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Week One: PRAYER

2nd Sunday of Lent

Draw Near: Life-giving habits for lent: PRAYER
(by Revd. Canon Emma Racklyeft)

If you had to describe your prayer life right now in one word, what would it be and why?

  1. Introduction: The Magnetic Call of Prayer
    Prayer is often misunderstood - some see it as a religious or moral duty, for others it is a shopping list of requests and petitions, for some prayer is our intercessions in church each week, for some prayer is done in a hurry as we dash off to work or school each day.  

 

Prayer is not meditation, positive thinking or passive reflection, but it is actually our primary way to draw near to God. In James 4:8, we find a beautiful, divine promise: "Draw near to God and He will draw near to you". This is a deliberate act of the heart—a "magnetic" pull where our small step toward Him is met by His gracious, loving movement toward us [1.1].

 

Prayer is the communication of the human soul with Almighty God.  In prayer, a believer of Jesus Christ, can communicate emotion, desire, longings, and find fellowship, peace and rest. 

 

Prayer can be audible or silent, private or public, formal or informal.

All prayer is offered in faith, in the name of the Lord Jesus, and in the power of the Holy Spirit.

Prayer is described in the Bible as seeking God’s favour (Exodus 32:11), pouring out one’s soul to the Lord (1 Samuel 1:15), crying out to heaven (2 Chronicles 32:20), drawing near to God (Psalm 73:28, KJV), and kneeling before the Father (Ephesians 3:14). 

 

Prayers involves a turning to God – recognising, acknowledging God’s beauty, power and holiness and so it involves awe and adoration.  As we pray, we need to acknowledge our own mess and sin, and so prayer involves confession, and lament. Prayer often involves intercession – requests for our world, our communities, for others and for ourselves.  Prayer should also include thanksgiving, counting our blessing, gratitude.  And prayer also involves us yielding to God’s will, handing things over to God, praying that God’s kingdom would come…not ours – supplication.

 

This week as we’ve been reading our Lent booklets – we will have picked up on these themes.

 

Today we’re focussing on two passages Luke 11 and Philippians 4 - both passages give us guidance and advice as we learn the holy habit of prayer.

 

So, let’s begin with Luke 11.

 

  1. The Pattern: The Shape of the Saviour’s Prayer (Luke 11:1-4)
    In Luke 11, the disciples didn’t ask Jesus how to preach, or how to perform miracles, or how to sing songs of worship; instead, they ask, "Lord, teach us to pray." 

 

Jesus responded with a theological blueprint – a pattern—a way to orient our souls, to realign our inner lives, before we ever ask for a miracle, or help:

 

  • The Upward Look (Adoration): He begins with "Father, hallowed be Your name." Prayer starts by acknowledging Who we are talking to. We centre ourselves on His holiness, His mercy and truth.  We stand in awe, that a God who is just and good graciously welcomes us. Jesus called His father Abba – and we can too, this Aramaic word for father signifies an intimate, trusting, and familial relationship with God.  Our relationships is direct and personal, not distant or removed. Our relationship begins with adoration and awe.
  • The Outward Look (Kingdom): Next in the blueprint, Jesus tells us to pray - "Your kingdom come." This is a prayer of submission, asking that His eternal priorities would override our temporary/fleeting agendas. We look to God for His kingdom – not ours.
  • The Inward Look (Provision and Pardon): Only after focusing on God's glory do we bring our needs: "Give us each day our daily bread" and "Forgive us our sins." This creates a rhythm of total dependence—relying on Him for both our physical survival and our spiritual standing. We look to God for provision and for pardon.

 

III. The Illustration: Shameless Audacity (Luke 11:5-13)
Having given the pattern, Jesus then addresses the posture of the person praying through the "Friend at Midnight":

  • The Scene: In the ancient Near East, hospitality was a sacred duty. When a traveller arrived at midnight, the host had no bread. To avoid the public shame of being inhospitable, he went to his neighbour.
  • The "Shameless" Friend: The Greek word for persistence here is anaideia, (an-ah-EYE-dee-ah) meaning "shameless audacity". The man wasn't just politely asking; he was banging on the door until his neighbour got up. He didn't care about looking foolish; he cared about the need.
  • The Application: Jesus uses a "how much more" argument: If even a grumpy neighbour eventually helps because of your bold persistence, how much more will your perfect Heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?

 

IV. The Result: Peace That Surpasses Understanding (Philippians 4:4-7)
When we follow this pattern with bold persistence, our internal landscape shifts from anxiety to authority, from fear to love, form stress to peace.  Philippians 4 describes the "equation for peace":

  • Trade Anxiety for Access: Paul commands us to "be anxious for nothing". Instead, in everything, we present our requests with thanksgiving. Worry about nothing – pray about everything.
  • Everything? Yes, God wants us to talk with Him about everything. How often should we pray? The biblical answer is “pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17). We should keep a running conversation going with God all day long. Prayer develops our relationship with God and demonstrates our trust and utter dependence upon Him.
  • The Logic-Defying Guard: This peace is "supernatural" because it doesn't match our circumstances. Paul uses the military term phroureō, (froo-REH-o) meaning "to garrison" or "to stand guard". Just as soldiers protected the city of Philippi, God’s peace stands as a sentinel at the door of your heart and mind, keeping fear from "breaking in" while you are "drawing near."

V. Call to Action: The "7-Day Draw Near" Challenge
Knowing the pattern and the promise isn't enough; we must step through the door. This week, I challenge you to practice three specific movements in your prayer life:

  1. The 5-Minute Hallowing: Before you ask for a single thing, spend the first five minutes of your prayer time "hallowing" His name. List His attributes—His faithfulness, His power, His kindness—until your heart feels the weight of His Holy presence.
  2. The "Shameless" Request: Identify one "midnight" situation in your life—something that feels desperate or impossible. Like the man in the parable, bring it to God with shameless audacity every single day this week. Don't stop knocking.
  3. The Thanksgiving Guard: Every time an anxious, fearful thought tries to "break in," immediately counter it with a "thank you." If you worry about a bill, thank God for His past provision. Use gratitude to post the guard over your mind.

Conclusion
Drawing near to God is a conscious choice to knock until the door opens. When you do, you don't just get an answer; you get the Garrison of Peace standing watch over your life.

 

Closing Prayer

 

As St Augustine once said – You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in thee.


Heavenly Father, thank You for the pattern and posture of prayer that Jesus gave us. Help us to be "shameless" in our pursuit of You. May Your peace, which defies understanding, guard our hearts and minds this week as we choose to draw near. We pray in the name of Jesus, Amen.