Thursday Evenings at All Hallows (Thursday, June 20, 2024)

Welcome to Thursday evenings at All Hallows.

John Wesley, an Anglican priest, a leading figure of the eighteenth century Evangelical Revival, and the founder of the Methodist movement rose every day before the cock crowed and devoted the early morning hours to reading, studying, and mediating on the Holy Scriptures and praying. He recognized that these activities were God’s gift to us, means of God’s grace by which God strengthened and confirmed our faith, two of the many ways that God shows his love for us.

In this evening’s message we look at the model for prayer that Jesus gave us.

GATHERING IN GOD’S NAME

The Lord be with you.
The Lord bless you.

O Lord, accept my prayer as incense offered to you,
and my upraised hands as an evening offering.

Let us confess our sins to God our Father

Silence

Almighty and merciful God
we have sinned against you,
in thought, word and deed.
We have not loved you with all our heart.
We have not loved others as our Saviour Christ loves us.
We are truly sorry.
In your mercy forgive what we have been,
help us to amend what we are,
and direct what we shall be;
that we may delight in your will
and walk in your ways;
through Jesus Christ our Saviour. Amen.

Merciful Lord, grant to your faithful people pardon and peace,
that we may be cleansed from all our sins,
and serve you with a quiet mind;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.


Open this link in a new tab to hear F. Bland Tucker’s translation of the Phos hilaron, “O Gracious Light.”

1 O Gracious Light, Lord Jesus Christ,
In you the Father’s glory shone.
Immortal, holy, blest is he,
And blest are you, his holy Son.

2 Now sunset comes, but light shines forth,
the lamps are lit to pierce the night.
Praise Father, Son, and Spirit: God
Who dwells in the eternal light.

3 Worthy are you of endless praise,
O Son of God, Life-giving Lord;
Wherefore you are through all the earth
And in the highest heaven adored.

Coda:
O Gracious Light!

Let us pray.

Silence

Almighty God,
you have broken the tyranny of sin
and have sent the Spirit of your Son into our hearts
whereby we call you Father:
Give us grace to dedicate our freedom to your service,
that we and all creation may be brought
to the glorious liberty of the children of God;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

THE MINISTRY OF THE WORD


Open this link in a new tab to hear Lori True’s adaptation of Psalm 121, “You, the Source and Maker.”

You, the Source and Maker
of heaven and earth.
You alone are my help.

You, the Source and Maker
of heaven and earth.
You alone are my help.

1 I lift up my eyes to the mountains;
from where shall come my help?
My help shall come from the Lord,
who made heaven and earth.

You, the Source and Maker
of heaven and earth.
You alone are my help.

*2 May God never allow you to stumble!
Let your guard not sleep.
Behold neither sleeping nor slumb’ring
Israel’s guard.

You, the Source and Maker
of heaven and earth.
You alone are my help.

3 The Lord is your guard and your shade;
And stands at your right.
By day the sun shall not smite you,
nor the moon in the night.

You, the Source and Maker
of heaven and earth.
You alone are my help.

4 The Lord will guard you from evil,
and will guard your soul.
The Lord will guard your going and coming,
both now and forever.

You, the Source and Maker
of heaven and earth.
You alone are my help.

*Omitted on the video.

A reading from the Gospel according to Matthew, Chapter 6, Verses 7-15

“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.

Silence

May your word live in us
and bear much fruit to your glory.

Open this ink in a new tab to hear Timothy Dudley Smith’s “Tell Out, My Soul.”

1 Tell out, my soul, the greatness of the Lord!
Unnumbered blessings give my spirit voice;
Tender to me the promise of his word;
In God my Savior shall my heart rejoice

2 Tell out, my soul, the greatness of his Name!
Make known his might, the deeds his arm has done;
His mercy sure, from age to age to same;
His holy Name--the Lord, the Mighty One

3 Tell out, my soul, the greatness of his might!
Powers and dominions lay their glory by
Proud hearts and stubborn wills are put to flight
The hungry fed, the humble lifted high

4 Tell out, my soul, the glories of his word!
Firm is his promise, and his mercy sure
Tell out, my soul, the greatness of the Lord
To children's children and for evermore!

A Model for Prayer

When Jesus cautioned his disciples against rattling off long prayers like the pagans, using a lot of meaningless words and repeating them over and over again, those listening to him would have had a pretty good idea of how the pagans prayed to their gods. By the first century common era, what had been the kingdom of Israel had a pagan population as well as a Jewish one.

From what we know about the pagan religions practiced at that time is that, unlike Judaism, they did not base their religious activities on a sacred text but on rituals. Prayer for the adherents of these religions was more akin to the recitation of a magical formula as an accompaniment to a ritual, rather than an act of speaking to a particular god. This formula with the accompanying ritual was intended to influence the god and secure the god’s favor or to avoid the god’s displeasure. Words were also thought to have an inherent power of their own so reciting them was considered an essential part of a prayer.

The pagan gods were notoriously fickle. This quality of their character and the anxiety of those seeking to secure their favor or to avoid their displeasure may also help to explain the length and the wordiness of pagan prayers. One of the things that we have learned from the study of human behavior is that when a person to whom we are talking or texting is unresponsive, we will say more or send more texts in hopes of eliciting a response, motivated by fear that the person in question is rejecting us.

In those days it was common for people to use honorifics when addressing one another, title or words used to show honor or respect. Honorifics were especially used when addressing someone of higher status than oneself or who was one’s superior. Honorifics were also used to cull favor as well as to show deference. Jesus’ disciples and would-be disciples called him “lord,” “master,” or “rabbi,” or “teacher.”

In seeking to secure a god’s favor or to avoid a god’s displeasure, the thinking was the more honorifics the better. This is how one addressed someone whom one was trying to please in order that person will do what one wants them to do. In certain situations, it was expected and failure to do so would be considered a serious form of disrespect and would have dire consequences.

Implicit in Jesus’ warning to the disciples is the advice that when they pray, his disciples should keep their prayers succinct, clear, brief, and to the point.

Jesus goes on to model how to pray for his disciples. He addresses God as “Abba,” or “Father.” Abba is an Aramaic word and expresses a degree of familiarity used between members of the immediate family in addressing a father or father figure. It is not quite as familiar as “Dad,” “Daddy,” “Pappa,” or “Pops.” It is not a form of address that the Jews used in addressing God. They would not presume to adopt that degree of familiarity in addressing the Most High.

The prayer that Jesus models for the disciples has six petitions. Note that he prays for others as well as himself.

First he prays, “…may your name be kept holy.” “Name” in this petition refers not only to the name that God revealed to Moses and the various titles by which he is addressed in the Old Testament, but also to his character. It is a petition that all people recognize who God is—the one true God—and honor and reverence God.

Jesus then prays that God’s kingdom will come. In this petition Jesus is referring to Christ’s reign when he comes again in glory as well as to God’s righteous rule in the hearts, minds, and lives of humankind.

Jesus goes on to pray that God’s will be done everywhere, not just in heaven but on earth too. It is a petition that everyone aligns their will with God’s.

Jesus next ask God to supply all people with the food they need to sustain them that day.

He then asks God to forgive their wrongdoings to the extent that they forgive the wrongdoings of others.

Last of all Jesus asks God to keep everyone clear of temptation and to save everyone from evil.

Although the prayer is recited and even sung both in services of public worship and private devotions, the prayer is a model. It demonstrates a way of praying that is plain, uncomplicated, and direct, the way a child would talk to a trusted and loved parent. No beating around the bush. No buttering up. Open, honest, and straightforward.

One of the reasons that this prayer differs from the prayers of pagans is the character of God to whom it is made. As Jesus points out, God knows our needs before we ask them. At the same time, God wants to hear from us. The pagans could never be sure that their gods were paying attention to them. The Romans accompanied their sacrifices to their gods with loud music. The purpose of this music was to draw the attention of the particular god to whom they were offering the sacrifice. God, however, has a ready ear.

We call the model for praying that Jesus gave his disciples “the Lord’s Prayer.” Every prayer that we make does not have to follow the exact pattern of this model. We may have other concerns that we wish to share with God.

Take a few minutes to think about your own prayer life. What might you do differently? Ask God to give you grace to make these changes. God is waiting to hear from you.

Silence

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

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

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

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

4 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]

5 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!"

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

7 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

Let us confess our faith as we say.

I believe in God, the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.

I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit
and born of the virgin Mary.
He suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried;
he descended to hell.
The third day he rose again from the dead.
He ascended to heaven
and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty.
From there he will come to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. Amen.

THE MINISTRY OF PRAYER

Let us pray for all people and for the Church throughout the world.

Father, we pray for your holy catholic Church
that we all may be one.

Grant that every member of your Church may truly and humbly serve you:
that your name may be glorified by all people.

We pray for all bishops, elders, deacons, and licensed local pastors
that they may be faithful ministers of your word and sacraments.

We pray for all who govern and hold authority in the nations of the world
that there may be justice and peace on the earth.

Give us grace to do your will in all that we undertake
that your glory may be proclaimed through our lives.

Have compassion on those who suffer from any grief or trouble
that they may be delivered from their distress.

We praise you for your saints who have entered their eternal joy
may we also come to share in the fulness of your kingdom.

We pray for our own needs and for those of others:

Silence.

Those present may add their own petitions.

Faithful God,
you have promised to hear the prayers
of all who ask in Jesus’ name.
In your mercy, accept our prayers.
Give us what we have asked in faith,
according to your will;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Let us sum up our prayers and praises in the words our Saviour Christ has taught us and 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.

Open this link in a new tab to hear Ricard Bruxvoort Colligan’s “O Christ, Surround Me.”

1 God be the love to search and keep me
God be the prayer to move my voice
God be the strength to now uphold me
O Christ, surround me
O Christ, surround me

2 Bind to myself the name of Holy
Great cloud of witnesses enfold
Prophets, apostles, angels witness
O Christ, surround me
O Christ, surround me

3 Brightness of sun and glow of moonlight
Flashing of lightning, strength of wind
Depth of the sea to soil of planet
O Christ, surround me
O Christ, surround me

4 Walking behind to hem my journey
Going ahead to light my way
And from beneath, above, and all ways
O Christ, surround me
O Christ, surround me

5 Christ in the eyes of all who see me
Christ in the ears who hear my voice
Christ in the hearts of all who know me
O Christ, surround me
O Christ, surround me

THE SENDING FORTH OF GOD’S PEOPLE

In darkness and in light,
in trouble and in joy,
help us, heavenly Father,
to trust your love,
to serve your purpose,
and to praise your name,
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Let us bless the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

May the Lord bless us and keep us,
May the Lord make his face to shine on us and be gracious to us,
May the Lord look on us with kindness and give us peace. Amen.

The peace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you always.
And also with you.

Those present may exchange a gesture of peace with these or similar words:
Peace be with you.