May 5, 2023

Today's Reading:  

Daily Lectionary: Leviticus 18:1-7; Luke 11:1-13

“What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent; or if he asks for an egg, will give him 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!” (Luke 11:11–13 ESV)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.  Ever since His disciples asked Him to teach them to pray, there have been those in the church that think that there is some magic secret to prayer that will guarantee that God hears and responds in the desired manner.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  Prayer is not magic and God cannot be manipulated by the right posture, hand motions, or combinations of words. To put it bluntly, praying is not like casting a spell and no amount of Harry Potter style swish and flick will make any difference. 

The secret to prayer does not lie in methodology.  This is where a lot of teaching on prayer goes off the rails. It treats prayer as something that we do, that has its genesis within us. This is not the case in any way, shape, or form.  Prayer does not have its beginnings with us.  Another way to put it would be to say that God does not hear our prayers because of who we are or what we do.  God hears our prayers because of who He is.

This is the meaning of the Parable of the Friend at Midnight. It shows that God hears our prayers because that is part of HIs nature. He hears us because He has promised that he would.  He hears us because he has integrity and honor.  Even more than that He has given us the very prayer that He never tires of hearing.  On top of all this our prayers are a response to God working in us.  Our very ability to pray is a gift from God.  We do not have to go in search of methodologies or worry about proper posture, hand motions, or even words. He has given us all that we need to pray to Him in full assurance that we will be heard.  He hears us because He is our Father and He has made us HIs children through Jesus Christ.  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Amen, that is, so shall it be. Make strong our faith in You, that we May doubt not but with trust believe That what we ask we shall receive. Thus in Your name and at Your Word We say, ‘Amen. O hear us, Lord!  (Our Father, Who from Heaven Above, LSB 766:9) 

- Pastor Grant A Knepper is Pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Modesto, CA.

Audio Reflections Speaker: Jonathan Lackey is an LCMS seminarian.

Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.