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Sunday Sermons
Sermon: 2-10-08, Lent 1
Pastor Phil Lee
Title: "Pray Like a Dog!"
Texts: Ps.32:6 (ref. Luke 6:12-19)
Theme: Pray to discern and do God’s will.
Introduction
I’m a cat person, not a dog person (I’m sad because our cat, Leo, died on 2-1-08. He was Leo the Great – just a great cat!) However, even though I’m a cat person, I still got a kick out of this story about Luther’s dog. When Luther’s puppy happened to be sitting by the dinner table one day, he looked for a morsel of food from his master, and watched with open mouth and motionless eyes. And as Luther observed his dog he said, “If I could only pray the way this dog watches the meat! All his thoughts are concentrated on the piece of meat. Otherwise he has no thought, wish or hope.” (Luther, Table Talk)
As I think of that kind of concentrated watchfulness and hopefulness, it seems to be a good example for our prayer life. We should pray like a dog, watching and waiting in hope for God to show us His will.
That is the spirit of Psalm 32, a penitential Psalm, where the psalmist expressed concentrated hopefulness because of God’s forgiveness.
(read Psalm 32 – LBW, p.230)
The psalmist wrote (v.6-7): "‘I will confess my transgressions to the LORD,’ and you forgave the guilt of my sin. Therefore let all who are faithful offer prayer to you…”
We have begun a visioning process here at Glendale called with three phases: Discernment, Discovery, Decision. This is a time for us to pray that we might discern why we’re here (purpose) and what’s important to us (values). Then we will take some time to “brainstorm” and share ideas to discover what God’s wants us to do (goals). Finally, we’ll make some decisions and put together an action plan (Vision for Ministry) based on our purpose, values, and goals.
Point
First, we need to pray to discern our purpose and values – why we’re here and what’s important to us. And, to use the analogy, we need to pray like a dog, with concentrated watchfulness and hopefulness in God’s will for us.
In what may have been his last interview before dying of heart failure in September 1996, renowned Dutch Priest, Henri Nouwen, talked about prayer: “Let me say a few things systematically about prayer,” Nouwen began. “A biblical text that has been very, very important for me is the story in Luke 6:12-19, where Jesus spent the night in prayer on the top of the mountain. In the morning, he came down and created a community of apostles around him. Then, in the afternoon, with his apostles, he ministered – he went out and healed and proclaimed the Good News. I’ve been fascinated by that because it basically says: prayer at night, community in the morning, ministry in the afternoon. Now night, morning and afternoon are symbols for the vision that Jesus starts. The three areas we have to consciously focus on are: first, communion with God – prayer – or being in solitude with God; secondly, creating community; and thirdly, ministry.” (“Parting Words: A Conversation on Prayer With Henri Nouwen,” Fellowship in Prayer)
Sincere prayer that seeks God’s will leads to Christian community and ministry. That’s how this congregation began over 60 years ago. And that’s how Glendale will continue – with prayer and community/fellowship and ministry.
In her book Traveling Mercies, Anne Lamott wrote something that speaks so well to our situation: “It’s funny,” she wrote, “I always imagined when I was a kid that adults had some kind of inner toolbox, full of shiny tools: the saw of discernment, the hammer of wisdom, the sandpaper of patience. But then when I grew up, I found that life handed you these rusty, bent, old tools – friendships, prayer, conscience, honesty – and said, ‘Do the best you can with these, they will have to do.’ And mostly, against all odds, they’re enough.” (p.103)
Problem
In Luke 6:12-19 we read that Jesus spent the night in prayer…and when day came, he called his disciples…and [together they healed and ministered to] those who were troubled.
That’s a great vision for ministry for us – prayer, community/fellowship, and ministry. But, too often we forget the prayer part, and just blunder forward without discerning God’s will in prayer.
We must begin with prayer. And that’s what we’re doing in this Discernment phase of our visioning process.
And so, let us do what C.S. Lewis has suggested: “The moment you wake up each morning, all your wishes and hopes for the day rush at you like wild animals. And the first job each morning consists in shoving it all back; in listening to that other voice, taking that other point of view, letting that other, larger, stronger, quieter life come flowing in.”
Power
In Luke 6:12-19 we read that Jesus spent the night in prayer…and when day came, he called his disciples…and [together they healed and ministered to] those who were troubled.” That’s a great example for us to follow!
The chairman and CEO of Home Depot once told this story at a business conference: “Every morning in Africa, a gazelle wakes up: It knows it must run faster than the fastest lion or it will be killed. Every morning, the lion wakes up: It knows it must outrun the slowest gazelle or it will starve to death. It doesn’t matter whether you are a lion or a gazelle: When the sun comes up, you’d better be running.”
But, some people are not sure what their mission is in life. It may be something as simple as finding food to eat.
We do not yet know specifically what our future ministry/mission will look like here at Glendale. So, it’s time for us to pray for discernment, that we might be sensitive to God’s will and be ready to do it.
Jesus prayed to the Father – “Not my will, by Your will be done.” – and then he took action, because the Father’s will was that Jesus go to the cross for the sins of the world. And God’s will was that by his resurrection from the dead Jesus would secure the victory over sin and death. And God’s will is that all people come to faith in Jesus and the salvation that God has prepared for them. And God’s will is that we here at Glendale should be engaged in making that good news known in our community and throughout the world. (Make Christ Known)
So, we have Jesus’ example to follow: Prayer first, then community/fellowship, and then ministry.
Conclusion
During this Discernment phase of our visioning process, during this season of Lent, let’s pray in the same way that Luther’s dog watched and waited for a morsel of food.
“…let all who are faithful offer prayer to [God]…” (Ps.32:7)
Let’s concentrate and wait for God to show us His will, and yes, let’s pray like a dog! Amen.
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