Shamelessly Persistent Prayer
A Sermon for the Seventh Sunday after Pentecost
July 24, 2022
The Rev. Robin Teasley
Jesus was praying in a certain place, and after he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, "Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples." He said to them, "When you pray, say: Father, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread. And forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone indebted to us. And do not bring us to the time of trial."
And he said to them, "Suppose one of you has a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say to him, `Friend, lend me three loaves of bread; for a friend of mine has arrived, and I have nothing to set before him.' And he answers from within, `Do not bother me; the door has already been locked, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot get up and give you anything.' I tell you, even though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, at least because of his persistence he will get up and give him whatever he needs.
"So I say to you, Ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. Is there anyone among you who, if your child asks for a fish, will give a snake instead of a fish? Or if the child asks for an egg, will give a scorpion? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!" Luke 11:1-13
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The Lord's Prayer, James Tissot
There is nothing more persistent than a child. Even if you don’t have children, you know this. You have come upon them in the grocery store or in Wal Mart or Target, begging their parents for some desperately wanted item. At first they are polite, cute even. Then they begin to negotiate. When all else fails they simply have a meltdown right in the middle of the aisle, totally unconcerned that complete strangers are witness to their behavior, and totally unconcerned about their parents’ embarrassment! Years ago when cigarettes were displayed in the checkout lane, I once saw a 2 year old have a fit when her Mama would not give her a pack of cigarettes.
Parents try to give their children what they need, which is not always what they want. This is never an easy task, especially when they are melting down in the aisle at the store. As we raise our children we come to know them and to know what they need most. We come to know what will help them and what will harm them because of the relationship we have with them. In their persistence, children are learning the nuances between want and need, between what is good and not good, healthy and harmful. Our hope as parents is that they grow in the wisdom to know the difference.
It is this word, persistence, which has caught my attention all week as I spent time with the Gospel. A better translation for the Greek word used is shamelessness. Children are shamelessly persistent. Being shameless implies a boldness that comes from familiarity and relationship. Note that in our Gospel the man asking his neighbor for bread is trusting his friend to help. In ancient society there was a culture of honor and shame. It would be shameful for neighbors to refuse to help one another. Jesus suggests that we boldly and shamelessly ask God to fulfill our needs and deepest desires, much the same way as children shamelessly, and persistently petition the parents they love and trust.
In today’s passage the disciples can hardly wait for Jesus to finish praying because they want him to teach them how to pray. The disciples had observed that Jesus was able to do many amazing things, that Jesus showed remarkable wisdom, self-control, and peace in the midst of all the challenges to his ministry. And they wanted some of that!
How are we like those disciples? I think we can all admit that we can be persistent about what we want. But how do we know that what we want is what is truly best for us? Are we being persistent for our own personal agendas or are we being persistent for God’s agenda; for our kingdom, or for the Kingdom of God? And how often do we confuse the two? Here, I think, is where we can see the subtle difference between self-focused persistence and trusting shamelessness in God’s presence.
Jesus’ personal agenda was God’s agenda, his kingdom was God’s kingdom, and the prayer that he gave the disciples is the one we know and pray by heart. Even having this perfect prayer, we still want Jesus or someone to teach us how to pray, perhaps not realizing that we can use The Lord’s Prayer as a template for all of our prayers.
Using The Lord’s Prayer as a guideline for prayer, as a starting point for deeper prayer in whatever circumstance we find ourselves can be powerful. For example, how does The Lord’s Prayer sound when applied to the deep bitterness surrounding the disagreements on how best to solve problems like climate change, or immigration, or tension between politicians and world powers? How do we pray it in the context of a broken relationship, an unexpected diagnosis, or an unrealized expectation?
In all of these concerns are we praising God with the words “hallowed be thy name”? Are we calling for the coming of God’s Kingdom; that God’s will be done, and not our own personal agendas? Are we asking for the daily bread we truly need and not for what we envy or selfishly want for ourselves? Are we forgiving others as we are asking to be forgiven? And then, what is it that we are learning from our trials, and are we being drawn closer to God through them? It is one thing to pray The Lord’s Prayer. It is another thing to live it.
In the parable of the friend at midnight, the friend is shameless, reminding his friend, and us, that we are to be neighbors to one another even in the middle of the night (especially in the middle of someone’s night). The truth is, we are as likely to be the neighbor in need as we are to be the one who would rather not be disturbed from the sleep of complacency, and it is good to remember that.
Then Jesus tells the disciples to ask, search, and knock. These are words of action; they suggest that responsibility rests not only on God to answer our prayers but also on our persistent action to bring about God’s Kingdom. Then finally, we are back to parenting! As he tells the story of what a good father does for his children, Jesus names God as the good and wise parent who knows what the children need. God knows what will help us and what will harm us, and that what we need most is the gift of the Holy Spirit. What if we were as shameless about being in God’s presence as our children are in seeking our attention?
In shameless and persistent communion with God, our relationship grows. Only in a close, prayerful relationship can we come to know that what we are asking for is what God desires for us. Being in the presence of Jesus, whether in personal prayer, out in the world as we work to bring about the kingdom, or here, sharing in the Eucharist – it’s all shameless, persistent prayer.
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