“I thank you, my Heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, Your dear Son, that You have kept me this night from all harm and danger; and I pray that You would keep me this day also from sin and every evil, that all my doings and life may please You. For into Your hands I commend myself, my body and soul, and all things. Let Your holy angel be with me, that the evil foe may have no power over me. Amen.”

The prayer we just prayed is Luther’s morning prayer. It is from Luther’s Small Catechism, which today we will be taking a closer look at in our adult bible class if you are interested in learning more. In short, the Small Catechism was written as a brief summary of the fundamental truths of the Christian faith. It was intended to be a tool parents could use to teach these truths, in a simple way, to their children. The Small Catechism contains summaries and explanations of the Ten Commandments, The Creed, The Lord’s Prayer, The Sacrament of Baptism, Confession, and the Sacrament of the Altar. Included among fundamental truths such as these is an entire section on prayer. In that section Luther gives detailed instructions as to how we might pray. For example, Luther’s Morning Prayer is printed under the following instructions. “In the morning when you get up, make the sign of the holy cross and say: “In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.” Then kneeling or standing, repeat the Creed and the Lord’s Prayer. If you choose, you may say this little prayer (Luther’s Morning Prayer that we just prayed) Then go to your work, singing a hymn, like that of the Ten Commandments, or whatever your devotion may suggest.”

Luther knew God Himself has invited us to pray… well, kind of. The word “invited” is not entirely accurate. To say that we are “invited” to pray captures the spirit of what God is saying to us, but it does not fully express the force of what God is saying to us. The word “invited” sometimes gives us the impression that we have a choice; that perhaps prayer is optional. Maybe that is why prayer is so often seen as an afterthought, even by good Christians like you and me. Oh, we pray “come Lord Jesus...” before we eat, and we pray “now I lay me down to sleep…” before closing our eyes each night, and once a week we gather and pray for each other, and the world we live in, and we even join together to pray the Lord’s Prayer, but other than that I am not sure we think that much about prayer. Very few of us would think to leave the house in the morning without brushing our teeth, but a great many of us rush off to work or school without saying a prayer. I don’t know a lot of people who get married, buy a house, start a family, decide to retire, or some other big life event without first getting some guidance or advice from other people, but I know a lot of people (including the person who looks back at me in the mirror) who do some if not all those things without uttering a single prayer. I have noticed, when tragedy strikes and times are tough, most of us do turn to prayer, but I have also noticed when blessings abound and things are good there are not a lot of us who see the need for prayer.

I think we misunderstand what God is saying to us when He invites us to pray. In Ephesians 4:6 where we are invited to “present y[our] requests to God”, we are not given a choice we are not presented with an option. With these words, and others like them found throughout the pages of Scripture, we are commanded to pray. In the Large Catechism, in his preface to the Lord’s Prayer, Martin Luther wrote, “Prayer is just as strictly and seriously commanded as all other commandments: to have no other God, not to kill, not to steal, and so on. Let no one think that it makes no difference whether he prays or not.”[1] We would never think to treat idolatry or murder or theft as an afterthought. I am not saying we have never committed those sins, but when we fail to make God our top priority, or hate, or lie we know that we deserve to burn in hell for those sins. Yet somehow, we don’t seem to realize our failure to obey God’s command to pray is just as damnable. But the truth is when we treat prayer as an afterthought, we treat God as an afterthought. When we rush off to work or school, make life decisions, or enjoy life without prayer, we rush off to work or school, make decisions and live without God.

God knows we cannot live without Him, not in the here and now and certainly not in the ever after. Which is why God invites us to “present y[our] requests to God”. God invites us to pray “to God”, very specifically He invites us to pray to God “7… in Christ Jesus”. Only in Christ Jesus can pathetic prayers like you and me find peace. We find peace because we present our requests to God in Jesus our perfect substitute. Jesus obeyed God’s command to pray. Think about how often you read in Scripture that Jesus started his day in prayer, interrupted His day for prayer, or at the end of the day went off to a solitary place to pray. Read about the big events in Jesus’ life and you will read about Him praying. In the wilderness where He was tempted by the devil, Jesus prayed. Before He chose His twelve Apostles, Jesus prayed. In the garden of Gethsemane and on mount Calvary, Jesus prayed. Finally, when things were good; when food was provided, when Lazarus was raised back to life, and even right now at the right hand of God in heaven, Jesus prayed and continues to pray.

Jesus, our substitute, perfectly obeyed the command to pray. Jesus, The Christ, offered Himself as payment for our failure to do the same. Our failure to make God our top priority is not the only reason the Christ allowed a crown of thorns to be placed on His head. Our hatred is not the only reason the Christ allowed nails to be driven into His hands and His feet. Our lies are not the only reason the Christ allowed Himself to be forsaken by God. When the Christ declared “It is finished”[2] and then gave up His breath, our sin of treating prayer like an afterthought was also forgiven.

In Christ Jesus forgiven sinners, such as us, are invited to pray, invited to pray about “6… anything” and “6… everything”. This last week I had three very different conversations with all three of my sons. The first son had a question for me. He was headed out deer hunting on a piece of land where some buckasauruses have been spotted. He was excited about his chances. However, he wanted to know if he shot one of those buckasauruses whether he should try to tie it to the roof of his little red two door Kia or try to stuff at least half of it in the tiny truck. The second son needed to vent some frustration. He has been blessed to land a rather high paying job. This job has allowed him to pay for nearly four years of college without taking out any loans. He only has a few months (and a few thousand dollars) to go. But the other day his bossman called him and informed him the company has decided they will no longer employ part time workers. Unless he can work a minimum of 30 hours a week, he is out of a job. The third son had some exciting news to share with me. He has been the backup quarterback for his football team for the first few games of the season. So far, he has gotten minimal playing time as quarterback but has been working hard in practice and making the most of his opportunities. This last week the coaches told him his hard work had paid off and they named him starting quarterback for the next game.

Three sons. Three drastically different conversations. Which one of those conversations would you say was most important? To which of those conversation would you guess I was willing to stop what I was doing and listen? Which of those conversations do you think I cared about? The answer to those questions is, of course, all three. All three were important, all three were worth my time, all three were conversations I cared about. Why? Because all three conversations came from my sons. I love my sons so what is important to them is important to me. If they are going to take the time to talk, I am going to take the time to listen. I care about anything and everything they have to say because I care about them.

Your heavenly Father feels the same way about you. He wants you to talk to Him about anything and everything. He wants you to ask your questions, He wants you to vent your frustrations, He wants you to share your exciting news. Your heavenly Father loves you, so if it is important to you, it is important to Him. Your heavenly Father is never too busy for you. Every time you close your eyes, bow your head, and fold your hands, He is listing. Your heavenly Father cares about anything and everything you have to say because your heavenly Father cares about you.

There is a certain peace that comes from knowing we can talk to our heavenly Father about anything and everything. Even if our question isn’t immediately answered, even if the thing that is frustrating us isn’t instantly solved, even if the angels aren’t visibly celebrating with us, “7 the peace of God which transcends all understanding” guards our hearts and our minds. Questions just don’t seem so confusing, frustrations are not nearly as overwhelming, and joys seem so much more exciting when we take them to the Lord in prayer.

Luther considered prayer a fundament truth of the Christian faith, worthy of meticulous instruction, because Luther knew from passages like Philippians 4:6-7 that he and his fellow Lutheran have been invited to “6… present y[our] requests to God.” Therefore, as Lutherans, let us obey God’s command to pray. Let us pray knowing that Christ Jesus our substitute and sacrifice has forgiven us for the times we have treated prayer like an afterthought. Let us pray to our heavenly Father about anything and everything. Let us pray that our hearts and minds be guarded by His peace.

I began this sermon by praying Luther’s Morning Prayer. It seems fitting that I should close this sermon by praying Luther’s Evening prayer. Let us pray, “In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.” “I thank You, my heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, Your dear Son, that You have graciously kept me this day; and I pray that You would forgive me all my sins where I have done wrong, and graciously keep me this night. For into Your hands I commend myself, my body and soul, and all things. Let Your holy angel be with me, that the evil foe may have no power over me. Amen.”

[1] Large Catechism Part 3 Prayer – The Lord’s Prayer. P.408 of the readers edition of the book of concord

[2] John 19:30