A synopsis of the sermon delivered by the Rev. David L. Hicks at St. Paul’s Reformed Episcopal Church on Trinity VI, July 18, 2004. Please read St. Luke 11:1-13.
Our lesson from Saint Luke’s Gospel presents the account of Jesus giving the so-called “Lord’s Prayer” to his disciples. While the Lord’s Prayer is well known in most Christian traditions, less attention is given to the context in which the prayer was given. The prayer was given in response to the disciples’ request. “And it came to pass, that, as he was praying in a certain place, when he ceased, one of his disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples” (Lk. 11:1).
Does this sound like a strange request – “Teach us to pray”? Who needs to be taught how to pray? Because prayer is a matter of talking with God, how is that this disciple believed he had a need to be taught how to do it? One would think that prayer is something that comes naturally without any formal instruction. The answer to these questions, however, requires some careful thinking. On one level, no one needs to be taught how to talk to God, because God hears the cry of any heart that reaches out to him. He will not turn away from someone because he or she did not frame a prayer in a certain way. On the other hand, when the church gathers corporately as the Body of Christ, we are considering a different kind of communication. In this context, the people of God are gathered in the throne room of the Great King and must address Him appropriately. The disciple’s question was presented with this perspective in mind. “Teach us to pray,” he says, “as John taught his disciples.” The Scriptures do not tell us what John taught his disciples to pray, but we can assume that it was a prayer of his community, a prayer that expressed the particular theological concerns of John’s preaching and ministry. Similarly, Jesus’ disciples want to be taught a fitting prayer that they, as His gathered community of the Messiah, can say together. In such a case, people need to be taught what to say, because this kind of prayer is arises from right belief and correct teaching about who Jesus is and who we are. This kind of prayer does not come naturally to a person, but it must be taught. Such prayer places less emphasis on expressing the thoughts of a person, and it places more emphasis on the shaping and training of the mind of the person who is doing the praying.
It should be noted that when we learn to speak to God in the corporate and formal way, our private, informal prayers to God are influenced by what we have learned. The Lord’s Prayer is both a prayer that Christians use straightforwardly in their corporate worship, and it is also a prayer that provides a model and basis for all prayer. In the final analysis, the disciple’s question is not so strange after all. “Lord, teach us to pray,” is the primary prayer that every Christian must say if he or she is serious about speaking with God.
