How to pray (part 2)

After Matthew 6:9-15 

First, the focus:

to whom, for whom,

about whom. Then:

the needs to be 

expressed, including

basic stuff (like

bread). Then:

acknowledgement

of the debts we owe

to others, thinking

debts in the broadest

sense. Then: avoidance

of temptation and

deliverance from evil.

Simply, short, direct.

But to punch home

the point, he emphasizes

forgiveness, that if you

want to be forgiven,

the lead the way,

be the example, just 

do it, yourself.

 

Photograph by Ben White via Unsplash. Used with permission.

Rules for life

After Matthew 6:9-15 

It is the best-known,

best-remembered,

most-often-spoken-aloud

instruction in the lengthy

rules for life explained

on that hillside

on that day.

It is embedded

within a series

of rules: blessings

and salt and light

and anger and lust

and divorce and oaths

and revenge and

enemies (live them!)

and giving and fasting

and anxiety and

judging and needs

and serving. Almost

right in the middle,

there it is: the rule

for how to pray.

 

Photograph by Jack Sharp via Unsplash. Used with permission.

Threading its way

After Matthew 6:9-13

It threads its way

from the salutation,

acknowledging

the kingdom,

acknowledging

the jurisdiction

of the kingdom, 

threading its way

forward and upward,

to the supplication,

the asks,

for bread, daily,

for forgiveness, daily,

as we forgive, daily,

and onward

the needle sews 

and embroiders,

to be delivered

from evil,

the evil one.

And we come back

to what was added,

a doxology of song,

a psalm, 

from the first years,

kingdom, power, glory,

amen.

The threading ends.

The embroidery is done.

Our hearts are sewn,

Embroidered together.

Amen.

Photograph by Anna Auza via Unsplash. Used with permission.

The prayer

After Matthew 6:9-13

It moves toward the end,

steadily rising, elevating

the voice, the head, the eyes,

as it moves toward the climax,

the grand conclusion,

the whole point of the prayer,

the whole point of the praying,

the whole point of the supplication,

the one presiding at the pinnacle,

the one who rules the kingdom,

the one who rules in power,

the one who rules in glory,

forever

and ever,

amen.

This is why you pray.

This is what you pray for.

This is the point of your prayer.

Hallelujah.

Amen.

Photograph by Tom Barrett via Unsplash. Used with permission.

Which one?

After Matthew 6:13

Is it evil, or

is it the evil one?

Before entering upon

a theological discourse,

perhaps we should first

ask, does it matter,

this parsing of words,

or is the idea the same.

Evil is the vile one;

the evil one is evil.

The reality is the same,

as it has always been

the same. Focus instead

on the other words,

deliver us from.

Photograph by Peter Forster via Unsplash. Used with permission.

Lead us not

After Matthew 6:13

It is there, a scarlet mist

or fog, sticking to our skins

or it feels like sticking,

surrounding and guiding us

to falter in the face

of difficulty, to rely upon

what we usually do,

to trip drunkenly into

business as usual, making 

ourselves little gods,

little idols. Lead us not

there; lead us to the rock,

the cleft in the rock,

the safe place,

the hiding place,

protected.

Photograph by JJ Jordan via Unsplash. Used with permission.

Debt is plural

After Matthew 6:12

He didn’t say my debt,

he said our, defining

debt as collective,

repayment as collective,

atonement as collective,

confession as collective,

day-to-day life as collective.

Debt is plural; we repay it

together. Forgiven people

forgive together.

Photograph by rupixen via Unsplash. Used with permission.

What is a debt?

After Matthew 6:12

What is a debt, to be

forgiven? A momentary

transaction, to be sure,

but the implication is

larger, something owed.

It might be monetary; but

the idea of debt suggests

something owed. Gossip

is a debt; a damaged

reputation is a debt. Fraud

is a debt. Substitution

is a debt. Life is a debt.

More.

To repay the debt, we are

to forgive as we are

forgiven, to live a life

of honor and service,

a life of atonement,

of mercy given freely,

of good bestowed widely,

as it has been given to us.

as it has been atoned

for us. 

Photograph by Ian Espinosa via Unsplash. Used with permission.

Why daily?

After Matthew 6:11

Why are we to pray

for bread, daily?

Why not weekly or

monthly, or at least

quarterly, a perfect

planning period

for corporations so why

not us? Surely, we

know our own needs

well enough to pray

for our quarterly bread.

Unless, we don’t know

what we need, not really;

perhaps we barely grasp

what we need daily;

who thought daily 

might be abstract?

Except it is. And asking

for daily bread keeps us

on our knees, a reminder

of how little we know,

how little we control.

Photograph by Monika Grabkowska via Unsplash. Used with permission.

More than bread

After Matthew 6:11

Bread is basic

but more is required

to live a day, one day,

daily. Bread is

sustenance, it is

health, it is provision,

it is love, it is life,

it is work, it is all

the things we need

to live a day, not

the things we want.

And to ask for it is

also a a metaphor.

a symbol of dependence

upon the source who

provides the bread,

daily.

Photograph by Helena Yankovska via Unsplash. Used with permission.

Bread

After Matthew 6:11

It’s not a reference

to rolls or brioche

or a French baguette

or Italian or sliced,

or whole wheat or rye

or corn or any other

variety or variation;

instead, it’s a symbol,

a metaphor, standing in

for what provides

sustenance and life

each day. And

each day, we are

to pray for it.

Simple.

Photograph by Miti via Unsplash. Used with permission.

The space between

After Matthew 6:10

There is a space

between a will

being done here

as it is there,

an implication

that it doesn’t

always work

that way, but

that’s how

it’s supposed

to work,

and so this space

between

a space that won’t

be filled until

the end, the time

ordained for

the space to fill,

the gap to close,

and until that

time, we wait

in the hope

that the space

closes soon.

Photograph by Aperture Vintage via Unsplash. Used with permission.

A kingdom

After Matthew 6:10

A kingdom, not

a republic, or

a democracy,

no congress,

no parliament,

no legislature,

no voice

of the people;

a kingdom,

with a king,

a ruler, one

to whom all

prayers and

supplications

flow, one

from above

to dispense

law, justice,

blessing and

grace.

And the prayer

is that it works

here like it

works there.

Photograph by Ivan Diaz via Unsplash. Used with permission.

How to begin

After Matthew 6:9

It’s not about you, when

you begin. It never is,

really, no matter what

you might think, sitting

there with needs and wants

stacked like a sagging

bookshelf.

It’s not about you, when

you pray. The direction 

is not horizontal but

vertical, looking upward,

eyes focused upward,

emphasis on our not my,

a further punctuation that

it’s not about us, but it is

us, collectively, raising

our voices upward, 

to our father, recognizing

the place where he sits,

where he resides, calling

to us as we call to him.

Photograph by Greg Rakozy via Unsplash. Used with permission.

How to pray

After Matthew 6:9

Then, we are instructed

to pray, the then a coda,

a summary of what was

spoken before: don’t heap

up empty phrases, don’t believe

that more words mean

a greater likelihood of being

heard; instead, pray in wisdom,

knowing the needs, requests,

supplications, desires are

already known. No surprises

here; he already knows.

Photograph by Naassom Azevedo via Unsplash. Used with permission.

We watched him pray

After Luke 11:1-4

A prayer, in a certain place:

we watched him pray,

his lips moving in silence,

eyes closed, head bowed;

a prayer designed to be

heard by only one. But

we couldn’t see or understand

what the words were,

so we asked how

and he told us how:

to acknowledge whom

to praise and lift up

to focus on him and his

not us and ours

to ask daily

to forgive daily

to avoid what leads us away

to avoid what leaves us astray

to deliver us

to praise, always

to praise daily

to praise, pray, always

He poured into us

for us to pour into others.

Photograph by Joshua Earle via Unsplash. Used with permission.