A Sermon by Pastor Tom Lacey . . .

Jesus: A Man of Many Prayers

Luke 18:1-8, Preached at Congregational Church of Boca Raton, March 4, 2007

One night Bobby went to his bedroom early to start praying for a baby brother. He prayed every night for a whole month, but then he began to get a little weary. He quit praying for a baby brother. After another month, however, his mother went to the hospital. When she came back home, his parents called him into the bedroom. When he came in Bobby saw a little bundle lying right next to his mother. His dad pulled back the blanket and there were not just one baby brother, but two baby brothers—twins! Bobby's dad looked down at him and said, "Now, aren't you glad you prayed?" Young Bobby hesitated a little and then looked up at his dad and answered, "Yes, but aren't you glad I quit when I did?"

Our text for the day is about persistence in prayer. Often we turn to prayer when we are in distress, like the desperate football coach who was in a rebuilding season. "Say, Coach,” someone said to him, “I hear you keep a chaplain on the bench to pray for your team during games. Would you mind introducing me to him?" "Glad to," said the coach. "Did you want to meet the offensive chaplain or the defensive chaplain?" Of course having some talent also helps to see us through.

To this morning’s parable, Luke gives an introduction that suggests why and to whom it was first addressed. "Jesus told them a parable about their need to pray always and not to lose heart." Jesus is speaking to people who have been taught to pray and who do pray. But these same people may well be in danger of "losing heart." There must have been times when Jesus' contemporary followers were in danger of losing heart because of rejections, lack of understanding on their part, and the sheer routineness of the road. Surely this story was a great source of hope for those first Christians. Another test of faith arises when with a great and urgent need, we knock on the Judge's door and no one appears to answer, or at least not for what we’ve asked. Jesus knew that. He knew that after he left them, his disciples would experience persecution, prison and even death because they followed him. How would they remain steadfast as they headed toward the gladiator's pit to be torn apart by lions when they prayed to heaven and there was no deliverance? You and I get discouraged when it rains on our party. What if our very life was at stake? As scripture says, “If you have raced with foot-runners and they have wearied you, how will you compete with horses?” Jeremiah 12.5 When things are tough, turn to prayer. God’s strength is strong enough for our weakness. Open the door between you and the Lord, and let God’s word enter. Resist no longer, for “the word is very near to you, in your mouth, and in your heart.” Romans 10.8

What we want to see this morning is that prayer is not magic. Prayer is basic.

What I mean is when you pray you aren’t saying any special words which when uttered will unlock the great closed door of heaven, such as the seven-year-old who turned to his parents and sister and said, "I'm going to bed. I'm going to be praying. Anybody want anything?" Prayer is basically and simply you telling God you need some help, and being persistent at it. Look at Jesus’ prayer life, as the great biblical commentator William Barclay describes it: “At all the great moments of his life, Luke shows Jesus at prayer. He prayed at his baptism; 3.21 before his first collision with the Pharisees; 5.16 before he chose the Twelve; 6.12 before he questioned his disciples as to who they thought he was and he received Peter’s Great Profession of faith; before his first prediction of his own death; 9.18 at the Transfiguration; 9.29 and upon the Cross. 23.46 Only Luke tells us that Jesus prayed for Peter in his hour of testing. 22.32 Only he tells us the prayer parables of the Friend at Midnight 11.5-13 and (the story we read this morning of) the Unjust Judge. To Luke, the unclosed door of prayer was one of the most precious in all the world.” (William. Barclay, Luke) So pray when you face life-events. Pray when you need wisdom to make a decision. Pray for strength to face a struggle. Pray in order to overcome temptation. Pray for others. Pray because you need to. Pray because you want to. Pray because you want God to know what it is like to face what you face. Pray because you need someone to talk to who understands. Pray because you want to understand. Pray because you are not an army of one, but because you are a child of God.

Now look: Prayer didn’t change any of the events in Jesus’ life. He still faced temptation, he still fought with the Pharisees, Peter still denied him, he still was condemned to death. But this we also know: Jesus, in his human side a praying person, fulfilled the purpose and accomplished God’s will for his life. Prayer was his companion, his staff and stay, for the journey. It is the praying Jesus who was the brave and faithful Christ, the Son of God. And if he needed prayer to get through, you know we could certainly spend some time with it as well.

I went to visit a couple of members and their daughter this week. The husband had asked his wife to call me and have me come over. He is very, very ill with terminal liver cancer. She is trying to take care of him, and the daughter is staying home from school some days to make sure her dad is ok. He is in a lot of pain, so his doctor has him on pain medicine, which unfortunately keeps him a bit confused. He still wants to do things around the house such as cook, but it’s dangerous. He also tries to say things but they don’t exactly make sense. So we spent some time during the first part of my visit trying to figure out what he was saying. But then he fell silent. His wife and I talked about other matters: school, their two dogs; we watched as this very sick man ate most of a sandwich. She asked him if he wanted to say anything to me. No. And he became even quieter, rubbing his face with his hands, grimacing in pain, staring off. This lasted for a half hour or more. Finally, after over an hour with them, it was time for me to leave. I said, “I would like to pray with you now,” and just like that he sat up, leaned forward, and extended his hands a bit. His wife immediately commented, “Well that perked him up.” We held each other’s hands while I prayed. I finished and he held onto our hands. His wife asked him if he wanted to say something. He nodded his head slightly and tried to make words come out of his mouth, but nothing did. Silence for some twenty seconds, and then he prayed, “In Christ Jesus’ name, Amen.” Nothing had been clearer the whole time. Nothing had been more important either. That was the reason I had been asked to pay a visit—so this man, husband, father, could pray, “In Christ Jesus’ name, Amen.” And sometimes, this is all we need to pray. Let the name of Jesus sanctify your heart. Let Christ’s name flow over your life. The name of God is a mighty refuge and tower of strength, because “(T)he Lord is the true God. He is the living God…” Jeremiah10.10  “and the rock of our salvation.” Psalm 89.26  

For many years men dominated the world of humor. But today, as in most fields, women are making their mark. Here are some one-liners from various famous women. "I'm not offended by all the dumb blonde jokes," says Dolly Parton, "because I know I'm not dumb . . . and I also know that I'm not blonde." "I think therefore I'm single." Lizz Winstead "Behind every successful man is a surprised woman." Maryon Pearson "I have yet to hear a man ask for advice on how to combine marriage and a career." Gloria Steinem It has never been easy being a woman, but it is a picnic today compared to the world in which Jesus lived. Women had few legal rights, and if a woman lost her husband, and she did not have other family members to turn to for support, her plight was dire indeed. There was no welfare system, no social security, and precious few ways for a woman in distress to earn a living.

Jesus told his disciples a parable about such a woman. She was a widow who was in a difficult situation over a legal matter. She was without resources, which means without bribing money or political influence, and therefore she had no hope of extracting justice from this Roman appointed magistrate, a man "who neither feared God nor cared about men." Yet this poor widow kept coming to him day after day with her plea, exhausting him. She persisted until right made might. A few years ago, Tony Campolo was preaching at a church in Oregon, and he felt compelled to offer prayers for healing for those in his audience. Among those he prayed over was a man with cancer. A few days later, this man's wife called Tony. She wanted him to know that her husband had died. Tony was discouraged by the news. But the wife added that his prayers were not in vain. For the last few years, her husband had been bitter over his diagnosis. But after Tony prayed with him, the man found a measure of peace. His last few days of life were the happiest he had spent since he learned of his diagnosis. "Tony," she said, "he wasn't cured, but he was healed.”

We want to get; but even more importantly, we need to become.

Prayer is spiritual surrender so that we can become instruments of the divine will. Real prayer is turning our attention and affection in God’s direction, toward God’s being, and realizing in those most important moments of our lives to whom belong and in whom we hope. Praise be to God. Address the one who made, loves, and knows you. With God is power to heal and strength to help.

When we pray we are not talking to a brick wall. We are not speaking empty words into the air that hit the ceiling and bounce back. We are not just talking to ourselves. We are visiting with God. Prayer is conversation with God. Prayer is friendship with God. So, we can talk to God like we would talk to our best friend and know that he hears and understands and loves us like our best friend, which, of course, he does. Jesus said, “I have called you friends….” John 15.13 And he showed us what great love is, when he laid down his life for us, his friends. John 15:15

So remember: where there is a true friend, there is true help. Jesus, the man of many prayers, is the friend of the many who pray. Look to him when you’re climbing alone. Share your life with the one who gave his. What a friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear! What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer! O what peace we often forfeit, O what needless pain we bear, all because we do not carry everything to God in prayer. Carry everything to God in prayer and always pray.

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