Thursday Evenings at All Hallows (Thursday, June 22, 2023)

 

Welcome to Thursday Evenings at All Hallows. This Thursday evening we continue our series on Jesus’ teaching. We take a look at what Jesus taught about prayer.

1. LIGHT SERVICE

Light and peace in Jesus Christ our Lord.
Thanks be to God.

You see, we don’t go around preaching about ourselves. We preach that Jesus Christ is Lord, and we ourselves are your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, “Let there be light in the darkness,” has made this light shine in our hearts so we could know the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ. (2 Corinthians 4:5-6)

Let us pray

Almighty God,
We give you thanks for surrounding us, as daylight fades, with the brightness of the vesper light; and we implore you of your great mercy that, as you enfold us with the radiance of this light, so you would shine into our hearts the brightness of your Holy Spirit; through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen.

2. HYMN

As the hymn is sung, candles may be lit along with other necessary illumination.

Open this link in a new tab to hear Joyous Light of Glorious God from Kent Gustavson’s Mountain Vespers.

Joyous light of glorious God,
heavenly, holy, Jesus Christ,
We have come to the setting of the Sun
and we look to the ev’ning light.
We sing to Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Our voices pure voices together.
O precious God, giver of life,
we sing your praises forever.

Joyous light of glorious God,
heavenly, holy, Jesus Christ,
We have come to the setting of the Sun
and we look to the ev’ning light.
We sing to Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Our voices pure voices together.
O precious God, giver of life,
we sing your praises forever.

3. PSALMS

Incense may be burned as Psalm 141 is sung.

Open this link in a new tab to hear Psalm 141 from Kent Gustavson's Mountain Vespers.

Let my prayer rise before you as incense,
the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.

O God, I call you; come to me quickly;
Hear my voice when I cry to you.

Let my prayer rise before you as incense,
the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.

Set a watch before my mouth,
and guard the doors of my lips.
Let not my heart incline to any evil thing;
Never occupied in wickedness.

Let my prayer rise before you as incense,
the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.

My eyes are turned to you, O God,
in you I take refuge.
My eyes are turned to you, O God,
Strip me not of my life.

Let my prayer rise before you as incense,
the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.

Pause for silent prayer.

Lord,
from the rising of the sun to its setting your name is worthy of all praise. Let our prayer come like incense before you. May te lifting up of our hands be an evening sacrifice acceptable to you, Lord our God.
Amen.

Open this link I a new tab to hear Kiran Young Wimberly’s paraphrase of Psalm 121, “I Lift My Eyes Up to the Hills.”

I lift my eyes up to the hills, where does my help come from?
I lift my eyes up to the hills, where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord of all, the Lord of heaven and earth
The one who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep

The Lord who watches over Israel is your shade at your right hand
The sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon harm you by night
The Lord will keep you from all harm and will watch over your life
Watch over you as you come and go now and forever more

The Lord will keep you from all harm and will watch over your life
Watch over you as you come and go now and forever more
Now and forever more

Pause for silent prayer.

Lord,
in creation you have revealed your awesome power, and in redemption you reveal your relentless love. Through your vigilance by night and by day, teach us more intimately of your power and your love. Amen.

4. READING

A reading from the New Testament (Matthew 6: 5-15)

“When you pray, don’t be like the hypocrites who love to pray publicly on street corners and in the synagogues where everyone can see them. I tell you the truth, that is all the reward they will ever get. But when you pray, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your Father in private. Then your Father, who sees everything, will reward you.

“When you pray, don’t babble on and on as the Gentiles do. They think their prayers are answered merely by repeating their words again and again. Don’t be like them, for your Father knows exactly what you need even before you ask him! Pray like this:

Our Father in heaven,
may your name be kept holy.
May your Kingdom come soon.
May your will be done on earth,
as it is in heaven.
Give us today the food we need,
and forgive us our sins,
as we have forgiven those who sin against us.
And don’t let us yield to temptation,
but rescue us from the evil one.

“If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins.

5. CANTICLE OF MARY (Luke 1:46-55)

Open this link in a new tab to hear the Magnificat from Kent Gustavson’s Mountain Vespers.

My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord.
My spirit rejoices in God my Savior.
For you have looked with favor on your lowly servant;
from this day all generations will call me blessed.

1 You O God have done great things
and holy is your name.
You have mercy on those who fear you
n ev’ry generation.

My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord.
My spirit rejoices in God my Savior.
For you have looked with favor on your lowly servant;
from this day all generations will call me blessed.

2 You have shown the strength of your arm,
you have scattered the proud in their conceit.
You have cast the might down from thrones
and have lifted up the lowly.

My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord.
My spirit rejoices in God my Savior.
For you have looked with favor on your lowly servant;
from this day all generations will call me blessed.

3 You have filled the hungry with good things,
the rich you have sent away empty.
You have come to the help of your servant Israel
you’ve remembered your promise of mercy.
The promise you made
to Sarah and Abraham.

My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord.
My spirit rejoices in God my Savior.
For you have looked with favor on your lowly servant;
from this day all generations will call me blessed.

Glory to you, O Lord our God
With your love and power.
Glory to you, O Lord our God
With your love and power.
Amen

6. PRAYERS OF INTERCESSION

Let us pray for all and for the church throughout the world.

We pray for all who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ: Increase in us the presence and power of your Holy Spirit.

Good and gracious God hear our prayer.

We pray for all who do not yet know your Son: Grant them a true repentance from sin and a living faith in him.

Good and gracious God hear our prayer.

For all who are facing trials and difficulties, for those who are sick, and those who are dying: show them your kindness and mercy.

Good and gracious God hear our prayer.

We pray for all who serve Christ in his church: may they be faithful in carrying out the tasks Christ has given them.

Good and gracious God hear our prayer.

We pray for one another: may we always be united in service and love.

Good and gracious God hear our prayer.

Intercessions may be offered by anyone present.

We pray for….

Good and gracious God hear our prayer.

7. THE LORD’S PRAYER

All these mercies we ask in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,
who taught us to pray with the confidence of children.

We therefore dare to say:

Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy Name.
Thy kingdom come.
Thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory,
for ever and ever. Amen.

8. SOLO

Open this link in a new tab to hear James Montgomery’s “Prayer Is the Soul’s Sincere Desire.”

Prayer is the soul's sincere desire
Uttered or unexpressed
The motion of a hidden fire
That trembles in the breast

Prayer is the burden of a sigh
The falling of a tear
The upward glancing of an eye
When none but God is near

Prayer is the simplest form of speech
That infant lips can try
Prayer, the sublimest strains that reach
The Majesty on high

Prayer is the Christian's vital breath
The Christian's native air
His watchword at the gates of death
He enters heav'n with prayer

[Instrumental interlude]

Prayer is the contrite sinner's voice
Returning from his ways
While angels in their songs rejoice
And cry, "Behold! He prays!"
And cry, "Behold! He prays!"

Nor prayer is made on earth alone
The Holy Spirit pleads
And Jesus at the Father's throne
For sinners intercedes

O thou by whom we come to God
The Life, the Truth, the Way
The path of prayer thyself hast trod
Lord, teach us how to pray
O thou by whom we come to God
Lord, teach us how to pray

9. HOMILY

What Did Jesus Teach about Prayer?

When Christians and would-be Christians hear or read today’s reading from the Gospel of Matthew, they may conclude that Jesus taught his disciples to not pray in public, to not pray aloud in front of other people. While Jesus is known to have often withdraw to a lonely place to pray in private, he is also known to have prayed in public. We might jump to the conclusion that Jesus did not always practice what he preached. Would we be right in drawing that conclusion?

What Jesus was telling his disciples was not to copy those whom he described as hypocrites. At issue was not their practice of praying in public but their motive for praying on street corners and in the synagogues. They wanted other people to see them praying. They wanted other people to think of them as being pious. However, they were putting on a show. They really were not godly at all. If his disciples prayed in private, they would avoid this temptation. Only God would see them praying.

What set Jesus’ praying in public apart from their praying in public was motive. When Jesus prayed in public, it was not to attract attention to himself but to focus attention on God, on God’s response to prayer. He was not saying one thing and doing something else. What he was doing was showing his disciples that It is okay to pray in public as long as our motive for praying in public is right. For example, we might choose to pray aloud for someone after we offered to pray for them, or they asked us to pray for them, so that they know that we prayed for them. We may also choose to pray aloud so that those who may be present can make the prayer their own with their “amen.” What is important is our reason for praying.

Jesus also instructed his disciples to keep their prayers simple and to avoid long-winded prayers in which they repeated the same words over and over again. God is not impressed by lots of words. God knows our needs before we open our mouths. Our deepest thoughts and desires are not hidden from God.

Jesus went on to provide his disciples with directions about what they should pray in the form of a model prayer, which would become to be known as “the Lord’s Prayer.” After offering God praise, they were to pray for the coming of God’s kingdom on earth, God’s righteous rule over the hearts, minds, and lives of all humankind. They were to pray that God’s will would be done on earth just as it was done in heaven, after which they were to ask God to provide them with food for the day. They were then to pray for God’s forgiveness of their sins and wrongdoings to the extent that they had forgiven the sins and wrongdoings of others. They were to ask God’s help in resisting temptation. Finally, they were to pray for deliverance from the spiritual forces of wickedness—from the evil one, from evil spirits, from evildoers, and from all forms of evil.

Jesus tied God’s forgiveness of us to our forgiveness of others. If we are not forgiving toward others, we cannot expect God to be forgiving toward us. If we wish to receive mercy from God, we need to show mercy to others. In other words, we are to do to others what we would wish God to do to us.

Elsewhere in the Gospels is recorded that Jesus taught his disciples to pray expectantly and to persevere in prayer. If we who are evil do good things for our children, Jesus explained, how much more would God who is good do for us, his children. To illustrate persistence in prayer, he used the example of a man who woke up his neighbor knocking on the neighbor’s door late at night and asking the neighbor for bread as an unexpected guest had arrived at his house and he had no bread to feed the guest. Eventually the neighbor would grow tired of his knocking, get out of bed, unbar the door, and give him the bread. Jesus also used the example of an inopportune widow who pestered an unjust judge until he finally ruled in her favor.

It is very clear from Jesus’ teaching that he expects his disciples to pray. He himself set the example for them. As the nineteenth century bishop of Liverpool J. C. Ryle observed, we cannot have a relationship with someone unless we speak to them and regularly have conversations with them. We cannot have a relationship with God unless we speak to God and have regular conversations with God. Prayer is not a monologue. It is a two-way conversation between us and God. As well as sharing with God our concerns and our needs, our joys and our sorrows, our hopes and our fears, we listen attentively to hear his voice.

Gpd speaks to us in a number of different ways. We may experience God’s voice as mental impressions or a gentle nudging. God may speak to us through the words of a passage of Scripture. God may also speak to us through the words of a family member, a friend, or a fellow Christian. God may also speak to us like he did to Elijah in a still small voice, or a soft whisper. God will not tell us anything that contradicts what he has revealed in Scripture, nor will he instruct us to doing anything that conflicts with what he has revealed there.

When we pray the most important thing is to give God our full attention, even when we are praying in public, and to pray from the heart, from our innermost thoughts and feelings. We do not need to maintain a persona before God as we might our fellow human beings. We can drop the mask we wear. God knows our real self. It is a good practice to  pause briefly before praying, centering ourselves on God. If we are at a loss for words, we can ask the Holy Spirit to give us the words we need. What I have found is that the Holy Spirit will bring something to mind and that thought will serve as a springboard for prayer. As Jesus himself said

Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.

10. HYMN

Open this link in a new tab to hear Dean McIntyre’s “How Shall I Come Before the Lord?”

How shall I come before the Lord,
and bow myself with heart outpoured?
And shall I come with offerings?
What shall I give? What shall I bring?

Will finest gifts bring God's delight?
Will wealth bring favor in God's sight?
What must we be? What must we do?
What does the Lord require of you?

Let justice shine in all your ways.
Let loving-kindness rule your days,
that, as this earthly path you trod,
you shall walk humbly with your God.

11. BENEDICTION

May God bless ad keep us. Amen.
May God’s face ever shine upon us. Amen.
May God grant us peace for all our days. Amen.