“Transforming Prayer”

Sermon by Lisa Crismore

John Knox Presbyterian Church – October 20, 2013 

Luke 18:1-8 Then Jesus told them a parable about the need to pray always and not to lose heart. He said, “In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor had respect for people. In that city there was a widow who kept coming to him and saying, “Grant me justice against my opponent.” For a while he refused, but later he said to himself, “Though I have no fear of God and no respect for anyone, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will grant her justice, so that she may not wear me out by continually coming. And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. And will not God grant justice to his chosen ones who cry out to him day and night? Will he delay long in helping them? I tell you, he will quickly grant justice to them. And yet, when the Son of God comes, will he find faith on earth?” 

How many of you noticed the prayer wall was down last Sunday? How many of you noticed the new prayer wall hanging up today? It has been very moving for me to read the prayers of our congregation as well as the ones from strangers who come into our church during the week. It amazes me of how many times I have walked by and seen someone reading the prayers of others. 

When the old prayer wall became full, the CRT, Frank, Jeff Gillespie (who had the idea in the beginning) and I had a discussion about what to do with the wall. What started out as being something only for the sabbatical time has turned into to something we want to be ongoing. But what do we do with the prayers? From this passage today, I would say that Jesus considers prayers to be sacred. It is though they are holy ground. 

It is because of this we decided to put the prayers in a scrapbook and keep it in the library for people to refer back to as God answers those prayers. It is like a prayer journal. I greatly appreciate Maria Green, who is a community service worker and who was willing to arrange the prayers in the book. She shared that it was very touching to read through all the prayers as she worked with them. 

The power of prayer is amazing! The need to pray always is the message that Jesus sends us today. I find the parable that Jesus tells is rather comical. He tells us about this nagging desperate woman who keeps showing up and won’t take “no” for an answer. She keeps stalking this judge who Jesus paints as the “scum of the earth”. Finally, he gets tired of her badgering and grants her justice. 

We have no idea what kind of justice issue she is seeking. Barbara Brown Taylor says perhaps it is because as a widow she has lost all of her property. “Under Jewish law, she cannot inherit it – it goes straight to her sons or her brother-in-laws – but she is allowed to live off of it, unless someone is trying to cheat her out of it. The fact that she is alone in the street is a pretty good indicator that none of the men in her family are on her side.” (Home by Another Way, Barbara Brown Taylor, Cowley Publishing, 1999, p. 199-200) She has nothing! So with nothing to lose, she fights! 

She literally fights because in the Greek translation verse 4-5 says, “Though I have no fear of God and no respect for anyone, yet because this widow keeps on bothering me, I will grant her justice so that she may not ‘punch me in the eye’ or as The Message says “come and attack me.” It is clear this woman means serious business and so the judge gives in to her. 

Then Jesus moves from the comical scene of the woman running around chasing the judge with her boxing gloves on to seriously clarifying that the unjust judge is not God! He says, “Listen!” God will grant justice without delay. God will be there to help when you are in trouble. 

This is when I want to say, “Excuse me!” I don’t know about you but I want to jump in here and say wait a minute I know there have been times where I am desperately seeking God’s attention and I am asking over and over for answers? It appears my request of God has fallen on deaf ears and I wonder if God has taken a coffee break or gone on vacation. 

Loss of faith is very real when bad things happen to good people especially when it comes to our children. We live in a society where all we have to do is turn on the evening news and hear about children being shot in school and movie theaters, children killing themselves because they have been bullied, children being shot in drive-byes, children being sexually, physically and mentally abused, children being diagnosed with autism at an alarming rate, children suffering in foreign lands due to war and we wonder where our world has gone. Children suffer! Youth suffer! Adults suffer! We all suffer! 

In the spring at the Festival of Homiletics, Walter Brueggemann, a famous theologian, tells the story of a crusty old man in his church was found one day crying in the choir room. He asked him what was wrong and the man said, “I have lost my world and I don’t know how I can get it back!” 

Where is God when we cry out to him day and night? Jesus says, “God is in the repetition of our prayers.” God is there weeping with us as we lament our sorrows. Was it not Jesus who wept at the tomb of Lazarus even though he knew he could bring him back to life? Jesus cries for us as we go through our pain because he has felt it himself. God has felt our pain. 

Yet we are called to pray, pray, pray, pray! I was very moved by the repetition in this parable. The widow keeps coming and for a while the judge keeps refusing. Then the questions of Jesus, “And will God grant justice to those who cry to him day and night? Will God delay long in helping? Will there be faith on earth when he returns?” 

In the repetition are we made stronger in whatever the outcome is? I try and go to the gym 2-3 times a week. I usually walk on the treadmill for a while and then workout on the weight machines. Do you think the level of the treadmill or the weights are the same as they were when I first started? No! I had to keep working at it to get stronger so that I could do more. 

I believe that is what Jesus is getting at today. He wants us to pray always because he knows the trials that we are going to be up against. He knows that we must be persistent like the widow and keep at it to survive. It is only then that we can be transformed. CS Lewis says, “It is not God that changes but us.” 

My brother and sister-in-law lost a child that was born with trisomy 13. Matthew only lived 45 minutes. My sister-in-law knew that her son would not live long and yet she carried him for 9 months. This was 6 years ago. I recently asked her how she kept her faith through all of this. 

She said it was only her faith that got her through it. My brother and her praying that God would see them through it is what gave them the strength to get up every day. It was the prayers and support for others that gave them the courage to face this tragedy. It was the blessing of their other healthy son, Nicholas that they knew God was there. God is there. We just have to keep seeking, searching and listening. “Pray always.” Jesus says. 

Earlier I mentioned “Sticky Faith” during the children’s time. This idea of linking faithful adults with our children so that they can share their faith and prayers with each other is what makes us strong. Dr. Kara Powell shared at our workshop that in her church they have started asking parents for 5 names of adults who they would want to be their children’s cheerleaders. People that would spend time with their children, get to know them, pray for them. She also shared how this proved to be a blessing in their church when one family’s mother was diagnosed with cancer. This family had 3 sons and they each had 5 adults who committed to being a part of their lives. She shared this family needed the support those 15 people gave to their sons during this difficult time. Can you imagine how powerful that could be? My prayer is that we can use “Sticky Faith” more in the life of John Knox. 

Thanks be to God who is there waiting to transform us through our faithful prayers. Amen.