always pray

from my sermon on Children's Sabbath, Oct. 17, 2010, from Luke 18:1-8

Jesus is on the way to Jerusalem. Along the way, he tells a story about how we need to always pray and not lose heart. The hero in the story is a widow, who has no power, no standing in the community, much like a child. The bad guy in the story is a judge who doesn't care what God or others think, yet he grants the woman's request. The point is that God is not like this judge, but rather grants our prayers graciously. The women is a model for persistent prayer. Today, I want to give you some practical ways of praying with and for children. Even if your children have long gone, or you don't have any children, you still might get a nugget that leads you to more constant prayer.

1. Meal times---how many of you say a grace over a meal at least sometimes? A bunch of you, terrific. Our meals can become more than just the intake of calories; they can become like the meal we have at this table, the sacrament of communion, where we sense the nearness of Christ. You may have some standard prayers: Bless this food to the nourishment of our bodies and our bodies to thy service, or God is great, God is good, now we thank him for our food.

2. Thank you God for---At meal times and other times, you can complete this sentence. We are going to try it right now, starting on this side of the sanctuary and going over here. You may be able to say it out loud. We will do a popcorn prayer. Just go off like popcorn kernels when I point to you. It doesn't matter if others hear what you say; God has big ears and wil receive all of these prayers.

3. Help me God---Let's try this one out loud too......I heard from adults help with patience....I heard from children help with tests.

4. I am sorry for--This one goes deeper. It is like a prayer of confession. You may not be able to say it out loud. You may pray it so deep that only God can hear it.

5. Singing--A great old saint of the church (Augustine) said, "the one who sings pray twice." We can sing our grace. The Johnny Appleseed song: Oh the Lord's been good to me, and so I thank the Lord, for giving me the things I need, the sun, the rain and the appleseed, oh the Lord's been good to me. Or the doxology: Praise God from whom all blessings flow, praise God all creature here below, praise God above ye heavenly hosts, praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Or John Wesley's grace to the same tune: Be present at our table Lord, be here and everywhere adored, these favors bless and grant that we, may feast in fellowship with thee.

6. Humor--we could sing Wesley's grace to a different tune, like Fernando's Hideaway. It is okay to laugh and smile as part of our praying. A mom was about to give birth to her 3rd child. She had a 7 yr old daughter and a 4 yr old son. The 3rd child was another boy. The girl said, "Oh, I prayed for a little sister." The boy said, "I must have prayed harder." (laughter) Of course God doesn't work this way, but it is good to have humor in our praying.

7. Icon---An icon is a symbol that calls us into an awareness of God. It can be something as simple as a candle. Our boys when they were little used to run through the house, sometimes clothed, sometimes not. At dinner they might run by and grab some food off the table. We learned to turn off the lights, and light a single candle. That got their attention. We slowed down, we sat down, and it became a different atmosphere. You might try flowers, or a picture, or a rock, or anything that calls you into the presence of Christ.

8. Bed time--my hunch is that you children have a routine for going to bed. You might have supper and brush your teeth and take a bath and read stories and say prayers. In church language you have ritual, an order of worship. You know what is coming next and that brings comfort to you. Our children's minister has some wonderful resources of Bible stories if you want to contact her at the email address I will provide in a section below. Another way of praying is to read the blessings that this congregation wrote for you at your baptism. You can take the new picture directory and match the face of the family praying for you. Sometimes people tell me that they fall asleep while saying their bedtime prayers. They tell me they feel guilty when they do that. I want to relieve you of that guilt. What better way to go to sleep that praying with God and resting in God's arms.

9. Repeat after me---sometimes at meal times or bed times or other times, we can do a repeat after me prayer. You can say God bless mommy and daddy and .... You can say Dear God, thank you for this day, thank you for your children, thank you for Jesus who loves all the children. In his name. Amen. The Lord's prayer can be learned as a repeat after me prayer.

10. Seasons of the church year--we Christians tell time differently and it is a good way to remember what God is doing in our lives. Advent, the season of preparation before Christmas is fast approaching. You can have a creche scene and add characters ( a sheep, a donkey, an angel, etc.) each day or week. The wise men can draw closer. You can have an advent calendar with the little windows that open each day. Hilary would be happy to share with resources for praying through the year if you would contact her at HMartin@westlake-umc.org or www.candlepress.com.

11. Praying with others at worship and Sunday School--it is a good thing for us to gather and pray together, but our prayers don't have to end here. The worship bulletin will have a call to worship, a prayer of confession, a unison prayer, etc. These can be taken home and used throughout the week. Parents can ask of children: what did you learn today? Where did you experience Christ today?

12. Situations--you can use anything as a call to pray. Hasn't the fall been glorious? Thank you God for this beautiful sunrise. When I hear a siren, I pray for the fire, or police, or EMS, and I pray for the situation they are handling. In times of crisis, we might say, "Help us God." I once had a man who had cancer. When I asked how I could pray for him he said, "Every time you open your can door, pray for me." I prayed for that man a lot. It is amazing how many times I got in and out of my car.

13. Breath prayers--you moms and dads when you get pregnant, what do you learn to do? To breathe. When you are in conflict, what is a good thing to do? To breathe. The Jesuits taught me a new definition of sin: it is the failure to pause. Breathing is a great way to slow down, to center, to call upon God, to pause. When you children hear the dreaded words, pop quiz, it is a good thing to breathe. I know we have said no prayer in school, but that is a lie. There is a lot of praying going on when there is a pop quiz.

This breath prayer concept is something I actually practice.

14. Praying with scripture--one of the things I do is to combine the breath prayer with a short piece of scripture. So for instance this past week, I breathed in and out II Tim. 4:5, "fulfill your ministry." I get tired sometimes, not physically tired, but tired of pettiness. The word came to me, "Fulfill your ministry." Sometimes, I can't sleep at night. I know I am the only one who has this problem. I breathe in and out some of my favorite scriptures: Cast all your anxiety upon him for he cares about you. The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. One of my most used breath prayers is "Lord Jesus Christ, son of God, have mercy upon me a sinner." I will say more about this prayer next week, so this is your teaser to come back.

By breathing and centering on scripture, you may find that you are praying a lot. Prayer becomes not a last resort, but a way of life. For me, it is a way of keeping sane. Prayer becomes a way to not lose heart.

15. Silence--so ofter we go to God with our list of demands or our mind made up about how God is going to answer. Silence allows God the opportunity to speak. We close in silence. Listen for what God is praying for us....and don't lose heart.