Preached at Baldwin Presbyterian Church, Tartan Sunday, April 25th 2010
Amongst the many writings that the great Scottish Reformer and shaper of Presbyterian belief, John Knox, left to the church, are words that he wrote about prayer. In a document titled “A Treatise On Prayer” he offers his beloved Scottish congregations ‘A declaration what true prayer is, how we should pray, and for what we should pray”
“Prayer” declares John Knox, “Is an earnest and familiar talking with God, to whom we declare our miseries, whose support and help we implore and desire in our adversities, and whom we laud and praise for our benefits received.”
Our Scripture from Acts gave us the dramatic account of Peter praying for Dorcas (also known as Tabitha)… a prayer that results in her being restored to life.
Now I'm not expecting that if you follow John Knox’s advice or Peter’s example that you will literally raise the dead. I would jump for joy if that did happen, but I'd also be kind of wary, because those sorts of things don't normally happen in Scripture unless God's got something huge about to take place. I do though want to share with you some perspectives on prayer that both John Knox’s words and Peter’s actions place before us in the hope they encourage us in our own prayer lives.
Firstly, notice that in order to pray Peter empties his environment of all distractions.
John Knox writes in his Treatise on prayer that “We should choose for our prayers such places as might offer least occasion to call us back from prayer”. Acts 9:40 tells us that when Peter went in to pray with Tabitha he told all the mourners that they were to leave. “Peter put all of them outside”.
Jesus taught the disciples, (Matthew 6:6) “When you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.” In our lectionary passage today from John 10:27 Jesus says “My sheep hear my voice.”
To concentrate on God we need to shut out the other voices. We need to make a space for private time with God. We need to schedule such times, because if you wait for them to come along, they won’t.
That space can be anywhere. We can drive the car to some isolated spot and park a while. We can take a warm bath and lock the door behind us. If we are a night owl we can make time after everybody else has gone to bed. If we’re a morning person we can give ourselves some space before everybody gets up.
At other times, in the business of the day, we can just keep the one liners going back and forth. In a service of worship we can join with each other in prayers and concerns... that’s important as well. But it’s not a substitute for a ‘One on One’ time for you and your God to get things sorted.
God blesses us as we develop a relationship with Him. If we’re not talking and we’re not listening – then we are not developing a relationship. And sadly we will be missing out on much God would wish to give us. Make time for prayer.
Secondly, notice the reverent atitude Peter has towards God.
Our text tells us “he knelt down and prayed”. Peter humbly falls to his knees and seeks God's will. By contrast we often come to God with a shopping list, as though God were Santa Claus, dispensing presents to good girls and boys. We treat God as some benevolent Bob the Builder who can fix everything...
“I know Lord, I haven’t been doing to well… no let’s be honest.. I’m in it up to my neck right now… I know it’s my fault… but.. well... if you just answer this prayer, I promise I’ll never miss another service in church for the rest of my life.. I’ll say the Lord’s Prayer every day... and I’ll even be nice to people ...I’ll double my offerings…what do you say… we got a deal?”
We are not called to be 'Bargain Basement Believers', haggling with God to get the most blessing for the least personal cost. That’s not prayer. That’s not the sort of conversation a parent enjoys with their child. That’s not building a relationship with God. Nor does it give God the rightful place in our lives.
John Knox in his Treatise instructs that we should remember “In whose presence we stand, to whom we speak, and what we desire”; that we are “Standing in the presence of the omnipotent Creator of heaven and earth”.
There's something humbling about bending the knee or bowing down. It's worshipful. It's a posture of submission. It shows reverence. A glance through the Book of Revelation reveals Jesus as One whom before the whole host of heaven bow down, worship and declare "Worthy is the Lamb who was slain". To bow before Him is the right response to make.
Notice how we need to make time for prayer.
Notice how we need to approach God in the right attitude.
Thirdly, be aware that if we neglect to pray we will not be able to do God’s will.
John Knox comments that to neglect prayer is the most odious sin of them all. To put that in plain English ... a Christian life without prayer really stinks! In his own words; “Oh, why cease we then to call immediately upon His mercy, having His commandment so to do! Above all our iniquities, we work manifest contempt and despising of Him, when by negligence we delay to call for His gracious support.”
When our lives are prayer-less they become powerless and dispirited. When there is no communication with God, then any claim to be doing the will of God, other than in a vague sense, is nothing more than self flattery. We need to make time to pray. We need to approach God with reverence. We need to recognize that the prayer-less life is a powerless life.
Fourthly, we should not put limits on what God can do!
I am not under the impression that when Peter walked into the room where Tabitha's body lay, that he walked in with the idea, "Right, what I'm going to do now is raise the dead." I believe that he emptied himself and listened in his spirit for what God was saying. Again we're back with John 10:27 "My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me".
What Peter didn't know... indeed what Tabitha's friends and family didn't know, was that God was about to do something huge. It was amazing that Tabitha should have been restored to life, but there's an even bigger thing unfolding.
If you read on in the story, you'll see that Christianity is about to make a radical departure from Judaism. Up until this time, God... the One True God, had been the God of the Israelites. The God of Abraham, Jacob and Moses. All that was about to change. Christianity was about to go worldwide! And one of the key figures in that change is going to be Peter. He's going to be right at the center of things.
Peter needed to be reminded who was in charge. That, whatever his feelings and inner turmoil, his life was in the hands of one greater than all. That God was still the God of miracles and that throughout the changes that were coming down the line God would be right with him in all His resurrection power.
When we pray we never know what may come of it. John Knox after he had fallen foul of the authorities ended up as a galley slave on a French ship. Rather than abandoning his faith and giving up he began working on a personal confession of faith and an account of his dispute with the Catholic Church. These works formed the basis of the Scots Confession, a document that was to change a whole country and define the political and religious life of Scotland after its adoption.
Many had written John Knox off and thought they had seen the last of him. Reflecting on the importance of prayer in his deliverance he writes “And therefore I dare be bold in the verity of God’s word to promise, that, notwithstanding the vehemency of trouble, the long continuance thereof, the despair of all men, the fearfulness, danger, distress and anguish of our own hearts, yet if we call constantly to God, that, beyond expectation of all men, He shall deliver.”
John Knox assets that when we pray God goes beyond our expectations. Peter discovered afresh in the raising of Tabitha that the life God promised truly was beyond anything he could have imagined.
As in our day we seek to see our own lives and the life of our church spring into new life, let us realize that it will never happen without prayer.
- In our personal lives let us carve out a place for prayer.
- When we pray let us approach God with reverence and the awareness of His majesty.
- Let us be aware that that a prayer-less life is a powerless life, that to not pray is not an option.
- Let us not put limits on what God can do but rather simply seek His will in every situation knowing that He is our Savior, our Deliverer, our Lord and our King.
Both the disciple Peter and the reformer John Knox bear witness that with God nothing is impossible. Inspired by such faith may we seek to be faithful disciples in our own day and time. Amen.
Rev. Adrian J. Pratt
The Full text of John Knox's 'Treatise on Prayer' can be found at the following web address: http://www.reformation-scotland.org.uk/articles/treatise-on-prayer.html
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