This article is based on the first sermon of the “Be the New” series I preached at Kuna Church of the Nazarene in November 2022. The video link is given at the end of this article.
A Wedding Prayer
Less than a year into our time in Indonesia, I was asked to pray at a wedding. I did not have the language ability at that point to do an adequate wedding prayer, but I also could not say “no” to the young couple who asked.
So, in the days prior to the wedding, I painstakingly wrote out a beautiful prayer designed to fill the necessary 3-4 minutes. I had this prayer edited and proofread by some friends whose language was much better than my own, then slipped it into my Bible, ready for the big day.
The wedding was going to take place in the church following the morning worship service, a common occurrence in Indonesia. At the last moment, due to rain and mud, I was asked to pick up the bride from her home and drive her to the church. With the last-minute change of plans, I realized, sometime during the worship service, that I had left my Bible in the car, along with the prayer I had written.
This might not have been a problem, except for the fact that because this was a small church, it didn’t have any parking for vehicles other than motorcycles. As a result, our car was parked on the main road some distance from the church. As I was contemplating whether or not I had time to walk out to the car to retrieve my Bible, I realized that they were already calling me up to pray. The wedding portion of the morning service had begun.
How to make two sentences last for three minutes
As I rose from my seat, all eyes were on the tall, pale-skinned foreigner making his way to the front of the church to pray. Little did they know the inner turmoil which was occurring inside my heart as they watched me.
As I walked to the pulpit, patiently awaiting my arrival, I prayed:
“Lord, please help me remember my prayer, or at least give me a few coherent words to say..enough to fill 3-4 minutes, maybe? Or, perhaps you might send some monsoon rains to pound on the tin roof so that no one can hear me…please!”
The monsoon never came, but I did remember a couple of sentences from that well-crafted prayer that I had spent so much time preparing. Unfortunately, two sentences won’t fill up 3-4 minutes of time; not unless you repeat them over and over…and over and over…
…and garble your words a bit so people don’t know you’re repeating the same thing over and over,…
…and then move the mic away from your mouth so that people can’t hear everything you say…
…and also change your volume and intonation frequently, so it seems like you are really into it and the Spirit is moving…
…and then, finally, repeat those two sentences one more time in a loud, clear voice with an authoritative "Dalam nama Yesus Kristus, halelujah, Amin!”
[And then, when the third minute is complete, quickly reutrn to your seat!]
Prayer is hard
My friends, that is a true story from the Fairbanks Family Archives.
Thankfully, Indonesians are gracious people, and several of them told me how well I had done and how much they appreciated my being there for that very special day. The latter may have been true, but the former was nothing other than unmerited kindness on their part. They were putting the words of Jesus into action, loving their neighbor in the midst of his utter incompetence, which had been on full display for everyone to see!
Prayer is hard, even in our own language. Most of us, I think, would also say that prayer is important. Very important. I agree.
Prayer changes our hearts and our vision.
Let’s say it again — prayer changes our hearts and our vision.
Even so, prayer is hard, and sometimes we don’t know what words to say or how to say them. It’s so easy to get distracted by other thoughts or just to get busy and forget to pray at all. Or perhaps you’ve experienced something like this—you start praying as you are getting into bed…and then wake up the next morning, wondering if you ever got to that prayer or not.
Am I the only one?
Two hard verses about prayer
Some might find it easy to pray for family or friends, or we might feel comfortable praying for people who are sick…or traveling... or for that test we have at school tomorrow.
But Jesus said a couple of challenging things to his disciples:
The size of the harvest is bigger than you can imagine, but there are few workers…plead with the Lord of the harvest to send out workers.” (Matthew 9:37-38)
And all of God’s people say, “Yes, Lord, send workers!”
“Send those people over there, Lord!” (Not me)
”I’m willing to go, Lord!” (As long as you don’t send me to those people)
And then, as if to really drive home the point, Jesus told his followers to:
…love your enemies and pray for those who harass you and hate you. This is what children of your heavenly Father do. (Paraphrase of Matthew 5:44-45, Luke 6:27)
“Whoa, hold on a minute! Are you telling me that to be a child of God, I have to show Christlike love to the people that I don’t like…and to those who don’t like me?”
Jesus’ words, not mine.
And we can all hear the response, can’t we –
“Look, I’m totally on board with loving God with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength…and I’m cool with loving my neighbors…as long as it’s not those people.”
“Don’t send me to them…and don’t expect me to love them…they are not my neighbor.”
Prayer is hard, especially when we take seriously the words of Jesus…and the example he set for us in the life that he lived, not the mention the self-sacrificial love that he carried with him to the cross.
When we do pray, however, and when we make prayer a priority, it changes our hearts and our vision.
This article is based on “Be the New” sermon 1, part A. View this sermon below, starting at minute 22:14.