March 05, 2025
• Rev. Rob Fuquay
St. Luke’s UMC
March 5, 2025
Ash Wednesday
The Prayers Jesus Prayed
“The Unspecified Prayers”
Mark 1:35-39
The theme for Lent this year is The Prayers Jesus Prayed. Last year we looked at The Lord’s Prayer for Lent. That is the prayer Jesus gave the disciples to help them pray. It’s perhaps more accurate to call it “The Disciple’s Prayer.” The reason Jesus taught them this prayer was in response to a request. “Lord, teach us how to pray.” It is the only spiritual practice the disciples asked Jesus to teach them. Why? It had to be what they saw prayer do for Jesus.
Over 25 times the Gospels tell us Jesus prayed. The disciples must have made a connection between those prayers and Jesus’ living. Perhaps they felt it was the secret to his power and his faith in God. Whatever the reason, it was enough to want Jesus to teach them. So we are going to spend Lent this year studying the prayers of Jesus.
We don’t actually have all that many prayers that tell us what Jesus said or requested, but what we do know are like deep mines where we can continue to find gems. Four of the prayers come from the cross. We will conclude Lent with these. The last sermon in the series will be Maundy Thursday and Jesus’ prayer from Gethsemane, “Not my will but Thine be done.” The first three weeks of Lent we will consider prayers Jesus prayed in which we do have an idea of what he prayed for. This Sunday we will consider his prayers for discernment. The second Sunday we will consider the role of praise in Jesus’ prayers. The third week we will consider the lengthy prayers of Jesus in John 17, what we could call The Real Lord’s Prayer.
Today, for Ash Wednesday, we look at majority of prayers Jesus prayed, the ones that are unspecified, the many times the Gospels tell us that Jesus prayed without any content. But when you consider the events surrounding these times, it’s not too hard to imagine how Jesus spent these periods in prayer, such as the time early in his ministry when the Gospel of Mark says Jesus rose in the morning while it was still dark and went out to pray.
Now, before digging into this, let me ask you, how do you feel about your prayer life? Let me be more specific, is prayer something you struggle with? Do you ever feel that you’re not doing it right? That if you knew how to pray better, certainly it would be more meaningful?
Have you had times when prayer was a powerful experience, but then times when it was dry as a desert? Have you had times when you felt you were just talking to yourself, or that you weren’t even sure what to say when you pray? And for goodness sakes, don’t even begin to think you’re going to pray outloud!
Well if you think that ministers have an advantage, because we are professionals, let me say that my seminary didn’t even offer a class on prayer when I was there. [Hans Kung…]
[When Philip Yancey wrote a 300 page book on prayer I found myself wanting to keep reading after he said in the introduction…]
I offer this to say that in this series you are not hearing about prayer from an expert. I struggle with prayer as much as Philip Yancey. Yet I, too, know the power of prayer. I find it hard to be in a consistent place where prayer is always rich and powerful. I yearn to grow in prayer. I desire a greater desire to pray. So, much like the disciples, I look at all the times the Bible says, “Jesus prayed,” and I want to know more. What did he pray? What did he hear from God? What kept him faithful at praying? Without more information I am left with paying attention to the events surrounding Jesus’ life when he prayed and then imagine how Jesus brought that before God.
So let’s return to Jesus’ prayer in Mark. To appreciate his early morning rendezvous with God, we have to consider Jesus’ previous day. It was a Sabbath, and Jesus taught in the synagogue. Now I know how tired I get after preaching, so I figure Jesus must be a little tired. But then a man possessed by an evil spirit starts crying out so He cast out a demon from a man. Now I’ve never had an experience like that, but I would assume I’d really be tired by that point. So Jesus and the other followers for to Simon Peter’s house where I’m sure Jesus is looking forward to lunch and taking a nap during the football game. But not so fast. Peter-s mother-in-law is sick! So no lunch, yet…Jesus goes into her room and heals her. (slide will say: He healed Peter’s mother-in-law) Then she gets up to feed them, by which point, the news of what happened at the synagogue spread all over town, so now a crowd is lined up at the door wanting Jesus to heal them or their loved ones. There are so many people, Mark says, this continued well into the night. (slide will say: He healed crowds of people into the night) (these will build ending with all 4 on the same slide>
Pause here. Would you say Jesus had a full day? Have you ever had a day like that? Maybe not with healings and casting out demons but a day where you stayed busy every minute, and it seems every time you turned around someone needed something from you? There just wasn’t a break, so that by the time you went to bed, you were exhausted. If ever there was a reason not to set the alarm and allow yourself to sleep in the next morning, that would be the time. But look what it says, “Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.” (Mark 1:35)
Now what did Jesus pray? We don’t know, but if we think about his day before, and allow ourselves to be drawn into Jesus experience, we can at least imagine what he prayed and what his prayers did for him.
For instance, I can imagine Jesus starting off his prayer recognizing how he felt; that he was weary. That doesn’t mean his prayer gave him sudden physical energy, but it does perhaps mean he was more able to deal with the effects of weariness. I can imagine saying, “Father, I am tired today. Help me in my weariness. Don’t let it be a cause for me to act inappropriately. Don’t let my tiredness be an excuse to be inconsiderate.”
When we are tired we are more susceptible to depression and temptation. When we are weary we more easily become defeated and give up. But what if we prayed like Jesus? What if we started our prayers acknowledging to God how we feel, and if we are tired or angry or defeated, we consider the problems those feelings can create and ask God for help with that? Those would be some useful moments in prayer.
But I can also imagine Jesus praying and recalling the ways God showed up the previous day. “Lord, you brought a demon out of a man and restored his sanity. You healed Peter’s mother-in-law and all the folks who showed up at our doorstep. O Lord you are so very present and active. Your power is on display.
What if we prayed that way! What if we spent time in prayer thanking God for the ways God has showed up. What if instead of focusing on all the reasons to say the world is going to hell, we looked for how heaven is getting into our world? We might rise from prayer with a more hopeful outlook.
When we pray this way, Prayer Helps us Recharge. To help us remember this, I brought my phone recharger. We depend on phones for so much including guidance. Most smart phones have navigation tools that help us find our way, as long as they are charged. So between the source of power, an outlet, and the phone, we must have a charging device. Think of your charging device as prayer, and scripture, and meditation.
For this season we want to offer you charging cords in the form of daily devotion practices…
But let’s go back to Jesus praying. Look at how the story continues, “Simon and his companions went to look for him, and when they found him, they exclaimed: “Everyone is looking for you!” Jesus replied, “Let us go somewhere else—to the nearby villages—so I can preach there also. That is why I have come.” (1:36-38)
It’s funny when people begin a statement with “everyone…” “Everyone is looking for you?” Really, it’s still dark! Most people aren’t even up yet! “Everyone thinks this…” “Everyone believes you should…” That’s just somebody’s way of masking their own agenda. “I’m not trying to tell you what to do, but everyone I talk with…”
And I wonder how short Jesus response would have been had he not prayed? Would he have felt the need to oblige Simon’s request? “Well, maybe a few more healings before we go.” And the next thing you know it’s three days later. Or maybe he would have gotten into a debate with Simon about what he should really do and the next thing you know this newbie disciple is determining Jesus’ agenda!
But Jesus shut it down with the simple statement, “Let us go somewhere else…so I can preach there also. That is why I have come.”
Without prayer we allow the voices of daily life to convince us what our priorities should be and where our importance is found.
Do you know what it’s like to have other people tell you what you should do? Do you know what it’s like to have people who out of good intentions because they genuinely care about you, tell you what your priorities should be and how you should handle things? This is a dominant feature of our world. We live by opinion polls as if because a majority of people preferring one thing should determine our agenda. And those polls shift like the tides of the ocean. We listen to what people around us say. We read social media posts.
Sometimes these is helpful, But if that is our only guidance, we will vacillate like a moving fan and work ourselves into balls of anxiety trying to meet what everyone says we should do. But in regular, constant prayer we come before the One who knows us best and who loves us more than any other.
I have often used this example in the New Member Class when talking about our identity as children of God. About 40 years ago this portrait (picture titled “first picture left side) was discovered in a Russian home. It was believed to be a painting of a Russian nobleman from the 16th or 17th century. But upon closer examination by art experts they found that there were different layers of paint. SO they started peeling away the newer layers and discovered this: a rare Rembrandt self-portrait that is priceless.
(First slide will be the picture left side, second slide will be the two pictures side by side with the Rembrandt on the right)
This is a good illustration of what happens to many of us in life. We get painted over by others expectations. The things they want from us. We don’t want to disappoint. We seek approval, and before long, one day we realize we aren’t sure who we are. And we have to be restored to our original masterpiece. Nothing can improve on the person God made, and prayer help us recenter that fact, and remember who we are and whose we are.
You might consider using scripture verses like this when you pray sometimes. In fact, get out your phone to take a picture of these verses because they are terrific reminders of what God says about us:
“I have loved you with an everlasting love…” Jeremiah 31:3
“I created you in my image.” Gen. 1:27
“You are wonderfully made…” Psalm 139:14
“I will not leave you or forsake you…”Hebrews 13:5
“We are God’s handiwork, created in Jesus Christ to do good works…” Ephesians 2:10
When we pray this way, Prayer Recenters Us. We remember who we are and whose we are.
One more thing. Notice how the scripture story ends. “So he traveled throughout Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and driving out demons.” (v.39)
That was Jesus’ mission. He came to preach and drive out demons. Prayer kept him focused on his mission.
Did you realize you have a mission? I’m not talking about your career or volunteer activites. I am talking about something that is meant to find its way into everything you do, that’s your mission. It is the same as Jesus—to preach and cast out demons. Now, before you think I’ve lost it, give me a minute.
Preaching is sharing good news. That’s what the word Gospel means. To preach the Gospel is to offer good news. This means we are to live in such a way that we don’t fall into despair about the world. We are called to speak hope. Rather than being pulled down into how awful the world is, how things are only going to get worse, we are called to bring hope.
I had a lay leader in a church one time, a retired gentleman named John Shell. Every time someone would talk about something bad or fearful that happened he would say, “It’s going to be wonderful to see how the Lord works through this.” And we would all roll our eyes and think, “Oh, come on John!” It would sound so trite and dismissive. But John was a person of prayer. He spent lots of time with God. And like the disciples watching Jesus I would watch John. He was genuinely a happy man. He was positive and hopeful. He didn’t waste time complaining and being glum about life. And I just thought, “That’s a better way to live.” Not avoiding challenges or issues. No one was quicker to roll up his sleeves and do something about human need. But he was full of hope. Everywhere he went he preached, he shared hope. We should too and see what it does for us.
And then, swallow hard now, we are to cast out demons. I know, you are giving yourself a pass on that one regardless of what I say, but realize what it means. It is simply resisting evil. And that’s why Jesus came, to resist evil. That’s why we are here too.
We don’t talk about this a whole lot, but we live in a world not only inhabited by God but also the forces opposed to God. And the devil loves nothing more than for us to ignore that fact. But we must face it, wherever evil appears; wherever God’s children are being harmed or mistreated. We must be honest about the seeds of evil that can grow and not be complacent or even defend such things. We must understand the way words we use can lead to actions that do harm. Evil is always on the job sowing seeds and often doing that by appealing to our rights. Whenever I talk about “my rights,” I am focused on myself. And the more I focus on myself and not others, evil is lurking in the shadows.
So we are all here to preach good news and cast out demons.
But we can’t do this alone. It’s too big a job. It was too big for Jesus. That’s why he chose disciples to join him. And we will look at that story Sunday. For now, this is something we want to offer as part of our Lenten experience—small groups that put us in community to promote hope and help. Our small groups will meet every week to reflect on the themes and also share in a mission service of some kind, something that opposes conditions that have put others in challenged places. In other words, to resist evil.
If you have not yet joined a group…
When we pray this way, Prayer keeps us centered on our mission.
This is why we must pray. Because we all have a mission and we need God’s help to fulfill it. Had Jesus not prayed, he would have done the popular and safe thing and that was stay in Capernuam and keep doing what people want. But his mission was bigger and so is ours.
That brings us to Ash Wednesday. We put ashes on our forehead to remember the solemn truth that one day life will come to ashes for all of us. It is kind of a morbid thing we do today, I know, but without it, we might lose track of what we are doing here in the first place. Because ashes is not all there is to life! We can share in a reality that doesn’t get reduced to ashes. And so I close my message as I do each year, As you come to receive the sign of ashes, ask yourself, what do I have that can’t be reduced to ashes. The next 40 days are for investing in that! Amen.