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Holy Trinity Anglican Orthodox Church
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Rogation Sunday |
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May 13, 2007 Luke 11:1-13 Praying with Confidence. From our earliest days, mankind has realized our dependence upon God, and has set aside time in the spring to seek Him in prayer and ask Him to grant the rains and sunshine necessary to grow the crops and provide the food for the coming year. Those of the Anglican tradition have historically observed the three days before Ascension Sunday, and especially, the Fifth Sunday after Easter for this purpose. They have called these days Rogation Days. Likewise they have called the Fifth Sunday after Easter, Rogation Sunday, which derives from a Latin word meaning “to ask.” Today we join Christians around the world, especially those in the Anglican Orthodox Church, in sincere prayer for God’s blessings upon the fields and crops and farmers of the world. In our time of supermarkets and prepared foods it is easy to forget just how dependant we are upon the weather. We can withstand several years of crop failures because we have a surplus of food in storage and because we can always buy food from other countries. But it is still the farmer who feeds the world, and it is still God Almighty who sends the rain and the sun and actually grows the food, and if we have too many bad crop years, the world will begin to experience hunger. Our text for this morning, addresses the whole aspect of prayer, but especially the aspect of praying in faith, or with confidence. In many cultures it has been thought that God, or the gods, required much repetition of asking because they needed to be convinced to give the rains and supply man’s needs. If you recall the priests of Baal on Mount Carmel, who wailed and beat themselves for hours in their attempts to get an answer to their prayers, you understand what I mean. Many cultures believed human sacrifice was required before the gods would give the crops. I am reluctant to disparage other churches, yet I truly believe that much of what passes for prayer in many of them is simply a continuation of the pagan attempts to manipulate God through vain repetition, and emotional fervor. It is also an attempt to produce a feeling in themselves, because, rather than praying, they attempt to feel like they are praying. There is no basis for that in Scripture. That is not the way Jesus prayed. There are many sayings of Jesus that teach us to persevere in prayer, but that is because we need to learn to trust God and to be patient, not because we can convince God to give us something if we pester Him long enough. The whole point Jesus is making in our text is that God does not need to be cajoled into doing good. The friend in Luke 11:8 gave the bread because the other man needed it. He would rather have laid in bed, but because his friend needed bread, he gave it to him. If a sinful human being can be moved to action by the need of a friend, how much more can we expect the God of Heaven to supply what we need? A second point is that God does not play tricks on us in His answers to our prayers. Some people say, “Be careful what you pray for,” as though God delights to trick us. There is a fictional story of a little boy who prayed and prayed for a tiger. He prayed for months, and one day, walking through the jungle, he found a baby tiger. “Thank you, God,” he cried, hugging the cute little creature. The mother tiger, thinking he was harming her baby, leaped out of the jungle and promptly ate the little boy. Such stories are often quoted by those who say, “be careful what you pray for,” as though God sent the tiger in answer to prayer as a trick. But God does not play tricks on us. Human parents are sinners, but even they give good things to those they love. They do not give serpents when their children ask for fish. They do not give stones when their children ask bread, or scorpions when they ask for eggs. If fallen, sinful human parents can do this, how much better will our Heavenly Father do for us? God, who is without sin, who never changes, who is perfect in love and mercy and power, and goodness, will do far better for us than even the best of men. He will answer prayer “as may be most expedient for us.” He will provide for our needs. He will send the rains and the sun. He gives because we nee His gifts, and He gives what we need. He gives not only what is good, but also what is best. He gives the Holy Spirit, which here encompasses all of our spiritual needs before God. If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to
your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy
Spirit to them that ask him? And how do we ask God for these blessings? Just ask. Simple, direct prayer, is all we need to do. Prayer does not have to be done in an emotional fervor, nor are eloquence or repetition required to convince God to answer us. Just ask. So, the message of this passage is, pray with confidence. Know that God is better than all the people who love you in this earth, and know that He will provide you with all the very best things you need. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.
The Rev. Dr. R. Dennis Campbell, Vicar, Holy Trinity Anglican Church,
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