Letting Go

Letting Go
by Deacon Terry:
Luke 11:1-13
Jesus was praying in a certain place, and after he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, "Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples." He said to them, "When you pray, say:
Father, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread. And forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone indebted to us. And do not bring us to the time of trial."
And he said to them, "Suppose one of you has a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say to him, `Friend, lend me three loaves of bread; for a friend of mine has arrived, and I have nothing to set before him.' And he answers from within, `Do not bother me; the door has already been locked, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot get up and give you anything.' I tell you, even though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, at least because of his persistence he will get up and give him whatever he needs.
"So I say to you, Ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. Is there anyone among you who, if your child asks for a fish, will give a snake instead of a fish? Or if the child asks for an egg, will give a scorpion? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!"


So, about 35 years ago our daughter, Liz, who was about 10 years old, kept asking for a puppy. We nicely explained that we were all too busy to care for a puppy, train it, take it out and all the stuff you need to do. She was very persistent in her asking, and we managed to keep the puppy request at bay.
Then, one day while at the Big E, she saw a puppy and as luck will have it, was for sale. So, the asking started again. Then the begging, the negotiating and the promising. I don’t remember the price but I think it was about $500. Well at the time we needed a new deck on the back of our house and we had saved up about $500 for the new deck, and we were just about to purchase the materials.
I’ll take care of the puppy, I promise!
So, we couldn’t say “no” any longer. We got the puppy.
There went our new deck for a couple of more years.
Oh – we named the puppy “DECKA”, as a replacement for our deck!
So each time we cleaned up after the dog, we could remember what we gave up.
Could that story be our story?
How we ask, beg, negotiate and promise God for “things we want”?
If we look at our prayer life, do we use the Lord’s Prayer as a foundation in our communication with God, or is God a “Genie”, where we rub the prayer bowl, hoping our wishes to come through?
Are we like Liz (our daughter), asking for the puppy, we keep asking God for the same thing each time we pray?
We make promises to God, should he answer our prayers the way we want them answered.
Think about your prayer life.
Do you ask God for the same thing each time you pray?
Like, watch over those I love, our church, the sick, the homeless, the refugee, etc., etc.
So, if God knows what we need before we do, why do we pray?
Why do we ask for the same things each time we pray?
The Lord’s Prayer is a prayer that Jesus taught His disciples and we read about it in today’s Gospel.
Technically, what is commonly called “the Lord’s Prayer” would be better named “the Model Prayer,” since Jesus was using this prayer as a pattern for His disciples to follow.
Some people misunderstand the Lord’s Prayer to be a prayer we are supposed to recite word for word. Some people treat the Lord’s Prayer as a magic formula, as if the words themselves have some specific power or influence with God.
Scripture teaches the opposite. God is far more interested in our hearts when we pray than, He does in our words.
He says “When you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then you’re Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words”.
Philippians says “In prayer, we are to pour out our hearts to God, not simply recite memorized words to God”. The Lord’s Prayer should be understood as an example, a pattern, of how to pray. It gives us the “ingredients” that should go into prayer.
Here is how I see it breaks down.
“Our Father in heaven” is teaching us who to address our prayers to
“Hallowed be your name” telling us to worship God.
“Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven” is a reminder that we are to pray for God’s plan, not our own.
To pray for God’s will, not our desires.
That - in my mind is the hardest part of this model prayer. “Letting go”
We are encouraged to ask God for the things we need, when he says
“Give us today our daily bread.”
One of the rules of the Third Order Franciscans is – to live simply. Live with what you need, not what you want.


Another tough one;
Because society tells us what we need in order to be happy.
“Forgive our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us”
Reminds us to confess our sins to God, and forgive others as God has forgiven us.
How’s that working out for us? People do us wrong, we try so hard to forgive and forget.
It’s so hard to forgive, and even harder to forget.
“And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil”
It’s a plea for help over sin and a request for protection.
Temptation – another hard one to avoid. But, again, the Lord’s Prayer is not a prayer we are to mindlessly recite back to God.
It is simply an example of how we should be praying. Is there anything wrong with memorizing the Lord’s Prayer? Of course not!
Is there anything wrong with praying the Lord’s Prayer back to God? Not if your heart is in it and you truly mean the words you say.
Remember, in prayer, God is far more interested in our communicating with Him and speaking from our hearts than He is in the specific words we use. In Philippians 4:6-7 we are told,
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
Prayer takes on many forms.
Here is a bit of my prayer life experience.
I was taught The Lord’s Prayer when I was young. I “said it” very frequently.
But, I must admit, I didn’t really understand what I was praying, I was simply doing what I was told to do and I was sincerely doing it.
Over time my prayer life changed, matured, or more realistically, guided by God’s Holy Spirit opened up to a whole new way of communicating with God.
I can remember when I was maybe in my twenties hearing some older ladies talking about how they prayed the rosary and I thought, “you’ve got to be kidding me”, just counting beads and saying the same thing over and over again and again, what a joke”.
I can remember my Baptist friends praying for what seemed hours. And my thinking was, “get me outta here”.
I’ve noticed over the years how my prayer life has changed dramatically.
In my younger years I prayed mainly for myself
Now I pray mainly for others
In my younger years I prayed for success
Now I am grateful for what I have
In my younger years I prayed for worldly goods
Now I pray to live simply
In my younger years I prayed to acquire money
Now I realize it’s not as important as I thought
Over time I have come to realize that prayer, communication with God can be different for each of us.
Some of us like structured prayer life, where we read when we can’t seem to find the words.
Some of us like to do all the talking in our own way, expressing our inner thoughts and feelings.
Some of us like to simply listen, listen for God.
Whatever your style is, it’s just fine and more power to ya.
Using the Lord’s Prayer as a guide to help us focus on what Jesus tells us is important.
I’m not the sharpest blade in the box, but I have learned that prayer is critical in our Christian journey.
Taking the time to talk to God in whatever way we are most comfortable and to listen for God creates a relationship that is personal and hard to express to others.
When we let go and listen for God, we find ourselves open to what God is doing in our lives and we are better positioned to accept that.
It is my belief that no matter how or where you pray it comes down to one thing and one thing only.
LETTING GO!
Letting go with control and trying to control everything in our lives.
From what you and others are going to do today according to the Gospel of us, even trying to control when and how we die.
When we can start “letting go”, I GUARANTEE, we will be in closer union with God.
When we accept that God knows what we need and when, we will begin to find ultimate peace in our lives.
I say it again.
LET GO
AMEN