Title: Keep Praying
"Pray constantly"
[1 Thessalonians 5:16-18]
Professor Oh Gangnam
Always rejoice. Pray constantly. Be grateful for everything.
This is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus.
- 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
As I said before, Saegil Church is the same church as my heart. Even though I am in Canada, I try to maintain an invisible bond with you by visiting the website I will leave frequently. It is a pleasure to be able to worship together with you at the church I will write like this today, and I am very happy and grateful for giving me the opportunity to witness the word like this. In particular, I would like to thank Brother Kim Yong-duk and Brother Gil Hee-seong for giving up his turn to preach.
Introduction
According to today’s text, “the will of God for us in Christ Jesus” is said to be three.
The first is to always be happy,
The second is to pray constantly.
Third, be grateful for everything.
Two years ago, I preached at this church in the fall, and it was Thanksgiving at that time, so I spoke with the third “Give thanks in all things” from the text I read today. Today, I would like to talk to you with the second “pray without ceasing”. Next time when the opportunity arises, it seems that I will have no choice but to tell you with the first thing, “Rejoice always.” But even if the opportunity is not given, as you will see later, these three are interconnected, so talking about prayer today is also talking about joy.
Main subject
As we all know, Descartes said, “I think. Therefore, I exist,” but religious scholar Nils Perr slightly modified this statement, saying, “I pray. Therefore I exist.” Prayer is the most basic element of many religions around the world. German religious scholar Frederick Heiler emphasizes this fact in his famous book Das Gebet.
That's right. Even if a religious life without prayer is impossible, there is nothing wrong with it. Especially for Christians, as we saw in today's text, prayer is one of the three things God wants from us. A Christian who does not pray is not a Christian.
After I wrote the book 『There is no Jesus』, I received letters from all of you, and there were many letters of thanks, but there were also letters from people who did not agree with me. Quite a few of those who disagree have asked me, "Do you pray?" To those of conservative faith, so-called progressive Christians seem to be non-prayer. I would like to start with the conclusion. Whether we are conservative or progressive, we all need prayer. It may seem true that there is a danger of overlooking the importance of prayer, especially among those considered progressive. In that sense, I think it is very important to become a Christian who knows prayer well and prays constantly and without ceasing.
type of prayer
1. supplication prayer
There are several types of prayer. When we say “prayer,” we first think of pleading prayer. In English, it is called petitionary prayer. How can I do it, please help me. It is a request, a prayer.
In fact, this kind of supplication prayer is the prayer that we Christians pray the most. This prayer is very important. Even in the prayer Jesus taught, there are words of pleading prayer, “Give us our daily bread.” For example, “I want to go to Busan now. Please watch over my steering wheel so that I get to my destination safely.” Asking for God's help in this way means that I humbly accept my limitations. It is reaffirming that I am not the master of my own destiny and resolving to live by the power of God. It is to get rid of my pride (hubris) that I can do everything on my own terms and to empty myself before God. It is the practice of avoiding coercion and following the rules.
But this prayer of supplication is also dangerous. Because it can be reduced to a means to satisfy one's selfish desires. Praying that it will not rain because you have to go to a church picnic even though the rice fields are burnt, praying that your own store will prosper even if the store next door goes bankrupt, sitting still and praying for money or breaking the rules of health and staying healthy It's like asking for This kind of prayer promotes ups and downs of faith. It is to regard God as a blessing. Strictly speaking, this prayer compels God to grant his request by twisting his arm and piercing his side.
Goldon Allport, a professor of religious psychology at Harvard University, said that religions that emphasize prayer as a means of selfishness and gratification of bodily desires are "immature religions." The prayer emphasized in the so-called 『Prayer of Jabez』, which is gaining popularity in the United States and Korea these days, is, “I hope that the Lord bless me with blessings, broaden my horizons, and help me out of trouble with your hand The prayer, “May there be no worries,” can be said to be a representative example of such ups and downs and selfish pleading prayers.
2. Contemplative Prayer
But are all prayers only prayers of supplication? According to the Gospels, Jesus went up a mountain and stayed up all night to pray. It is also said that he went to the wilderness and prayed for 40 days. If your prayers were only prayers of supplication, you would not have been able to pray so late at night or for 40 days. “I will teach many people tomorrow, so please give me a loud voice. If there are many people, we will teach by boat, so please provide a boat. Give me the power to feed five thousand. Please show me the history of healing that can heal the sick...” Even if there are 100 prayers like this, it will not take more than 10 minutes. This means that Jesus' prayer was not just a prayer of supplication.
In general, there are so-called contemplative prayers and contemplative prayers in addition to supplication prayers. It is called contemplative prayer in English. It is not prayer that clings to while speaking to God, but hearing the word of God, communing with him, etc.
The famous Danish existentialist philosopher Kierkegaol said: “The deeper we go into prayer, the more we discover that prayer is listening, not speaking.” If we only pray for supplication, it can be said that the patient goes to the doctor, talks about his sick symptoms, and gets up before hearing the doctor's words. I believe that Jesus' prayer was not only a prayer of supplication but also a prayer of contemplative or meditation.
As is well known, the church that emphasizes this prayer the most is the Quaker. When I go to a Quaker meeting, everyone sits still and meditates for an hour without saying a word. Then, if God seems to be speaking to him, he hears it and speaks to others. This is what they call “waiting for the inner light”. Ludorf Otto, a famous German religious scholar, in his book Das Heilige (translated by Brother Gil Hee-seong of this church) points out that Protestants should learn this kind of silent worship from Quakers. In fact, Quaker prayer meetings are in many ways similar to Zen meditation.
Thich Nhat Hanh, a Vietnamese monk who claims to have both Buddha and Jesus as teachers, who lived in France and visited Korea last March, did not only show Jesus as he was crucified, but sat quietly and prayed in meditation. I once said that it would be better to describe it as a person who does it.
When you read the Bible, try changing the word “prayer” to “meditation” or “meditation prayer” and read it. When you think of prayer, you think of pleading prayer, and when you say meditation or meditation prayer, you will find that in many cases it is more in line with the true meaning of prayer in the Bible.
Among the many prayers today, the one I would like to particularly emphasize is the “Jesus Prayer”. There is a book called “The Pilgrim's Way” that I translated a while ago and will be coming soon. According to some people, it is even considered to be one of the three greatest masterpieces of Russia, along with Tolstoy's War and Peace and Dostoevsky's Idiot. Written in the late 1800s by an unknown Russian author, this book is a vivid and touching depiction of the infinite joy and blessings of walking on the pilgrimage path as he practices the “Prayer of Jesus.”
How can this unknown pilgrim hear Paul's words to “pray without ceasing” and pray without ceasing while eating, engaging in other activities, or sleeping? I went on a pilgrimage with a question about how to do it, and I prayed “Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me” from a teacher 3,000 times a day at first, then 6,000 times a day, and then again 12,000 times a day. , later taught to practice the “Jesus Prayer,” which is repeated over and over without counting. In this way, it is said that prayer will come out automatically when you eat or sleep, and this is so-called “continuous prayer” or “continuous prayer” in English, ceaseless prayer or praying without cease. As you continue to pray like this, you will experience that joy drenches every bone and every part of your body, flowing through your entire body, and a feeling of happiness engulfs your entire body. It depicts like a picture that you will already live a life that tastes heaven in this world to the extent that you wonder if you can be happier than the one who went to heaven.
In fact, unlike Roman Catholicism and Protestantism that emerged from it, Eastern Orthodox Christianity that has spread to Eastern Europe and Russia is a prayer method that has been passed down as a very important tradition called “Hashikam”. As you well know, this type of prayer is taught in many religions. The closest example is similar to reciting “Om Mani Padme Hum” or “Nam Amitabha Buddha Guanyin” in Buddhism.
I hope you too, like this pilgrim, walk along the road and continue to pray, “Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me.” Later, you will find that the prayer comes out of its own accord as your heart beats. That is why this prayer is also called “the prayer of the heart”. I'm not going to tell you to memorize 12,000 times a day. If you pray this prayer when you are doing something repeatedly, I believe that you will not be distracted by other things and you will feel the presence of Christ without realizing it.
conclusion
There can be many other specific ways to pray. “Mindfulness,” which is to focus our hearts on every action, every sensation, every emotion, and look inside ourselves, can also be practiced as a great form of prayer. But today I will stop by introducing one “The Prayer of Jesus”.
Prayer is a life that truly enriches and excites the religious life. The hymn “Nice to meet you, prayer time” is a hymn that only those who know the true taste of prayer can truly sing, and it can come out of its own accord. Life without prayer is like a violin without resonance. Prayer is attaching a resonance tube to the violin. Softening the flattened cotton cushion by inflating it again. I pray that your life will be more abundant and blessed through this prayer life.
God,
May our lives become a life of prayer.
So, let us always experience your presence and live it.
not only are you in heaven
Through our prayers, we know that you are in us as well.
Let me feel and live.
Thus, our life becomes a life of joy and a life of gratitude.
The threefold will that you have for us in Christ Jesus
Let it be done completely.
I pray in the name of Jesus. Amen