Luke 11:1-13 (II); The Lord's Prayer II

Prayer is the means Jesus used to open himself to God, to anchor himself to his Father and to work the earth of his heart. Jesus prayed often and taught his disciples to pray. Prayer was as necessary to him as the air he breathed. I believe it was prayer that gave Jesus his powerful sense of awareness and insight into people and the world. It connected him to God, the source of life, and he began to see things so much from the divine perspective that he had no doubt that his work was God's work. The practice of prayer gave Jesus an intuitive grasp of the truths of life as well as the political and religious realities around him. He could, figuratively speaking, see into another person's heart because he knew both his own heart and hthe heart of God. He could read the pulse of the culture with as much authority as a doctor can read someone's blood pressure.

In my opinion Jesus' ability to have a "sense" of things, to grasp the truths of life and of society, is available to us as well. It was not as if Jesus switched on a 'divine power pack" and was suddenly able to see things, like Superman using his X-ray vision. I believe Jesus' ability was a human awareness cultivated through his constant practice of prayer. We should not simply read about Jesus and say, "What a rare and tremendous gift that he had!" That would be analogous to being awestruck "fans." We should, rather, yearn to imitate him and develop a similar commitment to prayer for ourselves. We should look at Jesus' life as testimony to the benefits of developing a life of prayer. Jesus invites us, through prayer, to experience new, fresh, deep, true and permanent insights into the nature of God, the world and the culture in which we live.

Most studies focus on prayer as a form of communication. Indeed, one of the earliest and briefest defintions of prayer I remember learning is "Prayer is talking with God." This definition is useful as far as it stresses our personal relationship with God and the ease of access we have to God. However, if we look at prayer primarily as a conversation, we might eventually perceive it as something that is "request-driven" and "answer-oriented." We limit prayer if we consider it a transaction where we "pay" with our words and God "gives over" the answer in response to our payment. Though supplication is certainly important, prayer is more a proces of listening than of speaking; more an act of developing insight than seeking answers; more a dance with God than a talk with God.

In the remainder of these essays I will examine three aspects of prayer in Jesus' life: quiet listening, simple acceptance, and earnest request.

Prayer as Quiet Listening

A verse I have loved for years comes from a psalm that is anything but quiet. Psalm 107 tells the story of distress and salvation of the people of Israel. It is a very rhythmic psalm that, over and over, relates the distress, outcry, deliverance, and praise of the people of God. The fourth stanza (verse 23-32) refers to salvation from stormy seas. The seas rage, the people cry to the Lord and the Lord delivers them. I like verse 30: "Then they were glad because they had quiet." Every time I think about the contrast between the roaring of the seas and the peace of deliverance, I long for the quiet that this verse describes.

So much of life is not quiet. Life is torn by demands, and quiet is pushed aside, dispensed with, or otherwise lost. So many of us identify with Job who said in the midst of disaster:

"Truly the thing that I fear comes upon me, and what I dread befalls me. I am not at ease, nor am I quet; I have no rest; but troubled comes" (Job 3:25-26).

We live restless lives. Unquiet lives. In Pascal's words, we lead lives of "quiet desperation. How can we transform each day into a time of quiet listening?

In order to answer this question it might be helpful to consider that Jesus felt the need for quiet prayer and listening throughout his life. Consider the following passages:

"In the morning, while it was still very dark, he got up and went out to a deserted place, and there he prayed," Mk. 1:35.

"15 But now more than ever the word about Jesus spread abroad; many crowds would gather to hear him and to be cured of their diseases. 16 But he would withdraw to deserted places and pray," Lk. 5:15-16.

"12 Now during those days he went out to the mountain to pray; and he spent the night in prayer to God. 13 And when day came, he called his disciples and chose twelve of them, whom he also named apostles...," Lk. 6:12-13.

"28 Now about eight days after these sayings Jesus* took with him Peter and John and James, and went up on the mountain to pray," Lk 9:28.

"40 When he reached the place, he said to them, ‘Pray that you may not come into the time of trial.’ 41 Then he withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, knelt down, and prayed, 42 ‘Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me; yet, not my will but yours be done,'" Lk. 22:40-42.

Why did Jesus desire quiet? Because he needed the things that only quiet could bring. He needed the opportunity to listen to God and to his own heart. His times of prayer are mentioned during life transitions and pressing activities. These were times when he needed to "collect" or "center" himself. He lived his entire life before God, yet he needed the refreshment of soul that only quiet listening could bring.

More specifically, what did Jesus seek during his times of quiet listening? Four words that capture Jesus need are balance, rhythm, harmony, and integrity. Jesus search for balance in his life is evident in the passage just quoted from Mk. 1. He spent all day healing "all who were sick or possessed with demons" (1:32) The next day looked to be equally busy, so before dawn he retreated to a deserted place. He needed time to restore his soul, to cultivate the deep springs of life, to drink deeply from the river of life in a desert place.

I used to think establishing balance meant eliminating the competing forces tugging at you. If you had balance I thought you would sail through life with ease. I now believe that balance is a creative state where opposing forces still tug on you, and often threaten to pull you apart, but are mastered by the force of something greater in your life. This something greater, for Jesus, was the reality of God's presence.

Jesus also sought the proper rhythm in life. We perfom well when we are "in sync" and moving with the flow fo the day. We all seek a steady "beat" in our lives, so that our pulse throbs with the pulse of the universe, with the pulse of God.

A few years ago a television announcer was interviewing Michael Jordan, star guard of the Chicago Bulls. Michael had played below his standards in the first quarter, but then had recovered and finished with a very strong game. When the announcer asked him how his game changed between the first and second quarters, Jordan said, "I let the game come to me, rather than trying to impose my will on the game." What Jordan meant, in our language, is that he perceived the "flow" or the rhythm of the game and adjusted his own inner clock to merge with it. He was trying too hard at first; when he relaxed and "let the game come to him," he was able to pay at his normal level of excellence.

Perceiving the rhythms of life is in large part an intuitive exercise. One senses or feels the essence of what is happening and tries to become a part of it. Jesus already knew his call and the basic contours of his life, but what he needed to determine was the timing for his life. He knew it was not the right time to ask for authority over the kingdoms of the world; he knew it was not time to charge into Jerusalem. But what was it the right time to do? By quiet listening in prayer, Jesus was able to develop a relaxed and accepting approach, or rhythm, to the timetable of God.

Jesus also sought harmony during his times of quiet listening. When i speak of harmony, I think of a jazz band. each instrument is distinctive, but the belnded sound touches the deep chords of life. By itself, a drum, bass, trombone, or saxophone can be a searching and inspiring instrument. But when combined with all the others, they produce a fullness of sound, a symphonic plenitude that calms the soul. Jesus desired harmony between himself and God, himself and others. He prayed all night before selecting the disciples in order to achieve such a union of wills with God that it would become clear whom to choose. I believe the result of his all-night prayer session was not a list of names, but rather a heart so attuned to the will and purposes of God that he could be sure whom to select when confronted by various people the next day.

One more essay completes my thoughts.

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