Prayer

There is a phrase in the global church community

which can be said in many different ways.

Almost like the southern, "Bless your heart"

which can be everything from a prayer to a derogatory comment,

the phrase, "I'll pray for you"

can be used in both good and bad ways.

Sometimes it is said in a way that is demeaning,

or makes you wonder if that person will actually pray for you.

However, it can also provide great comfort,

allowing people to know that they are not alone and that someone else cares about them

and loves them enough to pray for them.

Prayer for another is a powerful tool in the Christian community tool box.

Prayer for another is an action of the love of God in us.

Naturally, when we talk about prayer,

we have to recognize that there are different types of prayer.

We pray for ourselves,

we pray in order to communicate with God, and have God communicate with us,

we pray for others specifically in intercessory prayer,

and we pray on behalf of the world.

In the gospel passage for today,

we see Jesus in the midst of prayer,

showing multiple different kinds and uses of prayer.

Chapter 17 of the gospel of John is solely Jesus praying.

He prays for a whole chapter,

While sitting in the garden of Gethsemane

between the Last Supper and his arrest.

Jesus prays fervently to God.

The story says that he was alone during this time period

yet, in the gospel of John,

we have the text of his prayer,

written down for all of us to read and hear.

Jesus probably told his disciples about his prayer afterwards.

The whole chapter-long prayer can be broken up into three parts:

Jesus praying for himself

Jesus praying for his disciples

Jesus praying for the world.

In the first six verses, Jesus prays for himself.

He knows what is coming at this point and he wishes that it didn't have to happen.

However, Jesus is obedient to God and acknowledges that he was sent to do God's will

and God's will he will do.

He prays that God will be glorified through him and that he can join God in glory.

Jesus loves God and thus prays to God. 

In some ways, because Jesus is part of God, 

Jesus' prayers are a self-giving love to and of God.

In the portion of the chapter we heard Deacon Dave read this morning,

Jesus prays for his disciples.

He prays that they are protected,

that they know the truth about God,

that they are one together in love,

and that they go forth into the world to share their witness.

Because Jesus loves his disciples,

he prays for them, over and over again. 

He acts out his love for them in his prayers for them,

putting love into action. 

In the last portion of the chapter,

Jesus prays for the world,

including us.

He prays for all those who will believe in him because of the testament of his disciples,

which ends up being us at this time.

He prays for unity and that love will be shared throughout the world

through all those who believe in him.

Jesus puts his love of us into action in prayer as well.

Through the love of God, inside of him,

he can pray for people he loves throughout time and space.

Jesus sets us a wonderful example in John of how to pray

for ourselves,

for each other,

and for the world.

Jesus shows us how to put the love of God given to us

into action through prayer.

One of the hallmarks of a truly Christian community is their prayer for each other.

Thankfully this is not a new idea for you all here at St. John's.

I know well the prayers you have for each other,

through week day Morning Prayer and the rotation of the congregation prayed for daily,

through the number of Daughters of the King messages I receive daily,

praying for community members here, in Grace Lutheran, and in the wider Franklin community.

Prayer is embedded in this community as a way of sharing the love of God

and putting faith into action.

Practically anyone can see the love you have for each other 

in the service and prayer you give each other. 

As another example, the Book of Common Prayer

highlights this desire for prayer in the community in the service of baptism.

Not only do we vow in the Baptismal Covenant to continue in the tradition of prayer,

but we also pray for the person about to receive baptism immediately before they are baptized. 

Even before they become an official member of the body of Christ in baptism,

the community is already praying for them. 

Today, as we baptize Judson (at the 10 am service),

we acknowledge him as part of the community 

and start

what will be lifelong prayers for him

in this community. 

We act out the love of God for him, through us,

through our prayers for him and the love we show him.

When it comes to community prayers,

I have taken on my own practices of praying for this community.

Each week I move through our membership, praying for a family or couple or individual 

and sending them a card to let them know I am praying for them.

Some of you have probably already know this, having received a card already,

while some of you are still on my list for the future. 

Every prayer request which comes in,

either the DOK email chain, or into the church office, or spoken to me personally,

goes onto my personal prayer list, prayed each day in Morning Prayer.

No need to wonder, when I say I'll pray for you,

I pray for you.

And even sometimes when you don't ask or I don't say it,

I even pray for you then. 

God has poured a lot of love into me, 

and I pour it out in service of the church, 

loving you all and praying for you all. 

Prayer is part of the glue of Christian community. 

One Episcopal theologian who wrote about prayer was Leonel Mitchell.

He wrote a book called Praying Shapes Believing, 

a theological commentary on the Book of Common Prayer. 

In the book he sets out the basic idea 

that how we pray is really what shapes our beliefs.

He also talks about how the reverse is true,

what we believe affects how we pray. 

If we only ever pray for certain people or certain situations,

then even if we started with believing that God cares about other people,

we start to believe that God only cares about those types of people or situations which we pray about. 

He also says that the act of praying,

especially with repetition,

cements ideas in our hearts and minds in ways mere memorization cannot do. 

Putting our faith into action through prayer 

helps us to experience and understand the love of God 

in ways we might not otherwise be able to do.

While prayer isn't always easy,

it is an action worth all the love and commitment we can put into it.

I am grateful to have landed in a community so strong in prayer

and my hope is that we will continue,

so that everyone in Franklin might know us

because of our love and prayer for each other.

Amen.