mark russell, synodically-authorized worship leader
christ’s lutheran church, odessa texas
May the words of my mouth and the meditation of each heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, our strength and our redeemer.
Songwriters Richard Marx and Luther Vandross penned one of my all-time favorite songs. It is called “Dance With My Father.” Listen to the lyrics as I read them.
Back when I was a child, Before life removed all the innocence, My father would lift me high, And dance with my mother and me and then Spin me around ’til I fell asleep. Then up the stairs he would carry me, And I knew for sure I was loved.
If I could get another chance, Another walk, another dance with him, I’d play a song that would never ever end. How I’d love, love, love, To dance with my father again.
When I and my mother would disagree, To get my way I would run from her to him, He’d make me laugh just to comfort me, Then finally make me do just what my momma said. Later that night when I was asleep, He left a dollar under my sheet, Never dreamed that he would be gone from me.
If I could steal one final glance, one final step, One final dance with him, I’d play a song that would never ever end, ‘Cause I’d love, love, love, To dance with my father again.
Sometimes I’d listen outside her door, And I’d hear how my mother cried for him, I pray for her even more than me, I pray for her even more than me. I know I’m praying for much too much, But could you send back the only man she loved? I know you don’t do it usually, But dear Lord she’s dying to dance with my father again. Every night I fall asleep and this is all I ever dream.
I like this song so much, because I can relate to it on so many levels, and I appreciate Vandross’s approach to prayer as he takes every thought captive to God.
People approach God in many ways. Some assume that there is only one way that is proper. One form of piety might emphasize coming to God from a stance of extreme humility. In this stance of extreme humility, the person never asks for too much, or maybe even barely even dares to speak. Under no circumstances would a person who follows this extreme dare to challenge God.
Another kind of faith is the extreme opposite, asking God for everything with extreme boldness. Oh, please God, give me some candy. I promise that I will brush my spiritual teeth on a regular basis, just to prevent spiritual decay! You can trust me, because I have been so very, very good. Just look at my track record to check it out for yourself! Oh, and the winning lottery numbers for tonight’s drawing would be nice too! I will do great things with the winnings, cross my heart. Trust me. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Some folks think of prayer as something to do to please God. They pray day and night, but never ask for anything for themselves or others. For them, praying is nothing more than a good work and is seen as a payment to God. They are not willing to receive anything at all from God, but instead only want to give God something.
Yet other people assume that they are not righteous enough, or holy enough, or worthy enough to even speak to God. They say to themselves, ‘If I were as good as that saintly person that I know, then I would speak to God. But as I am, I simply cannot.’
By far the largest group of people that I know does not pray at all. They have simply given up on the idea. Their prayers were seemingly unanswered, their concerns were seemingly unaddressed, and nothing but silence rang in their ears. As they watched a parade of misfortunes in their lives, they have decided that God does not care, or is simply unconcerned with their needs and their pain.
Even the disciples of Jesus were concerned about how to pray. They were unsure of how or what to pray about, so they asked him to teach them how to pray. In Luke, we have an abbreviated version of what is found in Matthew.
The Lord’s Prayer is like much of scripture, in that it is very condensed. Each phrase has great meaning that can take some time to explore. We will briefly look at each phrase today.
Jesus taught that first and foremost, God’s name would be kept holy. We don’t always do that. In fact, many times we do just the opposite. God’s name is used in the political arena to convince folks that a particular candidate is worthy of a vote. We use God’s name in advertising to persuade others to use goods or services.
We have all seen those signs held up by people on the roadside that say, in essence, help me, and God will bless you. Of course we all have heard people cuss, and otherwise use God’s name in an unholy manner. One of the most egregious uses of God’s name is when pastors use God’s name in a way that leads people astray. It happens all the time, Sunday, after Sunday.
God’s name was given to us when we were baptized, so we are called children of God. It is through the sacraments that God literally becomes a part of us. God incorporates himself into each and every one of us. We become a part of God, and God becomes a part of us. And God cares for us like a loving father would care for his children attending to our needs as we venture through life.
With the words, Our Father in Heaven, God wants to attract us so that we truly believe that we are indeed children of God and that God is our Father. God wants us to be able to ask whatever is on our hearts and minds boldly, with confidence, and with assuredness, just as loving children would ask their loving father.
We are to hallow God’s name. To hallow means to praise, to honor, and to glorify both in word and deed. It is true that God’s name is holy in and of itself, but we are asking that it would also become holy in and among us.
We say together, “your kingdom come.” In fact, God’s kingdom comes on its own, whether or not we pray for it to come. What we are asking in this prayer is that it may also come to us.
The kingdom of God has a name – Jesus Christ our Lord. God sent his son into the world to bring us to himself, and to rule us as a king of righteousness, life and salvation against sin, death and an evil conscience. God also gave us the Holy Spirit so that we are brought to his holy word and to enlighten and strengthen us in faith by his power. It is through the Holy Spirit that we are able to believe God’s holy word.
“Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” God’s will comes about whether or not we pray for it, but we are asking that God’s will be done among us.
This happens when God breaks and hinders every evil scheme of the devil, the world, and of our flesh that would not allow us to hallow God’s name and would prevent the coming of his kingdom. God’s will comes about whenever God strengthens us and keeps us steadfast in his word and faith until the end of our lives.
So far the Lord’s Prayer concerns God in a very simple form, but for our sake. We are asking that what must be done, be also done in us.
Next we ask for our needs when we ask for our daily bread. We recognize that God gives daily bread with our without our asking. God even gives to evil people. We simply ask so that we can recognize what our daily bread is and so that we can receive it with thanksgiving.
The words daily bread include everything that our bodies need including food, shelter, drink, clothing, good friends, employment, good weather and so on. In other words, we are asking for everything that we need to have and enjoy our lives. It includes everything that belongs to our whole lives in this world.
It is through this petition that we bring our daily concerns to God. We lay them before him, all of it, our laments, our grief, our praise, our hopes, our dreams, our fears, our concerns, our every want and need are in encompassed in these few words, “give us this day our daily bread.”
“Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.” We freely acknowledge that we have sinned in thought, word and deed. We know that God owes us nothing, except his anger. We ask that God would not hold our sin against us, and that God would not withhold what we have asked for because of our sin.
We know that we are worthy of nothing. We know that we have not earned even the right to ask, much less receive. Instead we ask that God would give us all things through grace, through charity, because we know that we all sin daily. At the same time, we ask that we be enabled to forgive others who have sinned against us and to be able to heartily forgive them.
“Lead us not into temptation.” In 1975 the translation was changed to more accurately say, “save us from the time of trial.” It is true that God tempts no one. What we are asking in this petition is that God would preserve and keep us, so that nothing in the world would deceive us or mislead into false belief, despair and other great and shameful sins. We are asking that although we may be attacked by these things, we may, with God’s help, finally prevail and gain the victory.
We will all have to endure what Paul calls the “flaming darts” of evil that are shot into our hearts as long as we remain here on earth. We will be attacked, harried, and hunted from all sides. It is in this petition that we are encouraged to cry out to God and pray every hour so that God will not allow us to become faint and weary so that we fall into unbelief.
“Deliver us from evil.” We are simply asking that God deliver us from all kinds of evil – evil that would affect our bodies, our souls or our reputations. In this petition we are also asking that when our final hour comes, that we are granted a blessed end that takes us from this valley of tears into the bosom of Christ himself.
Take all of your concerns to God – all of them. Take all of your hurts to God. Take all of your praise to God. Take all of your love to God. Use language that you would use with your best friend. Speak in anger. Speak in love. Speak in words that have passion and convey the truth of your situation.
Know that God hears you. Know that God loves you. Know that God is not distant, in some far off place, but is right here, right now, closer than any of us can imagine.
But there are times that we simply cannot pray, and that is alright too. In those times, the Holy Spirit prays for us. The Spirit prays for us! Imagine that! In groans too deep for words, you are lifted up to God!
God is never far away. God is always near, and God knows what we need, before we do ourselves. And God, our loving Father, is always giving us his best, sustaining us, supporting us, loving us, and holding us tightly in his arms, as we navigate this valley of tears, enduring the flaming arrows of life, and secure in the knowledge that Christ himself, who loved us so very much, overcame sin and death for our sake.
We are indeed children of God, now and forever.
May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, keep your hearts and minds through Jesus Christ, our Lord.