“I am grateful to God…when I remember you constantly in my prayers night and day.”

Last week, due to being whisked off for my birthday we were unable to look at “Living a simple life in a material world”, but fear not, we will come back to this important topic in next year’s round of themed sermons. 

Today we begin to look at prayer.  This is one of the most important aspects of our faith, as it is through prayer that our life in God is maintained and allowed to grow.  As in any relationship communication is important.  Without it we lose touch and become disconnected.  With God it is the same.  If we don’t give time to prayer then we lose touch with Him who gives meaning and purpose to our lives.  Psalm 139 reminds us that we cannot hide from God; we can’t escape from his presence “Where can I go from your Spirit?  Where can I flee from your presence?  If I go up to heaven you are there; if I make my bed in the depths you are there.”  But although we can’t get away from God we can ignore him, we can choose not to listen to his voice guiding our life through not giving time to pray.

How to pray, and what we can do when prayer is difficult, will be topics for later this month; today we think about praying for others.  (this may seem to be back to front, but the readings as set lend themselves to covering prayer in this order, and in a sense it doesn’t matter too much which way round we cover the topic.)

The opening of Paul’s second letter to Timothy gives an example of praying for others.  Paul opens the letter, as he does all his letters with a greeting that we now use at most services, and then goes on to hint at what the rest of the letter is going to be about, particularly that Timothy is going to need courage, faith and boldness to face all that lies ahead as he continues in the mission God has set before him; but Paul reminds Timothy, that he, Paul, has faced hardships too without giving up; and Paul assures Timothy of his constant prayers for him.

The NRSV translation we heard today is in a way slightly misleading as it grapples with the Greek words that Paul uses to describe his prayers for Timothy – prayers of thanksgiving.  In most of Paul’s earlier writing he uses the verb eucharisteo – this verb may well, by the time he writes to Timothy, taken on liturgical significance, being associated more with the Eucharist, so he uses the verb charin echeo.  This thanksgiving is intensely more personal and heartfelt, and so in NRSV it translates: “I am grateful to God, rather than I thank God.  Which ever English word we use to translate the Greek is in one sense academic, the important point I’m trying to ease out is that Paul’s prayers for Timothy were personal, heartfelt prayers; prayers that he constantly offered for Timothy who was going through a hard time.  They were prayers that connected Timothy, Paul and God in a meaningful way.

St. Paul, like many others had a particular gift for prayer – he was able to pray without ceasing.  But to pray constantly, as St. Paul did, doesn’t just happen, it is a gift that has to be used and worked on to be of value.  Most of us have to work hard at prayer because it is not one of our main gifts – but we can all still pray, and that particular spiritual muscle will get stronger the more it is used – just like anything else. 

Often when I speak to people about prayer they say something like “I think my prayers are selfish” and they therefore think they are not doing it right.  But as the conversation continues it becomes clear that those prayers are in fact not selfish, because what they are doing is praying for people they know and love wanting the best for that person.  It seems to me that is exactly what St. Paul was doing in his prayers for Timothy – they were prayer that were personal and heartfelt, prayers that wanted what was right and best.  This is a good and right place to start in our prayers for other people – and indeed for ourselves too – we shouldn’t feel guilty about praying for ourselves, just as we don’t feel guilty praying for others.  As those heartfelt, personal prayers – or requests if you like – are offered to God three things begin to happen: the person or people we are praying for are blessed; we begin to see God’s perspective; and change can start in us.

I’m sure we can all think of examples of how people have gained strength through the prayers of others.  I know Deborah and I have found great strength from all your prayers for us especially during the time when we were waiting for a diagnosis.  Prayer for others is in someways an intangible thing.  We can’t see it, but we can feel it.  It is a real source of strength in time of need – an inner strength that comes from God through the prayers of others.  There are many times in life when we know someone who is going through a particularly difficult time – whether it’s due to health concerns, bereavement or something else.  We naturally want to do something to help, but it seems that there is little we can do.  But there is always something important and meaningful for us to do – we can pray for them, hold them before God.  Often in my pastoral duties I’ll remind people that I will pray for them.  This isn’t because I can think of nothing else to do, but because it is the most important thing for me to do.  I was once visiting a family who had suffered a bereavement – he was 35 and died leaving 3 daughters and a wife.  All of us were stunned by his sudden death.  When I went to visit the house was full of people – no one knew what to say to Mary and the girls, and to be honest neither did I.  All I could do was sit on the floor and pray quietly for them all, and after an hour say a prayer out loud.  To be honest I felt very inadequate.  I want to say something, or do something to give them comfort.  Afterwards I realised, especially when people spoke to me about Derek’s death and the days afterwards, that sitting and praying was the best and only thing to do. Prayer for others is never wasted.

Praying for other people can also help us to see things differently.  The more we pray, the more we are able to start seeing things from God’s perspective rather than our own.  This happens because we are lining ourselves up with God, and not only holding the person or situation before God, but allowing him to give us a different view of things.  In other words, the more we pray about something the more we can understand it, and the more we understand it the easier it is to pray for.  A few months ago I had an email from someone who was asking for advice about how to cope with someone she found it difficult to get on with.  My first piece of advice was: Pray for them.  I know this advice works because it works for me, and sure enough it worked for her too.  She found that she was better able to understand the person she was praying for and so found it easier to get on with them.  And the same goes for any situation or person we pray for. 

This can then lead to a change in us as we see what we can do to help those we are praying for.  Any form of social action arises from a personal understanding and a heartfelt desire to bring about positive change.  We therefore shouldn’t be surprised if our prayer for others initiates change in us as we begin to see what we can do to bring God’s blessing into the situation we are praying for.

So, our prayer for others is an important aspect of our life in God; these are prayers that come from the heart, prayers that are personal.  These prayers are never wasted, they can and do give strength and encouragement to the people we are praying for, and we shouldn’t be surprised if our prayers bring about change in us as we see things from God’s perspective rather than out own limited one.

“I am grateful to God…when I remember you constantly in my prayers night and day.”

Creation date : 13/10/2007 - 21:22
Last update : 13/10/2007 - 21:22
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