Prayer

Faith of a Five-Year-Old

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“In Jesus name Amen,” I said after blessing the food before lunch at kid’s summer camp. Suddenly a tiny voice piped up from one five-year-old girl asking,

 “Hey Pete, why do you take your hat off when you pray?”

I was taken aback, first, because I was amazed that she paid such close attention to my prayer, and second, because no one had ever asked me that before.

“Well,” I slowly cleared my throat in an attempt at gaining a moment to think, “It’s in the Bible. Men have to take off their hats, but not the ladies.”

Seeming to feel that was good enough, my five-year-old friend smiled and nodded and then began munching on her peanut butter and jelly sandwich. She was satisfied, but her question got me asking myself, “Just why do I take my hat off, close my eyes, or bow my head when I pray?” Then I recalled that my mom had taught me to pray, “Bless us O Lord and these Thy gifts which we are about to receive. Amen.” Those were simple words, but they covered just about everything that God expects when we pray. In the book of Luke, Jesus tells a little story about how two men prayed.

Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: “God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.” But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, “God, have mercy on me, a sinner.” Luke 18:10-12

Without even reading the rest of the story, we already know who Jesus wants us to be like. Maybe that Pharisee would have even prayed differently if he had just taken time to listen to himself. God also loves it when five-year-olds humbly ask honest questions about prayer, then respectfully listen to the answers, before munching on their peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. And Jesus loves it when we pray with the faith of a child, listen with their willingness to learn, and then gratefully receive those gifts that He has prepared for us to receive!

A Little Talk

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When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these? He said to him, Yes, Lord; you know that I love you. He said to him, Feed my lambs. 
John 21:15 ESV

One old gospel song has a line that says, “Let us have a little talk with Jesus” And when people mention prayer usually we usually start thinking of what we will say in that little talk. But usually, what we really need to do is to let Jesus talk first! In today’s verse, Jesus is telling Peter something He had been trying to say for years. Bur Peter had been so busy talking that Jesus just couldn’t get Him to listen. One time Peter even boasted that He was more faithful than any of the other disciples.

At this Peter exclaimed, “Even if everyone should lose his faith in you, I never will!”
Matthew 26:33 Phillips New Testament

But that same night Peter denied even knowing Jesus three times. If you were Jesus, what would you do? What Jesus did was to come and have a little talk with Peter. Though we might criticize Peter, deep down inside we know that we have all failed just as badly or even worse. But the good news is that Jesus still comes and asks for us start walking with Him again, and He asks the question, “Do you love Me?” Then, when He has our full attention, He gently but firmly commands, “Then go feed My lambs!”

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A House of Prayer

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He said to them, “The Scriptures declare, ‘My Temple will be called a house of prayer for all nations,’ but you have turned it into a den of thieves.” Mark 11:17 NLT

Keeping church and state separate is even written into our U. S. constitution, but Jesus shows us that church and business should also be separate. Often, the pastors of large churches are criticized for their overzealous fund-raising appeals. But while we are criticizing them, we easily lose sight of the wheeling and dealing that can creep into our time of corporate worship. We must remind ourselves that church should never be the place we go to make business connections or to advance our financial position. Jesus called the temple of His day, “A house of prayer for all nations,” Interestingly, this is not the first time that Jesus did this. In the second chapter of John, we find a similar scene right at the beginning of His ministry. But after three years, those same money changers were back doing the same exact things. In His first visit, Jesus made an additional reference to the temple, that time calling it, “My Father’s house.” When we go to church, it is important to remember that though some denomination, or non-profit organization may have their name on the title, in God’s sight, the church is a place belonging entirely to Him and is to be used exclusively for prayer and worship.

This coming weekend is Palm Sunday, and the start of the festivities surrounding Easter. With all the hustle and bustle we have to consciously make the commitment to refocus and remember who this is all about. Why are we planning the things that we do? Who is it for? is there space to pause and reflect on the cross and resurrection morning? Just as in HIs day, they celebrated as Jesus rode into Jerusalem, but only a few days later the crowds began to chant, “Crucify Him! Crucify Him!” Jesus came to give His life. Will He also find us pushing and shoving for financial advantage or forgetting Him in the midst of the busyness of special meals, egg hunts and purchasing of Easter outfits? Just as in His day, from the money changers in the temple, to the soldiers gambling for His clothing, many people missing seeing the value of God’s free and precious gift, as Jesus died to pay the price for our sins. But the good news is that story didn’t end on the cross. Just as He had said, three days later, very early on Sunday morning, Jesus rose, triumphant over death and offering the gift of eternal life to everyone who would simply believe in Him.

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