How to Talk to God When You Aren't Feeling Religious

Proper 12C

Luke 11:1-13

St. Matthias

July 28, 2019

           Recently I have been searching for a book I read years ago with a title that sounded something like – How to Talk to God When You Aren’t Feeling Religious.  I know it is somewhere in the house.  I picked it up in seminary and I remember that it was pretty good.  It focused on 2 facts about prayer.  First, most of our praying goes on when we are feeling religious.  We pray when there is a crisis in our lives, and we are hoping God will divinely intervene and make everything better.  And that leads to the second point – It’s when we AREN’T feeling particularly religious, when we don’t feel all that close to God – THAT is the time when need to pray the most.  But it is also the time when it typically seems especially difficult to pray!

           Prayer can be one of the most frustrating parts of the Christian life.  The very idea of speaking out loud to someone who you can’t see and who doesn’t talk back – well people look at you WHEN you look like you are talking to no one.   And another thing, we think we have to sound different when we pray.  I remember growing up in a Church where the sermons were much longer, and the worship service always ended with the pastor calling on one of the men of the Church to pray.  There were 2 types of closing prayers.  First was the short version, usually said by someone very uncomfortable with praying in public so they kind of mumbled some words they thought sounded holy enough.  In short order you would hear a clear AMEN and we all went home to lunch.  But there was also the other kind – and it was long and loud.  And it seemed the pastor was always calling on the one man who seemed to love praying very long and very loud.  He would use A LOT of religious sounding words and pray for everything I know I could think of that you might want to pray about.  And he would go on and on until finally his wife would give him the look that said wrap this up or the pot roast will burn.  More than a few times we were last in line at the restaurant after one of those prayers..

           I would imagine the disciples were having some problems with prayer when they asked Jesus to teach them how to pray.    They had watched as Jesus went up the mountain to pray or walked along the Sea of Galilee.  The Bible tells us that Jesus prayed often.  And now the disciples want to know how DO they pray.  So, Jesus gives them what we call the Lord’s Prayer.  We all know it because we say it every Sunday and just about anytime we gather for worship.  It is a simple prayer that goes right to the heart of what talking to God is all about.  Jesus tells the disciples – when you pray – give thanks for all the blessings of life – for forgiveness just as you have forgiven others and for God’s grace to live a holy life even when we are faced with temptation.  Jesus tells his disciples to pray everyday believing in God and seeking the peace that passes all understanding.

Now the thing is – we tend to make prayer hard – harder than it really needs to be.  We worry about what to say to God.  We pray for things and other people and for ourselves.  Then we have to wait to see if those prayers will be answered in the way we are hoping God will answer.        

One of my favorite books is Cold Sassy Tree by Olive Ann Burns.  I am way past due to read it again because Grandpa Blakeslee is one of the best theologians I know.  He and his grandson, Will Tweedy, spend a lot of time together and their conversation often turns to God.  And when it comes to prayer, I think Grandpa Blakeslee pretty much had figured out.  He tells Will in 1 chapter, “Ain’t the best prayin jest bein with God and talkin a while, like He’s a good friend, stead a-like he runs a store and you’ve come in a-hopin’ to git a bargain?”  And later in the book, Will remembers his grandfather saying, “When Jesus said ast and you’ll get it, He meant things of the spirit, not the flesh.  Grandpa said Jesus meant us to ast for hope, forgiveness, and all that.” 

           Prayer is the moment when we come to God and believe.  Prayer is believing that God is with us and loves us and promises to be our God.  Faith is believing that God is always with us and when we knock on the door – God greets us as the friend who opens the door and gives us bread – the bread of life – that feeds us eternally at this altar rail.  That is the very meaning of communion.  God is always right here – right now waiting to hear us in prayer.  And the scriptures promise that he speaks back to us in sighs to deep for words.  Yet we hear God in our hearts, and we find peace and grace.

           And the wonderous truth of the Gospel is that God is always listening for us when we pray.  If you are feeling religious – pray.  If you are not feeling religious – even better – so pray.  There are no heavenly bargains – God’s not running a store.  Instead ask and you shall receive hope, forgiveness, and all that!  Amen.