish. If you don't know what I'm talking about, watch just once any of the television preachers, or listen just once to any of their clones preaching in the local church. You'll quickly see what I mean.
See how often you hear the words "I" or "me" when they speak. See how happy and prosperous they look, and see how often they promise you the same. Ask yourself if these Christians look or act much like Jesus. I tell you, these are the "wolves in sheep's clothing" our Lord warned us about (Matthew 7:15). Theirs is a religion of what God will do for you, but the Bible is equally concerned with what you must do for God.
If you want to offer God your own perfect prayer, remember James and John, the sons of Zebedee. They, too, had a self-centered religion; they wanted the seats of glory at Jesus' right and left hand. Remember, also, what Jesus said to them. He said, in effect: "You are asking only for yourselves, and you do not know what you are asking for. Are you prepared to drink the bitter cup which I am about to drink? Do not seek glory and honors, that you may lord it over others as the Gentiles do; but come instead and be a servant" (cf. Matthew 20:20-28).
Remember also how Jesus taught us to pray. "First," he said, "go into a room and shut the door. Don't be like the holy hypocrites who love to pray in front of an audience, so that people will call them righteous" (Matthew 6:5-13).
Then Jesus told us what to say as we pray: "Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done." The prayer begins with a focus on God - not on oneself. It begins by asking that God's will - not our will - be accomplished on earth, even as it is in heaven.
Then Jesus says, "Give us this day our daily bread, forgive us our debts, deliver us from evil." The words "I" or "me" appear nowhere in our Lord's Prayer! Jesus is telling us that when we pray, God should be the focus of our prayer, and we should pray for others and our community even as we pray for ourselves.
Earlier we found much the same message in Solomon's prayer: be more concerned with what you can offer God with your lives than with what God can offer you through your prayers. Seek first the will of God when you pray. Seek first to live in His kingdom and practice His righteousness, and the other things you need will be yours as well.
Paul writes in our text: "We do not know how to pray as we ought." We need to learn. We need to learn not by the spirit of selfish success which surrounds us, but by the Word of sacrifice and service which Christ has put within us.
Remember that like Solomon, we can offer God our own perfect prayers, even with our imperfect lives. We can pray for an understanding mind and for the grace to live rightly in God's ways. Remember that God is the power in our prayers to Him, not ourselves, and what finally matters is not our will, but God's will be done. Amen
Pastoral Prayer
Almighty God, who was so majestic as to come into the world as a humble servant, teach us to offer prayers with our lips and our lives which are acceptable in Your sight. Keep us from vain praises and selfish piety. Never let us forget the human family with whom You have called us to be as one. Put in our hearts a desire to make our prayers pure and our lives a reflection of our perfect prayers. Make us worthy of the name we bear in honor of Your Son, worthy of the name "Christian."
Most Holy and Gracious Lord, we ask all these things with confidence and infinite hope, for we look, not to ourselves but to You for the answer to all our prayers. Let Yours be the power and the glory forever." Amen
