Prayer …
Have you ever felt like the man in this picture when you’ve prayed? There are times when we are desperate, when we feel that we have no options … so, we pray. These are the times that St. John of the Cross said are the “dark nights of the soul”. As people of faith, we know that those “dark nights” don’t last forever. Just as surely as we experience the darkness, there is the resurrection light. So these dark nights of the soul – these times of spiritual crisis – lead us closer to God.
One of the confirmation students who attended the Confirmation Camp at Mar Lu Ridge this past week reflected on prayer by asking, “Why do we make prayer so sad?” Well … we do, don’t we? We tend to talk about and hear about prayer at times of crisis or when we really need something. When we ask others to pray for us or when we take prayer requests, don’t these prayers tend almost exclusively to be about the sick and dying? But if prayer is our conversation with God and if we are in relationship with God, shouldn’t we talk with Him about more than just the sad stuff?
The theme for Confirmation Camp was “Jesus Makes A Difference”. Rather than leaving this as a trite, pious phrase, we went further to say that Jesus makes a difference (a) in my life, (b) in my relationships, and (c) in the world … through me. As we pray, are persistent in prayer (Genesis 18:20–32), and are willing to be moved by the Holy Spirit through prayer, we will see that prayer changes us. We grow to become more able to see others as God see them.
This Week
As you pray this week, try dwelling on the following prayer. You can use it as a centering prayer in which you pray this over and over again at a relaxed pace. Open your heart to what God may say to you through this time.
Open my eyes, Lord, that I might see You, and that I might see others the way You see them.
It will also be fruitful to reflect on your prayer life:
- Are there significant times in your life where you have come to a deeper understanding and practice of prayer? If so, you may want to write these down so you can see them. As you look at these times written in front of you, what insights do you gain from this list?
- Are there prayers that you want to pray, but don’t feel you can because to do so would mean something would have to change in your life?
Read the following Scriptures:
References
- Sermon for Sunday (7/28) at 10:00am based on the Genesis and Luke readings above (click here for audio)
- Martin Luther wrote in the Large Catechism about the Lord’s Prayer. As he wrote about the 1st, 2nd and 3rd petitions (Hallowed be Thy name; Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven), he said that God’s name will be holy, God’s kingdom will come, and God’s will will be done with or without our prayer. But, our prayer is that God’s name would be holy for us, that God’s kingdom would come to and through us, and that God’s will would be done through us (reference). This is a very active perspective on prayer, but it also puts us in a right relationship with God.
- I mentioned the verse from Acts 15:28 that “it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us”. This verse is also very helpful to dwell on in prayer.
- See my previous post on prayer: Prayer: Let’s Take a Look
- Some people find tools like the ACTS prayer or hand image below to help them out of a rut. ACTS stands for:
- Adoration
- Contrition
- Thanksgiving
- Supplication
Epicurious Lutheran 