¹I call upon you, O Lord; come quickly to me;

give ear to my voice when I call to you.
²Let my prayer be counted as incense before you,

and the lifting up of my hands as an evening sacrifice. (Psalm 141:1-2)

Dear brothers & sisters in Christ,                     

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and Jesus Christ the Lord and Savior. Amen.

We all know that prayer is an essential aspect of Christian discipleship. Prayer is communication with God. We know that it needs to be part of our daily lives. Sometimes ‘knowing’ and ‘practicing’ are two very different things. We are not the first ones to live in the disparity of what we ‘know’ and what we ‘practice.’

We have the paradigm of Christ’s life, faith and obedience. Despite our own failings, we do have His example of perfection before us to offer us aspiration. Jesus taught His disciples to pray. Jesus spoke often with the Heavenly Father. His is the only utterly perfect union with God. Yet what he teaches and demonstrates to us, does give us the tools to aid us in our own practice.

Jesus has given us not only His own example, but also the examples of faithful witnesses through time and most importantly, the gift of the Holy Spirit. As Paul reminds the Romans, “Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words.” God Himself helps us to pray as we ought.

The Old Testament is full of the prayers of people who sought to follow and obey God. There are prayers of thanksgiving and prayers of lament. The struggles and prayers of God’s people is illustrated in the books of Moses, history, wisdom, and the prophets.

God blesses us with the example of Paul & the other apostles in the New Testament. The Acts of the Apostles and the letters give us glimpses into the challenges that the earliest Christians faced and the activity of God that led them to overcome those challenges.

God has also blessed us the example of other witnesses who have gone before us. During the past 2000+ years of Christian history gives us stories of people who have sought to serve Christ through the turmoil and drudgery of their own lives. We have the witness of both those whom we have known personally and the stories of saints who have followed Christ long before us.

Our Lenten Midweek worship services will focus on prayer. Our time of worship will feature Holden Evening Prayer and the witness of five brothers and sisters in Christ better known for their lives of prayer. Each has at least one prayer that has been passed down through the generations. We will explore their witness and prayer as we lend our own practices of prayer to their words, melding their endeavors to ‘pray unceasingly’ with our own attempts to do the same.

During this solemn time of Lent, let us all join our prayers together in the Holy Spirit and raise our collective voices to God. The grace and peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ. Amen.

⁶Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. ⁷And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:6-7)