From March 2015 Bethel Bell Tower newsletter
5 “And whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, so that they may be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. 6 But whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
7 “When you are praying, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do; for they think that they will be heard because of their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
~ Matthew 6:5-8
Last month, I wrote about simply noticing people. Notice those you live, work, commute, and shop with. Be aware of them … pay attention to them and care about them. Being aware of people around you has the simple yet profound impact of turning your eyes outside of yourself and taking the time to focus on others. Often in my pre-marriage counseling, I encourage couples to take time simply to look at one another in the eye and to remember that this person before you is a precious human being, a child of God, someone you have pledged the best of yourself to for the rest of your life. Sometimes we get so busy and focused on the tasks and accomplishments in life that we can subconsciously forget that the people around us are … people – people that God loves and people to whom God has sent us to bring His love.
What does this have to do with prayer? Well … prayer doesn’t come naturally to most people. This is why the disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray. Being aware of others and their needs helps us to pray. In the sermon on February 15, I shared that people look for God, and, if we don’t see Him where we expect to see Him and the ways we expect to see Him, we eventually give up looking and listening for God. Sometimes we get disappointed or mad at God because something we’ve prayed so desperately for didn’t turn out the way we’d hoped. The value in prayer is not in testing God or having God do tricks to win our approval or prove His existence. The value in prayer is not in us looking so good and holy. The value in prayer is putting ourselves in the posture of faithfulness (you may want to re-read those last two sentences). Prayer is about you and I taking all of ourselves – our joy, our concerns, our requests, and our weaknesses – to God. Prayer is about you and I carrying our neighbors in prayer – not to fix them, convert them or judge them. Simply putting ourselves at the feet of Jesus and inviting Him into our hearts and our lives, and asking Him to direct our relationships with these people, whether we’ve known them all of our lives or whether they are strangers.
Continuing the theme of “Building Bethel” … this month, I’d like all of us to continue noticing people around us. But now, I’d like you to add a simple prayer. It could be that you see a person in the car next to you talking angrily into their phone. Pray for them and the person to whom they are talking. You might see a parent at a children’s sporting event getting too tightly wound. Pray for not only that parent, but their family. Pray for the children who are playing and for good sportsmanship.
You see … prayer and praying for people around you doesn’t have to be intrusive or flowery or complicated. Just notice and pray.
And, as I mentioned last month, I would love to hear your stories of simply noticing people, praying for them, and how this builds you and builds Bethel. You can tell me in the hallway at church, give me a call, shoot me an email, or, if you’re online (Facebook, Twitter or Instagram), use #BethelSeesGod.
In Christ,
Pastor Jeff
Epicurious Lutheran 