Sunday Pastoral Prayer (July 28) Athens First UMC

[It was a bittersweet Sunday for our church because one of our members, Sophia Oui will be moving to Columbus to begin a Master’s degree at The Methodist Theological School of Ohio. Sophia has been involved in several of our ministries and we will miss her greatly. Penny and I shared in a farewell lunch with Sophia after church. The Athens drawing above us is appropriate because Sophia has blessed our community in so many ways! Sophia appreciates our prayers as she prepares for this new chapter in her life. Speaking of prayer, click here for Sunday’s sermon on the importance of prayer.]

Lord, teach us to pray. We’re kind of clumsy when it comes to prayer. We don’t always know what to say. Our thoughts get so jumbled and sometimes we’re afraid we’re going to say the wrong thing. 

And we have to confess that there are times when we’re not sure if you are even listening or if our prayers will make that much of a difference. And so, it’s no wonder, that your disciples asked your advice about prayer. 

And in a way, when the disciples asked you about prayer, they were actually already praying because they were having a conversation with you which is really what prayer is, having a conversation with you.

Remind us Lord Jesus, that in any given moment, in any given situation, in any setting, we can have a conversation with you. Prayer is really that simple.

Forgive us when we get tongue tied in our prayers. It’s just that it’s incredible to us that we are invited to pray to you in the first place because you are the creator of the universe and you actually want us to have a conversation with you. How can that be? We’re just a small, tiny part of your creation and yet you love it when we spend time with you.

You invite us to ask, and so in these next few silent moments, we offer to you our questions. 

You invite us to seek, and so in these next few silent moments, we offer to you the things for which we are seeking.

You invite us to knock, and so in these next few silent moments, we are picturing you in our minds opening the door so that we can have a conversation with you.

And during this conversation with you, we all of the sudden realize, that prayer comes more naturally than we had ever imagined. And even when we run out of things to say, you remind us to pray these words, “Our Father, who art in heaven…”