Are your prayers awe-full

I have spent a lot of time studying Jesus and teaching about the actions of this infamous rabbi and the unpredictable way he moved in this world. But in doing so I have neglected much...

Looking at the history of the human race reveals just how often we totally miss the point and mess everything up.

God gave Mankind a new creation and we couldn't handle it. We build structures and accumulated wealth and power by violence and oppression.

And each time God tried to help us, tried to show the human race a better way to live we managed to muck it up.

Take Noah, If anyone had a chance at moving us in the right direction it was this guy. He had a freshly power washed earth, he and his family were the only people around and he had a direct line to God (God spoke to him and he to God). And yet he dies drunk and naked.

The Israelites, having been rescued from slavery in Egypt, knew first hand the dark side of human power and how centralized human control can be corrupted. And yet they cried out for a human King. Eventually their kings used slave labor to build massive temples and palaces, horded 666 tons of gold (an interesting amount), and used their wealth and power to fortify citys and build armies to the point they were importing and exporting weapons (we would call them arms dealers).

And those are just the highlights!

So when God announces through his prophets that he is going to enter the world and help guide us we should take note...

And when He does show up in the flesh we should listen and do everything he says...

And so with-out further wasting words from me lets get on with the studying of what he said.

First lets look at His teachings on prayer (being that this may be the single most important spiritual discipline).

Mat 6:5
"And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full.

What is a hypocrite?

hypocrites - Greek for One who plays a part, The classical word for an actor.

Why would they stand?

If you were in a noisy room and want to get everyone's attention what would you do? You would probably raise your voice and maybe even stand up to make people look and see what you are doing. this is why they had the Reader of the scrolls stand in the synagogue...

Mat 6:6
But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

Most of the folks Jesus was teaching were poor fishermen and peasants (If you follow Jesus travels around on a map you will see he carefully avoided the shiny fancy city's and stuck almost exclusively to small poor villages). They mostly lived in small one or two room houses. The only interior door was to a small store room where they could lock away their family's most prized possessions. I imagine the most beautiful and tragic things happened in those closets...

Mat 6:7
And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words.

The Romans considered Caesar a God. This is how they addressed him:

"Emperor Caesar Galerius Valerius Maximianus Invictus Augustus, Pontifex Maximum, Germanicus Maximus, Egyptiacus Maximus, Thebaicus Maximus, Sarmaticus Maximus (five times), Persicus Maximus (twice), Carpicus Maximus, Holder of Tribunician Authority for the twentieth time, Imperator for the nineteenth, Consul for the eighth, Pater Patriae, Proconsul."

This was done to impress Caesar and make him feel important. If you addressed him well he would more disposed to grant your request or show you mercy. But if you botched it or rushed through it it was not going to be a good day for you.

But Jesus says You can't impress God. He doesn't care about all your titles. This harmonizes with what the writer of Ecclesiastes suggests about appraoching god.

Ecc 5:1-7 Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. Go near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools, who do not know that they do wrong. Do not be quick with your mouth, do not be hasty in your heart to utter anything before God. God is in heaven and you are on earth, so let your words be few. As a dream comes when there are many cares, so the speech of a fool when there are many words. When you make a vow to God, do not delay in fulfilling it. He has no pleasure in fools; fulfill your vow. It is better not to vow than to make a vow and not fulfill it. Do not let your mouth lead you into sin. And do not protest to the temple messenger, "My vow was a mistake." Why should God be angry at what you say and destroy the work of your hands? Much dreaming and many words are meaningless. Therefore stand in awe of God.

So from 1-3 we see We should- listen, be patent,use few words... We should not- offer sacrifices, or speak with out thinking

Then in 4-6 we are warned against trying to make a vow (a bargain with God)

and in 7 the writer sums it up with the best way to approach communication with God "Stand in Awe"

And these attitudes also harmonize with Jesus parable on prayer.

Luk 18:10"Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.
The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: 'God, I thank you that I am not like other men-robbers, evildoers, adulterers-or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.' "But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, 'God, have mercy on me, a sinner.' "I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."

Mat 6:8
Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

What is 6:8 all about?

**Just a note I don't have a "prayer life." I have a life, and I pray. I reject any idea that the two should be seperate which is probably not what was meant when the phrase was first coined, but that is what it has become for many.**

Have you checked your feet lately?

12After washing their feet, he put on his robe again and sat down and asked, “Do you understand what I was doing? 13You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and you are right, because that’s what I am. 14And since I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash each other’s feet. 15I have given you an example to follow. Do as I have done to you. 16I tell you the truth, slaves are not greater than their master. Nor is the messenger more important than the one who sends the message. 17Now that you know these things, God will bless you for doing them. John 13:12-17 ( NLT )( Jhn 13:12 )

Anybody who has ever been in a men’s locker room or raised teenage boys knows what “sticky feet” is all about. There is really no description for the aroma that assaults ones olfactory senses from the sneakers and socks of an athlete. Well I’ll go you one better.

In Jesus’ day, sandals or bare feet were the rule, not the summer time exception. Closed toe footwear or socks were unheard of. We all have sandals or Tevas, so that is no big deal. However, the sandal covered feet of Jesus’ day were walking on dirty, dusty, possibly stone paths or muddy trails. These were the same “roadways” that the animals took. Horses, donkeys, camels, goats, cattle, and sheep, to best of my knowledge, were not house broken during that time or even now for that matter. So dust and dirt of the road was the least of travelers’ problems. The Department of Public Works didn’t keep the streets too clean; that was left to a good rain storm. EEEEeewwwwweee.

It was a standard hospitality practice in Palestine to offer a visitor a basin of water to wash their feet when they came to your home. That’s a big no kidding; who would want someone walking through the house with those dirty feet; certainly not my mother. In wealthy homes, the lowliest of the servants was given the task of washing the visitor’s feet.

Jesus said, “Now that I your teacher and Lord have washed your feet, you are to do that for one another.” Do we even have a clue? Our garage-door-opener-fenced-in-back-yard-stick-to-our- computer-monitor lives can’t begin to image that kind of personal, almost intimate, contact with someone. Is Jesus asking us to be space invaders with each other? I’m pretty sure He is. How can we really disciple someone unless we are willing and able to wash their feet? Will we wade into the mud and muck of what they have walked through in their lives?

I have seen God do some powerful stuff when people have literally washed one another’s feet. As I have been blessed to see and participate in this awesome practice I have often wondered who is this more humbling for, the washer or the washee? In either case, the heart must be vulnerable, open, even exposed.

The one that extends the foot and the one who receives the foot, each must be willing to expose themselves to each other. Please notice; Jesus began by stripped down to undergarments. Jesus became vulnerable first. We must lead the same way in washing one another’s feet. We can convey safety and vulnerability by stripping away all pretense, and masks and stuff that gets in the way of us being in real relationship with one another. It will be much easier for someone to expose their filthy feet to someone who is kneeling before them in their skivvies.

I think that you and I would agree, in principle if not in practice, that it is easier to give than to receive; especially in foot washing. Is it possible for someone to wash your feet? Will you expose the mud and the dung you have walked through in your travels?

One of the things that the Catholic Church has gotten right is the confessional. We Protestants tend to run from anything Catholic just in principle without really examining what we are running from. Confession is cathartic. It is meant to be way. Yes, we confess our sins to God and He is faithful and just to forgive us and cleanse us (1Jo 1:9 ). But, what about James 5:16 (Jam 5:16) ? “Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed.” How many times have we not felt forgiven, not felt cleansed, after we have confessed our sins to God. Confession, to one another, is healing.

When we extend our foot to the one who washes them, we are saying, these are my sins; these are my burdens. There is an important transaction between us and God, and the foot washer and the one whose foot is being washed. It is sacramental, because grace is conveyed between us and God, between each other. Boy, do we ever need that kind of grace.

So you want to be disciple makers (Mat 28:19) ? Carry a basin and a towel. You’ll need it.