Discipleship
Shaped by Prayer
25th July 2010
Good Morning sisters and brothers in Christ. I have been enjoying this Discipleship journey that has been shaping us over the past few months. If you have been following the readings through Luke’s gospel, you will have been touched by the incredible influence that Jesus had on the community around him and the way that he related to God, His Father, as well as the people around Him…His neighbours. Picking up on the topic of Jesus, the Alpha theme this last week was:- Who is Jesus? It was very well presented and if you really want to do the current Alpha course, this will be your last chance to join this particular course. Please contact me if you want to discuss this matter.
Last week, we sat at the feet of Jesus receiving “spiritual food” (like Mary), while Martha prepared the “physical food”. It was a matter of getting our “priorities in order”, rather than one person being set over and against the other. Luke seemed to be writing in such as way as to ensuring that the disciple balanced their lives with both “doing” (the loving of neighbour like the Good Samaritan :- i.e.”Go and Do the same” Luke 10:37) AND the “being” in the presence of Jesus:- as Mary sat at the feet of the Teacher – Jesus (Luke 10:39).
Today’s reading in Luke 11:1-13, Jesus takes us deeper into the life of Discipleship. At the request of the disciples, Jesus teaches his followers how to pray. Religious teachers at this time, perhaps including John the Baptist, taught formulaic prayers to their followers. In this passage Jesus teaches such a prayer. Since that day, those who pray this prayer are identified as Jesus’ followers. This prayer is known by various names: The Lord’s Prayer, Jesus’ Prayer, The Our Father or The Prayer Jesus Taught. Many consider the prayer as a formula to be followed rather than a piece to be recited verbatim.
I recently read that “Prayer is the work of the people and people will express prayer in as many ways as there are people to express it. For some it will be at the very heart of their acts of faith, for others it will be a difficult balance between words and action.” (Seasons of the Spirit Pentecost 1, p.81) I think that this statement collects up the themes of our previous two week’s worship services. You and I need to take responsibility for developing a personal relationship with God through God’s Spirit as demonstrated by Jesus in his life and actions. Reciting a formulated prayer verbatim seems to lack something until it comes alive for us because we have a relationship with God that is personal and real.
Grace – filled PRAYER ….. this week …… Rev. Brad Foote
