2-7-2016

Good Morning All!!   

        Luke 5:16;” But he (Jesus) would withdraw to desolate places and pray.”

     Have you ever noticed how often in the Gospels we are told that Jesus went away, alone, to pray?  He does it frequently; often enough that the disciples noticed and asked him to teach them how to pray.  Jesus would take certain times and go by himself and pray.  We should to.

    While Scriptures tells us to pray constantly; it also tells us to set aside times of the day to pray.  The early Church, drawing on its Jewish background, encouraged believers to pray the Lord’s Prayer three times a day.  Even in the Middle Ages, people would stop what they were doing many times a day to pray.  When most of the activity in a community was within earshot of the church or monastery bell, the bell would ring once an hour to signal the start of the Lord’s Prayer, once after the fourth petition and once at the end to signal it was over and time to go back to work.  Daily prayer was a very important part of the believer’s life. 

     Somewhere along the way, some have lost this habit.  Even though we know that prayer is a powerful tool or force in our lives; too often we let it slide by.  Martin Luther encouraged people to pray three times a day.  You were to pray once when you got up, at the noon meal and then once before you went to bed.  While this was to encourage the habit of praying, he also wanted us to see and feel the benefit of prayer.

     Luther had a simple formula for those he taught.  You are to rise and make the sign of the cross in remembrance of your Baptism.  You were to invoke the Trinity (In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit) say the Creed, the Lord’s Prayer then the Morning Prayer.  Then he added this little note.  “Then go joyfully to your work, singing a hymn.”  We find such contentment from our regular prayer life that we can joyfully go to our work comforted and strengthened by God’s grace.

     Then in the evening, you would follow the same basic formula except you would say the Evening Prayer instead of the Morning Prayer.  Here Luther added that we should,      ”go to sleep at once and in good cheer.”  The contentment of our regular prayer life gives us the comfort to get a good night sleep.  How many times do we toss and turn and worry the night away because we do not take advantage of one of God’s greatest blessing in life- prayer? 

      We have the tools we need to live this life in peace and contentment, in confidence and in comfort.  We only need to take advantage of what God freely gives us.  Like the hymn tells us, “take it to the Lord in prayer”.

Father of all good things; move us to be closer to you.  Encourage us and lead us to pray to you with all boldness and confidence that you truly do answer prayers.  Give us that due sense of comfort that we receive from calling on your name. Enliven our spirits and strengthen our faith.   This we ask in Jesus’ precious name, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret