Praying Together

Psalm 104:24-34

Acts 1:12-14      

Do you remember the old British TV show Monty Python’s Flying Circus? They once did a sketch about a couple of hermits having a conversation. One of them calls out to the other, “Say, are you a hermit?” He says, “Yes, I am! Are you?” “Yes!” and they exclaim over how nice it is to meet each other.

“So what are you getting away from?”

“O, the usual: people, chat, gossip – you know.”

“Oh, I certainly do. It was the same with me. I mean, there comes a time you realize there’s no good frittering your life away in idleness and trivial chitchat. Where’s your cave?”

Then they launch into a conversation about various materials that might be used for insulating caves. Meanwhile, other hermits pass by with their shopping bags, greeting one another:

“Morning Frank.”  “Morning, Norman.”

Back to the conversation.

“You know Mr. Robinson?”

“with the green loincloth?”

“no, that’s Mr. Seagrave. Mr. Robinson’s the one who lodges with Mr. Seagrave.”

More chitchat, more passersby, more gossip about the other hermits in the neighborhood. Then one says,

“One thing about being a hermit: At least you meet people.”

It’s very silly, as all Monty Python sketches are. But silly with a point: people are made for community – even hermits.

Right in the middle of Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s book, Life Together, is a chapter called The Day Alone. It has always struck me as a bit odd, but there it is. And it is all about prayer.

Bonhoeffer writes: Let him who cannot be alone beware of community. And let him who is not in community beware of being alone. It is quite clear that we need both and that community and solitude need each other. Time alone can make you a better companion to others, and time with others can make you a better companion to yourself.

Consistent with Bonhoeffer’s philosophy, both time alone and time with others is grounded in the presence of God. And while we know that the time we spend together as a community of Christians involves many opportunities for prayer, scripture, serving one another, learning with one another – we may not be as aware that time alone with God is just as essential.

Bonhoeffer describes three elements of that time alone with God: meditation, which is primarily about opening our hearts and minds to listen for God. Then there is prayer, which is grounded in scripture, so this might involve simply reading a passage of scripture to yourself. And finally, there is intercession, which is at the heart of Christian prayer.

Intercessory prayer is what we do every week in our worship when we lift up our joys and concerns. It is what we do with our prayer list that we update and share each week. We pray for the world in many ways, but probably our most intimate and fervent prayers are the ones we make for our loved ones and our community of faith. It is an integral part of our life together, even when we make these prayers in solitude.

Bonhoeffer writes, intercessory prayer is the purifying bath into which the individual and the fellowship must enter every day. Purifying because this simple act has the power to bring all of our relationships into the light of God. Intercessory prayer draws another person into the presence of God with us and allows us to see that person as a beloved child of God, in need of forgiveness and grace just as much as we are, ourselves. Intercessory prayer makes us more loving. Communities that devote themselves to prayer become stronger communities. This is the gem I want to lift up today in these short verses from Acts, where we find the disciples of Jesus in the days after Christ’s ascension to heaven.

The Gospel of Luke ends with Jesus ascending into heaven after some parting words for his inner circle of disciples. Luke’s second volume, The Acts of the Apostles, begins essentially in that same place. It is clear that Luke doesn’t want the reader to miss a thing.

We get the vivid image of Jesus floating up into the clouds, or something to that effect, while the disciples stand on the ground looking up, mouths gaping open. They stare until he disappears and then they continue to stare at the space where he was.

We might get the feeling that these men are at a loss as to what comes next. They were followers, but now the leader is gone. They were students, but now the teacher is absent. They are unsure who they are now. How can they be followers when there is no one to lead? How can they be learners without a teacher?

It doesn’t surprise me that they would feel aimless and purposeless right now. Three years earlier, they pulled up their roots and bet everything on this itinerant preacher. He became their north star, their direction, their guide. But now that he is gone – what next?

They go back to the upper room – the place they have been staying ever since they came to Jerusalem for the Passover. Their next steps will be telling – and here is what they tell us.

They begin with prayer. We really should not overlook the significance of this. They didn’t sit down, have a brief prayer, then get down to business. Prayer was their business. These men and women were “constantly devoting themselves to prayer.” Yes, of course there are many other things that must be done. But this devotion to prayer shows an understanding that their wisdom, strength, and hope will come from God alone.

When we are overcome by our emotions – anger, sadness, fear – prayer is there for us. When we are at the end of our rope and we don’t know what to do, prayer is there for us. But prayers of desperation are not all we have. The structure of prayer we have in our time of worship together is precious to us – prayers expressing joy and adoration of God, prayers of thankfulness, prayers of self-reflection and confession as well as our intercessory prayers – these provide a balanced structure to our relationship with God. We pray silently, we pray responsively, we pray in our singing.

Do you have a practice of praying when you are alone? The structure we enjoy in our worship can give us a good framework for our time alone as well. Why not set aside a time in your day when you can pray? Time enough to speak to God. Time enough to listen for God speaking to you.

Time to lift up the people you love into the light of God, to bless your relationship with them by praying for them. You don’t even need words for that. Simply say their name; hold them up in the light of God and rest a moment in that light with them.

A community of Christ is made stronger when its members take time for prayer. All our work, all we do, begins with the power of prayer.