Tuesday, July 30, 2013

teach us how to pray




Luke 11:1-13
I invite you to keep your FWS open to Lord, Listen to your children prayingif you don’t know it well……we’re going to do something a little more participatory this morning
Some of you know I’ve been on vacation….we spent a week in Istanbul, Turkey, and our hotel was right next to the Blue Mosque, so prayer has been very much a part of my recent experience as we’d hear the call to prayer 5 times a day, starting about 4am!
Muslims are expected to pray individually 5x day, and once a week communally…….Benedictines and other religious also pray 5 times a day, and at least three of those are in community.  The Rule of Benedict is very specific about it, not just the timing and content, but the attitude of prayer.  
Some of us who are trying to be more intentional about our spiritual lives manage about twice a day and a couple of times a week with others…..some of us, well, maybe the Lord’s Prayer on a Sunday is about it, except for the occasional desperate plea for help….and many of us are somewhere  in between.
This week, as I sat for my own prayer time with the call to prayer resounding outside, I was challenged by reading this from Joan Chittister, in her commentary of the Rule:
She quotes the Jewish teacher, Maimon ben Joseph, Those who pray without knowing what they pray, do not pray…  Then she goes on How is it that we too pray without thinking, carelessly, poorly, or without thought?
So, today’s gospel is most timely!
It begins with a simple fact.  Jesus prayed.  And his disciples knew it was a real deep source for him, and they wanted to know more about it. So he gave them a simple formula that we’ve come to recite and call the Lord’s Prayer.  He used the image of a door for prayer, an entry into awareness of God’s presence, and today we’re going to experience being on that same threshold, standing at the open door to God’s heart, using the Jesus prayer to reflect silently – using the prayer the way the SH youth did this past spring: it will be on the screen for you to consider/pray, and after each time of silent reflection, we’ll quietly sing Lord,Listen to your children praying
Quiet your mind, settle your body, deepen your breathing…..
Each slide for reflection in silence – song
Till the last slide and song.
Amen.

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