Title: THE DEFAULT MODE OF PRAYER

Focus: Let prayer be the default mode of Christian living.

Function: To encourage the people to practice the presence of God and thus develop a life of prayer.

Text: I Thessalonians 5:12-28

Heidelberg Catechism: Lord’s Day 45

 

INTRODUCTION

            I am a news junkie. I consider it as part of my calling to stay abreast of daily news events. So, if you should access my home computer and go on the internet, you’ll notice that my favorite news network is the default mode of my computer.

 

            “Default mode” is computer science language. The American Heritage College Dictionary tells us that a default is “A particular value that is assigned automatically by an operating system and remains in effect unless overridden by the operator.” In other words, when I go on the internet, my computer automatically turns to my favorite news network because that’s the default mode I’ve set it on. By calling up another website, I override the default mode, and I’m on my way cruising the internet.

 

            I don’t know about you, but I find myself often cruising along on the highways and byways of life, constantly overriding the default mode of prayer. I want prayer to be at the core of my living, but I find myself often easily skipping or ignoring that core. Yet, in today’s scripture passage I hear the Lord calling us again to make prayer the default mode in our lives: “Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” Do you hear what I hear the Lord saying to us today? Let prayer be the default mode of your life.

 

LORD’S DAY 45

            The Heidelberg Catechism consists of three parts: I. Misery or Our Sins; II. Deliverance or Our Salvation; III Gratitude or Our Service. That third part is all about thankful living in response of what God has done for the world in Jesus Christ. When you explore that third part of the Catechism, you’ll notice that it consists of a treatment or consideration of God’s Commandments and the Lord’s Prayer. In other words, if we, as Christians, want to get a handle on our proper response to God’s great salvation in Jesus Christ, then we need to take note of God’s expressed will in the 10 Commandments and Christ’s teachings in the Lord’s Prayer. There is a clear connection between doing the will of God and prayer. Prayer, in fact, is the default mode of our response to God’s salvation.

 

            In Lord’s Day 45, the Catechism raises three important questions about prayer: Why? How? and What? Let’s consider them one by one:

 

• Why? Why do Christians need to pray? When I grew up I had an aunt who was obviously very devout in her faith and always grateful for especially the little things in life. My father would give her a head of lettuce, some tomatoes, and some carrots—all home-grown, and she would be so grateful for these gifts. Later, I understood why: she and her husband had gone through the hunger winter of 1944. But more importantly, my aunt would say to me that she was thankful and prayed to God with gratitude because “God wants to be prayed to.”(God wilt aangebeden worden)

 

            I think my aunt learned this from the Scriptures and the Catechism. Listen: (Why do Christians need to pray?) “Because prayer is the most important part of the thankfulness God requires of us. And also because God gives his grace and Holy Spirit only to those who pray continually and groan inwardly, asking God for these gifts and thanking him for them.”  Why pray? Two reasons: Gratitude is the foundation of our response to God’s love in Jesus. And the need for God’s grace and Spirit to live thankfully is another reason.

 

• How? How does God want us to pray so that he will listen to us? The answer is three-fold: 1. From the heart; 2. With self-knowledge; and 3.With dependence on Christ. Listen:

 

“First, we must pray from the heart to no other than the one true God, who has revealed himself in his Word, asking for everything he has commanded us to ask for.” Rut prayers and phony prayers have no place in our lives. Put your heart into your prayers! Sometimes, especially when I am tired, I find that very difficult to do.

 

“Second, we must acknowledge our need and misery, hiding nothing, and humble ourselves in his majestic presence.” In other words, know your place; recognize who you are in the sight of God and humble yourselves before God. This calls for humility in the heart and for bended knees.

 

“Third, we must rest on this unshakable foundation: even though we do not deserve it, God will surely listen to our prayer because of Christ our Lord. That is what he promised us in his Word.” Here we learn that we must lean on Jesus. He is our Mediator; he intercedes for us and appeals to God the Father on our behalf. Jesus has the ear of the Father; and Jesus has his ears tuned into our heart’s desires and deep-felt prayers. Thus we pray: from the heart; with self-knowledge; and with dependence on Jesus.

 

• What? What did God command us to pray for? “May I pray for my hamster?” Children usually don’t ask such questions; they just do it. It’s parents who sometimes wonder about things like praying for hamsters and pets and seemingly other insignificant things in life (which are not insignificant for our children at all). As we grow in faith, here is good advice as to what to pray for: “Everything we need, spiritually and physically, as embraced in the prayer Christ our Lord himself taught us.”

 

            I think it’s fair to say that prayer should not be something that I “click on or click off” periodically as I cruise along each day. Rather, let prayer be the default mode as we serve our God each day.

 

I THESS. 5:12-28

            The apostle Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonian church gives us further insights into the default mode of prayer. “Pray continually,” says Paul; “Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”

(cf. John Stott’s ommentary) As we consider these words of Paul, we should note that Paul writes in this closing chapter of his letter about a number of things: He writes about

The Pastorate (5:12-13) (respect those…)

The Fellowship (vs.14-15) (admonitions)

The Worship (vs.16-22, 27) (the text)

And in conclusion, Paul

--prays for their sanctification (vs. 23);

--affirms God’s faithfulness (vs. 24);

--asks for their prayers (vs. 25);

--tells them to greet one another (vs. 26);

--insists that his letter be read publicly (vs. 27);

--and wishes them the grace of Christ (vs. 28).

 

            So when Paul exhorts us to “be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances…,” we must understand these words in the context of worship, especially public worship. When it comes to rejoicing, Paul is not asking us to conjure up false feelings (to show joy when we feel sorrow, for ex.); rather, Paul calls us to express a joy that is found in the Lord (cf. Phil. 4:4); such joy ties in with the psalmist’s call in Psalm 95:1 “Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation.” Or consider Psalm 100:1,2 “Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth. Worship the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful song.” Whenever we turn to Christ, we find reasons for joy and rejoicing, especially in the context of sorrow and death.

 

            And when Paul calls us to pray continually, he underscores that prayer is an indispensable element of public worship, especially in the form of intercession (Stott). So it is also with eucharist or giving thanks: “Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” No, this does not mean that we give thanks to God for evil occasions or God-dishonoring circumstances (we don’t give thanks for bordellos and casinos, or for the hatred portrayed by vicious terrorists in their beheadings and homicide bombings). But we can and should thank God IN all circumstances. This is God’s expressed will as seen in Christ Jesus. Let prayer, then, be the default mode of our lives.

 

            What does Paul mean when he says: “for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”? Paul means at least three things:

• Paul points to a Christian’s position: That is, we are found “in Christ.” We are in his sphere of influence; we belong to him; we serve him; we are at Jesus’ bidding. So, we pray and give thanks to God in relationship to Jesus and to Jesus’ rule and kingship in our lives and world. When you are “in the army,” you eat and drink army food; you wear army clothes; you obey army rules; you fight and live by the army’s code. So it is also with us who are “in Christ.” We pray to God continually and give thanks because we are “in Christ” and we keep that in mind as we offer our prayers and petitions. In our prayers we need to demonstrate that we belong to Jesus. “In Christ”, then, points to a Christian’s position. It also

 

• Points to a believer’s dependence on Jesus: In our prayers to God we acknowledge that we depend on our faithful Savior and High priest, Jesus Christ. We cannot enter the presence of our heavenly Father by ourselves; we need Jesus; his atoning sacrifice, his work of dying, rising, and ruling opens the pathway for us to the Father. We depend on Jesus’ work—then, now, and in the future as well. “In Christ, ” then, points to a Christian’s dependence on Jesus. It also

 

• Points to a believer’s frame of reference to pray in. For example, I do not pray as a Buddhist—taught by Buddha, or as a Muslim—taught by Mohammed. I pray as a Christian, taught by Christ, who has given us a framework to offer our prayers to God. Jesus has taught us to pray with reference to the Father’s name, kingdom and will, for example. And we may also pray with a reference to our heavenly Father meeting our daily physical and spiritual needs. Jesus teaches us these references clearly in his disciples’ prayer called “the Lord’s prayer.” As we then do the expressed will of God in Christ Jesus, let us make prayer the default mode in our daily living.

 

            How? I will refrain from giving us a recipe—a list of 3 or 5 steps toward making prayer the default of daily living. But here’s a way to begin and practice daily, regular prayer: practice the presence of God in your life.

How? By acknowledging the very presence of Jesus in your life each moment of each day. I’ve learned to do this already when I was a child—having internal conversations with Jesus. I learned more about this from others, such as Brother Lawrence, a medieval Christian monk who taught his friends to practice the presence of Christ.

 

It’s a practice that anyone can learn to develop. You talk with Christ and act upon this truth: though you do not see him with the naked eye, you believe that he is present. Talk to him; listen to him; acknowledge him in your driving the car, running your business, dealing with the kids. Invite Jesus, time and time again, into all your daily activities and relationships: when you play volleyball; ride the bus; deal with those “bullies” at school; or wonder whether you should accept that crack cocaine offered to you.

 

Acknowledge the presence of Jesus in your life. And a wondrous thing will happen: you will discover that cruising through the high ways and byways of life can be done with prayer as your default mode.

 

In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.