When you pray, say.......

When you pray say "Father".


It gets personal from the first word.  No mistaking it.  When you pray, don't send your words flying off into space to be gathered in by some mysterious anonymous being.  When you pray, say "Father".

"Hallowed be your name". Hallowed - holy.

This endeavor in spiritual practice takes place in holy space, with the holy one.  Nothing casual happening here.  Which leads me to believe that the words about to be spoken (even if not aloud but only in your heart or head) are holy words.  Your words are uttered into holy space, attempting to reach out to the holy one.  Perhaps it is a good idea to pay attention to what you say.

Whatever this thing called prayer is......it is holy. One might also call it a gift: an invitation to step into holy space. 

Perhaps that is why folks gather such strength from the practice of prayer, for in the midst of all that is not holy in our lives, we are invited into this one space to be surrounded by the holy.  Perhaps that is why in the midst of deepest darkness, on the worst day of your life, when even breathing becomes an act of will, when no words will form on your lips or in your heart, the holy One is listening for the message the Spirit gathers for our sake. There we can know just a modicum of rest.

Perhaps.  For me it is trusting that whatever is mine, is not mine alone.  The Holy One is there.  The Holy One is there.  The Holy One is there.

Learning to pray

"Lord, teach us to pray."

Jesus' answer to this request was The Lord's Prayer.  Memorizing its lines has been a rite of passage for Christians for a couple centuries at least.  Even though different denominations use slightly different wordings, it is one part of any service where you are able to participate.

But don't allow that to be the end of your prayer life.  God doesn't need such formal or stylized talk; God is ready to listen to those ill-formed mutterings and half uttered cries.  God watches as we struggle with our own covetousness or lust or greed, and would love to talk with you about it - to help you find a way past these temptations and to move to the light.

The apostle Paul writes in Romans that all creation cries out to God and the Holy Spirit prays for us with moanings too deep for words.  So when we are tongue tied, God's is at work, for our sake out of love.  Talk to God.  Talk about your day, it's highs and it's lows.  Talk about your dreams and disappointments.  Talk about your joy

The stuff I want today

Maybe that's what you are thinking when you get to that petition of the Lord's Prayer which says "Give us this day our daily bread."  Perhaps you seriously believe it includes the latest Apple product, luxury car, promotion at work or even winning the lottery. 

It doesn't.

In the wilderness (see Exodus), Israel was hungry.  They cried out to God and God blessed them with manna.  They were to leave their tents each morning and gather this food into baskets - but just enough for one day.  If they gathered more than what they needed for one day, it would spoil and be useless the next morning.

They got enough for one day; it was their daily bread.

Each time we pray the Lord's Prayer we pray that God will continue this act of love and sustain us for one more day - whatever we need.  Jesus was trying to teach us that we are dependent on God - and God loves us enough to feed us in the desert.  Iphones are rarely included in the bargain.

If I only knew how to pray....

I hope you are not looking for some magic formula - just the right words or tone of voice, the most appropriate quoting of scripture or maybe some fancy phrases like the pastor uses.  I pray that you are not seeking some precise balance of piety and boldness so that God will do what you want God to do.

Because if you are, I don't have it.  Never have; never will.  I do know that you can meditate in silence or sing your praises to God.  You can gather with the whole community or carve out a few moments during your morning commute.  You can include religious words or simply cry out with moaning and groaning too deep for words. 

You can stand up, lie down, sit in your pew, kneel at the altar, walk in the woods, drive in your car,  raise your hands while you're at it.  Many prayers have ascended during football games, before Math tests, on icy roads and after crushing medical diagnoses.  You can use English, Greek, Hebrew, Russian, Spanish and even gibberish.  God's ear is turned towards and tuned into creation's cries.

But if your heart is wandering in the land of lust or greed or anger or just plain selfishness you're going to have a hard time of it all because it is the heart that speaks most clearly to our God.  This you know:  the God who graciously gives us all, wants us to grow into just such gracious giving people.  Because God is gracious, we are free to ask, seek and knock any time we want and with a whole lot of silliness in the mix. 

This I do know.  The more you pray, the deeper, stronger, and richer your life in Christ grows.  Use up your iphone minutes in conversation with God and before you know it, your eyes and your heart will be opened.  So we ask, just as the disciples did long ago,"Lord teach us to pray."