In you, O Lord, I seek refuge; do not let me ever be put to shame; in your righteousness deliver me. Incline your ear to me; rescue me speedily. Be a rock of refuge for me, a strong fortress to save me. You are indeed my rock and my fortress; for your name's sake lead me and guide me, take me out of the net that is hidden for me, for you are my refuge. Into your hand I commit my spirit; you have redeemed me, O Lord, faithful God. You hate those who pay regard to worthless idols, but I trust in the Lord. I will exult and rejoice in your steadfast love, because you have seen my affliction; you have taken heed of my adversities, and have not delivered me into the hand of the enemy; you have set my feet in a broad place. (Psalm 31:1-8 NRSV)

For this Third Sunday of Advent,
I have promised to preach on prayer
as a means
as a way
of preparing for the coming of Jesus Christ
our Lord and Savior.

Now somebody -- who will remain nameless -- asked me this week
Why I was going to preach on prayer.

This dear individual rightly observed that
Christians should always pray.
They shouldn’t have to be told,
or reminded,
that they should be praying in these 12 days before Christmas.
They should be praying already, out of faith and devotion.

This dear soul was absolutely correct.
Unfortunately,
what we should be doing
and what we actually do
don’t
always
agree
do they?

I find that a scary, sobering thought
myself.

I mean,
As we prepare for the coming of our Lord,
How ill we see and know him,
when he comes,
if we cannot hear or understand him?

And the only real way to know him,
the only real way to
hear his voice and know it is His,
is if you have
heard it before--in prayer.

Remember, prayer is not in what we say to God--
that’s just so much Babbling Baby Talk.

Prayer is in what God is saying to us.

And, this morning,
the best way I can think of to help us see how
prayer prepares us to hear Jesus,
is by actually experiencing it.

Today, we're going experience what it means to pray with and through the Scriptures.


Would you pray with me now.

Gracious God, move among us this day so that we may always know that we are never alone; and speak to us so that we may always hear, understand, and remember -- give us your word by which you mold and shape our living; in Jesus Name we pray. Amen.

A four year old boy once saw a picture of Christ praying
and asked what Jesus was doing in that picture.
When he was told that Jesus was praying,
the youngster responded by asking to whom was Jesus praying?
After being told that Jesus was praying to God,
this smart young boy replied: “But Jesus IS God!”

This same thought was captured well by St. Cyprian,
who said: “If Jesus, who was without sin, prayed
How much more it becomes a sinner to pray.”

My fellow sinners --
If we expect to be ready for Jesus when he comes
If we expect to hear his voice when he cries out in the stable
If we expect to understand his calling to us in our daily living.
Then we M U S T pray.

Now, I am not about to stand up here and tell you that
prayer is an easy thing to do.

Prayer--
True prayer
is just about the hardest thing
that one can commit oneself to doing.

Most of you know that Daily Morning and Evening Prayer
is an important part of my personal spiritual life.
It, along with weekly attendance at a Holy Communion Service,
has been my source of spiritual nourishment for many years, now.

But,

When people have asked me what I pray about
what I say to God in my morning and evening prayer times
I really have nothing to say.

I follow a prescribed ritural for prayer,
one similar to that which can be found in the back of the UM Hymnal.
From a spectator's point-of-view
it doesn’t look like much is going on, I suppose.
I read some scripture,
pray some written prayers,
sing a hymn,
and then sit quietly for a few minutes,
eyes focused on a candle,
on an icon,
on a passage of scripture,
on a list of prayer needs,
a list of names ....

Usually, nothing happens.
Sometimes, I am shocked at what DOES happen.

I want to invite each of you,
this morning,
to experience of praying with and through the Scriptures.

I have been asked why I read scripture in my prayer time.
Put simply, I know of no better way to begin listening for that
still, quite voice of God
then by first attuning myself
to the loud shouts of God’s voice
to be found in the Holy Bible.

I want you to close your eyes--
Now, don’t fall asleep --
and allow your soul to pray through the following verses from the Psalms
Allow your mind, your imagination, to visualize with the words here.
Place yourself within these verses, and make them your prayer:

In you, O Lord, I seek refuge;
do not let me ever be put to shame;
in your righteousness deliver me.
Incline your ear to me;
rescue me speedily.
Be a rock of refuge for me,
a strong fortress to save me.
You are indeed my rock and my fortress;
for your name's sake lead me and guide me,
take me out of the net that is hidden for me,
for you are my refuge.
Into your hand I commit my spirit;
you have redeemed me,
O Lord, faithful God.
You hate those who pay regard to worthless idols,
but I trust in the Lord.
I will exult and rejoice in your steadfast love,
because you have seen my affliction;
you have taken heed of my adversities,
and have not delivered me into the hand of the enemy;
you have set my feet in a broad place. (Psalm 31:1-8 NRSV)

Refuge....
the Refuge of Prayer.

Discovering the refuge of prayer
to be found in the pages of the Holy Bible
is the greatest step any of us, myself included,
can make toward preparing
for the coming of the Christ Child.

Not to mention his return in clouds of glory.

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