In his commentary on 1 Thessalonians, Tom Wright suggests that there are some similarities between praying and playing a musical instrument. Next week at the Civic carol service we will have some choirs and music groups from local primary schools taking part. They will, in the most part, be accompanied by a teacher playing the piano, or by a backing track. These will help them start on the right note, keep them in time, and give them confidence to sing and play to the best of the their ability. As they go on in their musical journeys, the nature and purpose of accompaniment changes \u2013 rather than a stronger musician supporting another, it becomes a partnership, a harmonisation, even at times a counter point or evocative dissonance. <\/p>\n
So it is with prayer. Early in our journeys following Jesus, the liturgical prayers of the church and the prayers of others, particularly the prayers of Scripture are a support to our prayers. They give our prayers structure, content, a tune, a rhythm. As we grow closer to Jesus the idea is that our prayer lives mature and that relationship changes. They are still part of our prayers, but as conversation partners, idea starters, imagination stretchers.
\nIt is in this way that I would like us to approach the two prayers that we have heard in our readings this evening. Rather than just pray them, we\u2019re going to dive into them, explore them, strip them back, unweave their themes. We\u2019re going to mine them for raw materials that we can then reforge in our own prayers. <\/p>\n
Let\u2019s make a start with Psalm 25<\/p>\n
The prayer begins, \u201cin you, LORD my God, I put my trust.\u201d<\/p>\n
Let\u2019s just stop and pause and think about this properly for a minute. What does it mean to say whole-heartedly \u201cI trust.\u201d<\/p>\n
It seems to me that for trust to exist there has to be a level of uncertainty in the air. If everything is certain, then there is no room or need for trust. If we are to trust someone in any given situation then what it means is that we are willing to rely on what we know of them, despite what we are experiencing ourselves in that situation. Let\u2019s think for a moment about the classic trust game of falling back into someone\u2019s arms. <\/p>\n
In that situation we trust that the person will catch us, based on what we know of them, despite our own senses telling us that we are falling. <\/p>\n
Trusting God doesn\u2019t mean that we have all the answers, or that we can see everything, it just means that we choose to act and pray in ways which depend on God.<\/p>\n
But who is it that the writer is trusting? You can\u2019t tell just by listening, but if you look at the text in our pew Bibles you will see that \u201cLORD\u201d is written in capital letters. This is because it has a deeper meaning than just the word Lord. It represents the name of God, Yahweh. In the Jewish faith this name was considered so holy that it could not be said or written down. When it was written in the original Hebrew texts of the Old Testament it was written without its vowels, and when the text was read aloud people would say \u201cAdonai\u201d, the Hebrew for lord instead. <\/p>\n
Why is this important? Well, because when we see LORD God in the Old Testament we need to remember that it is saying more than Lord. Lord is important \u2013 we\u2019ll talk about that later when we look at Paul\u2019s letter to the church in Thessalonica- but for now let us focus that this prayer is addressed to Yahweh.<\/p>\n
For the significance of this, let\u2019s go back to the first time that God shares this name with a human being. In Exodus 3 we find Moses, minding his own business, looking after his father-in-law\u2019s sheep when he sees something strange in the distance. He sees a bush that looks like it is on fire, but is not burning up. He goes to have a look, and something stranger happens. A voice speaks from the bush, telling him this is holy ground, to take off his sandals. God is sending him into Egypt to led his people out of slavery into freedom. Moses isn\u2019t convinced, he\u2019d had to flee from Egypt, wanted for murdering an Egyptian slave driver. He asks the bush, \u201cwho shall I say sent me?\u201d The bush replies, \u201cI am who I am. Tell the Israelites, \u201cI am has sent me to you.\u201d\u201d<\/p>\n
As you\u2019ll see from the foot note, though, this translation isn\u2019t completely straightforward. Given the grammatical construction, it could be \u201cI will be what I will be\u201d. One commentator suggests that perhaps the most satisfactory translation would be:<\/p>\n
\u201cI will be who I am. I am who I will be\u201d. <\/p>\n
This whole concept is wrapped up in that name, Yahweh, which is actually a slightly different, third person form. <\/p>\n
The fundamental idea is that Yahweh IS. Not is something, but IS. <\/p>\n
But that isn\u2019t all, God goes on:<\/p>\n
\u201cSay to the Israelites, \u2018The LORD, the God of your fathers, – the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
In doing this, God identifies Yawheh with the God of the ancestors of the Jewish people, the God of the covenant promises to Abraham and his sons. The God who created all that there is. <\/p>\n
So, when this Psalm begins, \u201cIn you, Yawheh, I put my trust.\u201d<\/p>\n
It means that the prayer is addressed to the one who had always been, who is now, who always will be, who created all that there is, who makes covenant promises that are fulfilled, the one who IS.
\nSo, in our first verse we get these two foundational principles of prayer. One is trust, and the other is knowing who we are praying to. <\/p>\n
The next couple of verses add the theme of hope to that of trust, and contrasts them both with shame. <\/p>\n
We\u2019ve thought about trust, so what about hope. Christian hope is more than a wish that things will turn out OK. It isn\u2019t a forlorn denial of a known reality. It isn\u2019t hope against hope. It is a conviction that things can be better, it has a foundation in the promises and nature of God. It is a fruit of the Holy Spirit, that counters despair. It, too, requires a level of uncertainty. As Paul writes in Romans 8:<\/p>\n
\u201chope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have?\u201d<\/p>\n
The writer to the Hebrews brings these linked ideas of trust, hope, and uncertainty together beautifully in Hebrews 11:<\/p>\n
\u201cNow faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.\u201d
\nNow what about shame?<\/p>\n
Shame is a horrible sensation. It\u2019s more than embarrassment. That knowledge that you have done something, said something, that you know you shouldn\u2019t have, that you wish you hadn\u2019t, that you don\u2019t want anyone to know about. The belief that others will think less of you because of it, that they will look down on you, or mock you for it. The sense that you are a lesser person because of it. Even worse when we\u2019re ashamed of who we are, when there is a fundamental of our own self-understanding that is looked down on or disapproved of by others, or even if internalise it, of our selves. <\/p>\n
It was an issue for the writer of this prayer. It\u2019s the first thing they ask \u2013 \u201cdo let me be put to shame\u201d. If we read on, it\u2019s one of the last things they ask \u2013 in verse 20 \u201c do let me be put to shame.\u201d As we read through the psalm, there are two themes that weave in and out of each other \u2013 one is being kept on the right way and the other is forgiveness for the times the writer has left God\u2019s way. <\/p>\n
In summary \u2013 I don\u2019t want to feel ashamed. Help me live right. Forgive me when I go wrong. <\/p>\n
That desire to live rightly can be seen in the number of different ways that the writer asks God to help them stay on the right track. In verses 4 and 5 God is asked to show, teach and guide. I\u2019m not going to spend time on this tonight, but you might want to spend some time reflecting on the differences between showing, teaching, and guiding. I wouldn\u2019t want to read too much into it \u2013 this is poetry after all, and it may just be that the writer was looking for near synonyms, but on the other hand, it might be a fruitful exercise to think about the differences, and what you are looking for right now in the situations you face. <\/p>\n
In these verses we also a repeat of that hope that the writer has, and this time it is a hope in God as Saviour, as the one who rescues, who pulls people out of trouble. This strikes me as a bit odd on the face of it. It might be thought to make more sense to call on God as Saviour in the sections about being rescued from the consequences of sin, rather than in a verse that ask for help in avoiding falling into sin.
\nPerhaps the concept of Saviour the writer has in mind is broader than just rescue from trouble once someone\u2019s in it, but includes the idea of helping to prevent people getting into trouble in the first place. <\/p>\n
Either way \u2013 again the prayer is grounded in the understanding of who God is. <\/p>\n
This is seen again in the next section. God is asked to remember love and mercy, that they are known to be the ancient foundations of God\u2019s character. And, on the grounds of this, to not remember the writer\u2019s sin and rebellion. Even here, before Jesus work on the cross, the basis of God\u2019s forgiveness is not that it has been earned, or that the person is a good person who has done bad things, or that they deserve a break, but that God is who God is, and is consistently and faithfully the God of love and mercy, and at the end of verse 7, the fact that God is good.<\/p>\n
Here again, if we stop and think about it, is an apparent disconnect. I understand appealing to God\u2019s love and mercy if I want forgiveness and forgetfulness of my sin, but would I really want to be appealing to God\u2019s goodness. <\/p>\n
Surely that will just throw into contrast the fact that I am not good. Unless, or course, my understanding of what it means to be good is too narrow. Just as the writer seems to have a broader understanding of what it means to be Saviour, perhaps they also have a broader understanding of what it means for God to be good. Maybe this is more than a moral benchmark that others are measured against and found wanting, maybe it includes the good that is forgiveness and freedom from shame. True goodness doesn\u2019t make other people feel worse because they are not so good. True goodness overflows and draws others into itself.<\/p>\n
Verses 8 and 9 double down on this.<\/p>\n
God is good so what does God do? God instructs, guides, teaches. There\u2019s another near synonym \u2013 instructs – to add to our list for contemplation. Who does God do this for?<\/p>\n
The humble, the sinner, the one included in the covenant. Which pretty much includes everyone. It seems to me that this is not a narrowing down of categories, but a layering up of more and more people that God is inviting to walk in the way. This invitation was shouted out when Jesus declared that he was the Way, and made the new covenant with his own body and blood, displaying God\u2019s love, goodness, mercy, unchanging character for all to see, that every person in every time and place might be free of shame and walk the way of God. <\/p>\n
That is where we leave Psalm 25. As well as reflecting on those near synonyms this week, you might also, or instead, read through the rest of the Psalm and see how the ideas and themes continue to weave in and out, develop, or change. It is designed to be read as a whole \u2013 each verse begins with a different letter of the Hebrew alphabet, in sequence, so it is a bit naughty, only reading half of it.<\/p>\n
But, we want to get on to look at this little section of Paul\u2019s letter to his friends in Thessalonica, so we are going to leave the Psalm there and move on. And here we\u2019re going to do something equally naughty and lift it completely out of context. It doesn\u2019t take long to read 1 Thessalonians, and there\u2019s some great stuff in there, so perhaps do that when you\u2019ve finished reading the rest of Psalm 25. You could also read Acts 17, if you want to find out how Paul got to know the people he\u2019s writing to, but that is not what we\u2019re going to do now. What we\u2019re going to do now is have a look at the prayer in verses 11-13.<\/p>\n
The first thing we might notice is that this prayer is not addressed directly to God. It is phrased differently, \u201cMay our God and Father \u2026..\u201d<\/p>\n
This wouldn\u2019t make sense in a direct prayer, but I do use it sometimes. When people email or text me to ask me to pray for them, I often respond with a written prayer that starts like this. If, for instance, they have asked me to pray for a medical procedure they\u2019re facing, I might reply with something like, \u201cMay God keep you, bless you, and heal you, as you go through this.\u201d<\/p>\n
However the prayer is phrased, the foundations are the same. The prayer calls on Father God and the Lord Jesus. It begins with them in verse 11 and finishes with them in verse 13. <\/p>\n
The prayer is based on Paul\u2019s understanding of who God is. God is Paul\u2019s father. Jesus himself taught us to pray to God as our father, a good father who loves us, who has our best at heart, who never fails us. <\/p>\n
Paul also prays that the Lord Jesus may act on his behalf. Here it really is the word, \u201cLord\u201d. No caps. But, for all that, it is significant. Jesus is Lord was such an important statement of faith for the first Christians. It was a direct and deliberate counter to the Roman claim that Caesar is Lord. There was a personal element to it, Jesus as my Lord, but there was a wider, more universal claim, that Jesus is Lord of all, in the end, the Jesus is the only Lord over every other lord, king, or government. It is because Jesus is Lord that Paul is confident to pray. It is not a request to someone who might be able to help if all goes well. It is a prayer to the one who has the authority and power to make it happen. He might say no, that\u2019s where Jesus being a personal Lord to whose decisions we submit comes in, but he doesn\u2019t say no because he isn\u2019t able to say yes. <\/p>\n
Paul has three basic requests.<\/p>\n
The first is very practical and personal. He wants to see his friends again. The second and third are jaw dropping in their scope and ambition. Paul asks that God might give them love overflowing to each other and everyone else and the strength of heart to be blameless and holy. Not much then.
\nHow can Paul have the confidence to pray such big prayers? Well, I wonder if it is in part because he was secure in the understanding that they are totally in line with God\u2019s will. Jesus taught us that the two most important commandments are to love God and to love each other. So, praying that people will be able to do what God has already said is one of the most important things for them to do seems to me to be pretty much guaranteed to be praying in line with God\u2019s will. We also know from out teaching of Jesus that his followers are called to be blameless and holy. So Paul is praying in line with God\u2019s will. He is also praying in line with God\u2019s character. <\/p>\n
This highlights the resonances with the prayer we looked at in Psalm 25, where God is described as loving and upright. Love and holiness are both unchanging parts of God\u2019s character. Paul prays that God\u2019s characteristics would overflow and be seen in the lives of those who follow Jesus. Paul is prayer in line with God\u2019s character. <\/p>\n
So, what can we draw together from these examples of prayer. At the simplest level, we can use these words to pray for people and ourselves. We could take verses 12 and 13 of 1 Thessalonians 3 and pray them for others and for ourselves, as they are. But maybe there is more.<\/p>\n
We\u2019ve talked about God being the one who is, promise keeper, Saviour, Father, Lord. I wonder which of these aspects of who God would be helpful for us to grasp more deeply, to understand more widely in order to enrich our prayer lives. <\/p>\n
We\u2019ve talked about trust and hope, which are like rocket fuel to prayer, and shame which can be one of the biggest barriers to prayer there is, because it can cause us to try and hide from God. How can we build up our hope and trust, and be free from shame? By prayer. It\u2019s a virtuous circle \u2013 the more open we are with God, the more our shame is washed away, and the greater our trust and hope grow. <\/p>\n
And as for the content of our prayers, what might that include? We see that it is entirely right to pray for ourselves for the things we want \u2013 the Psalmist wanted to be forgiven, Paul wanted to see his friends. When it comes to forgiveness God will always say yes to the penitent heart. On other stuff sometimes God says yes, and sometimes God says no.
\nThe final encouragement I\u2019d like to remind us of is the boldness to pray big prayers, especially ones in line with God\u2019s revealed will. It might sometimes feel like our prayers don\u2019t make a difference, or can\u2019t change things, but I believe that with God all things are possible. So lot\u2019s pray for the breakthrough of God\u2019s kingdom. Let\u2019s pray for peace in the most intractable conflicts. Let\u2019s pray for love and holiness in our society. And, in this season of Advent let\u2019s pray for Jesus\u2019 soon return. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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