Sermon 7.27.25 You Get What You Pray For

Sermon Begins at 28:46

When I was in seminary, we had many many visitors come to the campus of Virginia Theological Seminary.

Professors from other universities and seminaries,

Priests returning to their alma mater to meet the new crop of seminarians,

Bishops who were coming to check-in with their postulants (which is a fancy church word for people who are in the educational part of their discernment process),

And visitors from the wider Anglican communion around the world, who would stop by as they made their whirlwind tours to the United States to meet with church leaders, raise funds for mission work, or bring attention to issues in their part of the world.

The great thing that the seminary often did, when people came to visit is that there would often be time for us as students to meet formally or informally with visitors.

One such visit that still sticks out to me today impressed upon me the power and importance of prayer to the Christian life.

And so I am moved to preach to you this morning, “You get what you Pray for.”

In 2003, on the eve of the Invasion of Iraq, there were an estimated 1.5 million Christians who lived in Iraq, today that estimate is around 150,000.

Some of that decline was because of the death and destruction of that era, but most of it was emigration.

People leaving their homes out of fear for their lives and persecution.

I don’t think it would be hyperbole to say that the last 20 years in Iraq have not been the friendliest to anyone in Iraq, but especially religious minorities like the Kurds, Yazidis, Syriac Christians, and others.

In all of Iraq, there is only one Anglican Church.  It is in the heart of Baghdad; St. George’s.

It was built in 1936 as a memorial to British soldiers who died in Mesopotamia during World War 1.

Since its inception, St. George’s has been a place of prayer and social welfare for Baghdadis no matter what their religious affiliation.

In October 2010, one of St. George’s sister congregations in the city, Our Lady of Salvation Syriac Christian Church was attacked by suicide bombers and left 52 people dead.

It was in the aftermath of this bombing and the rising of the yet unnamed Islamic State that the Rev. Faiz Jerjes, rector of St. George’s, the first native Iraqi ordained in the Anglican Communion, came to visit Virginia Seminary.

Fr. Faiz came on a mission to garner support for his community, not just his Christian congregation, but for all who were suffering.

And though he spoke of many things, the thing that stuck out to me the most when talking to Fr. Faiz was this,

He told us that in Iraq, everyone comes to the Christians when they need petitionary prayers.

That is, when they need the kind of prayer where you ask God to provide you with something that you need; you make a petition to God on your own behalf or someone else’s.

It is one of the seven types of prayer laid out in our catechism on page 856 of the Book of Common Prayer along with adoration, praise, thanksgiving, penitence, oblations, and intercessions.

It was common knowledge, according to Fr. Faiz, that if you needed something from God, whether you were Christian, Sunni, Shi’ite, or anything else that you would go to the Christian church to make that petition.

The reason that he gave for this phenomenon is that everyone knew how bold Christians were in asking God for what they needed.

It’s kind of like with kids, or at least my kids, where one - who shall not be named - would really love to have a popsicle, but won’t ask for it,

but he knows that if he hangs around his brother for long enough, the other one will boldly request a popsicle or any other kind of candy or maybe both at the same time, whether he’s done anything to merit a treat or not.

“well I wasn’t going to ask, but since that’s your thing, I will definitely hang around to see if I can get proxy blessed by your boldness.”

So, Fr. Faiz said it was in Baghdad.

His Muslim neighbors, though they prayed everyday in submission to God, wanted desperately to petition God for what they needed, but could not ask for.

Now, as I said, this was before the rise of the Islamic State in Iraq.

I think in our day, in our country, in our broader culture, we often forget the power of prayer.

What I want to say to you today, what I need to hear for myself is that prayer is powerful.

Now, 15 years since I met Fr. Faiz and heard of our Anglican brothers and sisters in Baghdad, his words still sit in my heart.

And even more than that his witness, having come through the worst persecutions and turmoil; his congregation, which is probably only about the size of our own church, yet a world away;

Still stands, still prays, and is still receiving the protection of God in some of the worst circumstances imaginable.

When faced with this kind of faith, can there really be a doubt that prayer works?

That you get what you pray for?

We are in a time of great cultural upheaval.

Our sacred and civil institutions are being ignored or dismantled.

I was listening to a report on NPR about the growing number of people who are substituting the wellness industrial complex’s pursuit of eternal youth and self-actualization for the communal life of religious faith.

Don’t get me wrong, it is so important that we take care of our bodies and that we seek deeper connection and wholeness within our own psyches.

But wellness is a 6 trillion dollar industry that is happy to say, as Lil’ Jon once vehemently exhorted, “snap yo’ fingers, do yo step, you can do it all by yourself, let me see you do it.”

As Americans, we are putting a larger and larger share of our wealth into personal enrichment,

A smaller and smaller share of our wealth into things that support the common good.

We are putting more and more of our time into a sweat hour of spin,

And less and less of our time into a sweet hour of prayer.

More and more of our concern into “what’s in it for me.”

And less and less of our concern into what am I giving back to God for all of the blessings that I have received.

Paul in his letter to the Colossians warns his Greek listeners about forgetting their faith.

He tells them not to be taken captive by philosophies, deceits, human traditions that are not in accordance with what they have received in the gospel of Jesus,

He warned them not to put stock in “elemental spirits,” not to keep themselves beholden to the legalities and customs of the earlier age for their own sake, but to seek at-onement with God through Jesus’ victory over cross and grave.

He begs them to take their faith into their own hands.

He goes on to say that people will try to tell you that you’re not a Christian, or at least a “good and proper” Christian if you’re not following their rules, like those who wanted the early Christians to be circumcised and follow the levitical codes.

Or they’ll tell you you’re not a “good and proper” Christian if you don’t buy into the spiritual teachings of the esoteric and self-focused gnostic charisms of their day.

Paul says to all of this, “don’t let them disqualify you.”  It is by your faith and your prayers that you receive Jesus and never let anyone tell you that’s not good enough.

You get what you pray for.

This is why I have been so delighted and grateful for the project that our intern Ceilia Stanley has been bringing to us over the past few weeks.

The reason we continue to say our prayer for church growth.

The reason we pray for those in our congregation who need and receive miracles.

The reason we pray for the children in our reading program.

We know, like our brothers and sisters in Baghdad, that prayer is effective, it is powerful, it breaks down walls, reconciles estrangements, moves mountains, it is BOLD.

Our brothers and sisters in Baghdad live in the midst of waters.

In Mesopotamia, which literally means “between the rivers,” they live on the dry land between the Tigris and Euphrates.

In their culture, they are a small island surrounded by danger, and yet they hold fast to our Lord Jesus and pray with boldness.

They know the power of prayer, because though they are surrounded by the high waters, and they are still walking through on dry land.

I have two challenges for you this week as you continue to think about your prayer life.

The first is this: please pray for the continuing initiatives of our church;

For our continued growth, but also; Pray for our building project. Pray for our pantry and its patrons. Pray for our Reading Camp which ends this week.

I ask your prayers especially that we might begin an afterschool program this year, our neighborhood kids need a safe place, where they can receive as our baptismal service desires “an inquiring and discerning heart, and the courage to will and to persevere.” (BCP 308)

I ask your prayers for the launch of our new Hip Hop worship Service, Rize, which will begin in September, that our efforts will stay true to our Anglican roots and tradition while helping us to reach our lost generations.

Pray for our team of Katrina Mundy, Gail Riley Kenney, and Tyrone Yates as we embark on the College for Congregational Development.

And Pray for your own needs without fear of judgement.

The second challenge I have for you is this (although I know many of you are already there):  We have that old song, “and they’ll know we are Christians by our love, by our love, yes they’ll know we are Christians by our love.”

Let them know you’re a Christian by your prayer.

When Jesus’ disciples saw him praying fervently, and they had been witnessing his special power that God had bestowed upon him, they said, “Jesus, teach that to us.”

As our brothers and sisters in Baghdad show us, the first charism of the Christian movement was the boldness of petitionary prayer, asking God for what we need, “give us this day our daily bread.”

There are many things that consumerism and capitalism can sell us that we thought were the sole property of the church; health, wellness, self-actualization, meditation…

Things like GoFundMe can take over our charitable giving.

Non-profits can provide social programs, give us ways to volunteer.

What we’ve found out or been reminded of today is that  there’s one thing that our religious faith gives our world that nothing else can;

Like Jesus, like our brothers and sisters in Baghdad, the job of the church and its people is to teach people to pray.

To be the person on your block that everyone knows, if I need something from God, I know that I can get a prayer from Linda right now, or Marissa, or John, or David.

In a world where so many institutions will gladly give you what you pay for,

Jesus is asking us to remind our neighbors and our world that with faith in God’s Holy Spirit you can also get what you pray for.

Amen.