Don: Ritual worship is more about belonging than believing. It defines us, constrains us, informs and educates us, and above all it binds us to our faith community. Prayer is part of worship, and comes in many forms.
The disciples asked Jesus how to pray:
It happened that while Jesus was praying in a certain place, after He had finished, one of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, teach us to pray just as John also taught his disciples.” And He said to them, “When you pray, say:
‘Father, hallowed be Your name.
Your kingdom come.
‘Give us each day our daily bread.
‘And forgive us our sins,
For we ourselves also forgive everyone who is indebted to us.
And lead us not into temptation.’” (Luke 11:1-4)
Matthew provides more detail:
“When you pray, you are not to be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners so that they may be seen by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. (Matthew 6:5)
Evidently, there are those who know how to pray and those (like the disciples) who don’t. Jesus continued:
But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.
“And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words. So do not be like them; for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.
“Pray, then, in this way:
‘Our Father who is in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.
‘Your kingdom come.
Your will be done,
On earth as it is in heaven.
‘Give us this day our daily bread.
‘And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
‘And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. [For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.’] (Matthew 6:6-13)
Scripture tends to paint prayer as something mysterious, something that we don’t know how to do (or at least not very well), and even as something that we don’t need to do since the spirit will pray for us, and in any case God knows what we are praying for even before we pray. Our sermons exhort us to pray harder, more sincerely, more often, but they never admonish us for not knowing how to pray and never exhort us to learn how to pray. It’s not something we seem prepared to admit, perhaps because—truth be told—we use prayer to try to control God, to put him to work on our behalf. But what is really important in prayer? Is it what we say? How we say it? Both? Neither?
In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus brought out two keys aspects of prayer. One is the distinction between personal and communal or “corporate” prayer:
Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and said to His disciples, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” And He took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee [James and John], and began to be grieved and distressed. Then He said to them, “My soul is deeply grieved, to the point of death; remain here and keep watch with Me.”
And He went a little beyond them, and fell on His face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as You will.” And He came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, “So, you men could not keep watch with Me for one hour? Keep watching and praying that you may not enter into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
He went away again a second time and prayed, saying, “My Father, if this cannot pass away unless I drink it, Your will be done.” Again He came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy. And He left them again, and went away and prayed a third time, saying the same thing once more. Then He came to the disciples and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Behold, the hour is at hand and the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners. Get up, let us be going; behold, the one who betrays Me is at hand!” (Matthew 26:36-46)
Why the need to watch with Jesus? What were they to watch for? Why were they evidently incapable of doing something that was evidently so important? Notice the ritual nature of the prayer—the same prayer said three times over.
It is clear that Jesus was under intense personal stress. Why did he need to engage in corporate prayer? Why was he not content to say his personal prayer in private? Why the need for watchmen? Was it because it was after nightfall? Was it a reflection of what was later to be written in scripture?…:
Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful; and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near. (Hebrews 10:23-25)
And in another passage we again see Jesus engaged in routine, ritual corporate worship (though not prayer):
And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up; and as was His custom, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath, and stood up to read. And the book of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him. And He opened the book and found the place where it was written, (Luke 4:16-17)
Paul mentioned the importance of corporate worship in several epistles. Here is one:
In pointing out these things to the brethren, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, constantly nourished on the words of the faith and of the sound doctrine which you have been following. But have nothing to do with worldly fables fit only for old women. On the other hand, discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness; for bodily discipline is only of little profit, but godliness is profitable for all things, since it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come. It is a trustworthy statement deserving full acceptance. For it is for this we labor and strive, because we have fixed our hope on the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of believers.
Prescribe and teach these things. Let no one look down on your youthfulness, but rather in speech, conduct, love, faith and purity, show yourself an example of those who believe. Until I come, give attention to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation and teaching. Do not neglect the spiritual gift within you, which was bestowed on you through prophetic utterance with the laying on of hands by the presbytery. Take pains with these things; be absorbed in them, so that your progress will be evident to all. Pay close attention to yourself and to your teaching; persevere in these things, for as you do this you will ensure salvation both for yourself and for those who hear you. (1 Timothy 4:6-16)
Beyond the obvious social benefit of corporate worship, what is its value to the individual of having others around to “watch” with one? What should they be watching for? Is it because we are spiritually vulnerable in the act of prayer? Is that why Jesus took the three disciples with him when he prayed in Gethsemane?
David: To me, Jesus was praying for himself as opposed to performing an act of worship (although the statement “Not my will but thy will be done” might be construed as worshipful). As for what they were all watching for: Was it not the arrival of Judas and the Romans coming to arrest Jesus?
Reinhard: Jesus was low in spirits and needed emotional support. The disciples too were uncertain and afraid about what was unfolding. By praying together, they strengthened and calmed one another by providing mutual emotional support.
Donald: It’s true that although we are often sceptical of each other’s spirituality, we never criticize or seek to correct each other’s prayers. Is it because we don’t know how to pray ourselves? In Gethsemane, one could almost sense Jesus groaning, but there is surely a vast difference between groaning and whispering a prayer. Is there a similar qualitative difference between spoken prayer and songs of prayer, for example? A personal prayer said in a time of deep distress is surely different from a joyful prayer sung in communal worship. Before we can be critical of prayer, should we not analyze it more carefully?
Jeff: Corporate prayer is curated. In church, formal prayer is very much scripted; whereas at the other end of the spectrum is personal prayer consisting of random thoughts cognitively presented to God in some form (vocal, thought, etc.). In between these extremes are more or less scripted/more or less spontaneous prayers, such as those we may say before a meal. In short, prayer might cover a much broader range of communications with God than we think, all the way from nonverbal thoughts to scripted oratory. Perhaps the classification “prayer” is too broad to facilitate analysis. Jesus praying with his three closest disciples in Gethsemane is a curious blend of personal and corporate prayer.
Don: As I pondered the issue before coming to today’s class, I tried to put myself in Jesus’ shoes. Suppose I were in personal crisis and deep distress and felt a strong need to pray, a strong need for the presence of God. Why would I invite Jeff and Alice and Reinhard to come with me and ask them to watch over me while I prayed? What exactly would I be asking and expecting of them? What is the corporate experience in this setting? It seems to have been critical for Jesus—so critical that he tried three times to make it happen, and it is clear that he was deeply disappointed in the lack of a result.
Jeff: It parallels our human experience of crying out to God but hearing nothing. No response, no resolution to our need, no comfort. And this was to be his experience from Gethsemane all the way to his death.
David: What difference would it have made to Jesus, and/or to the disciples, and/or to God if the disciples had stayed awake? The outcome would presumably have been the same. Judas was on his way, and Jesus knew his end was nigh. Surely, he was not expecting to be saved by having people watching out for him. At the human level, one can see the benefit of not being alone at such a time, but to someone with faith as powerful as that of Jesus, one is never alone: God is always present.
Jeff: Almost nowhere in the life of Jesus was he as human as he was at this point. His pure humanity was on display here.
Don: Yet he clearly had a definite purpose in mind. If we could figure that out, it might be instructive in terms of teaching us about corporate worship and prayer in our own lives.
Donald: Jesus was obviously disappointed with the disciples. They failed him in his own moment of need. Perhaps this disappointment is what God feels about us. Perhaps they would have been more engaged with the process had they stayed awake.
Don: That is what is so fascinating about the story. He asked them to come with him but then left them somewhat behind (“a stone’s throw” behind, according to one version) while he went to pray on his own. He left them with the explicit instruction to watch. It implies that he felt a serious vulnerability, and I think it must have been a spiritual vulnerability, not just the obvious physical vulnerability to arrest and eventual death. He needed the disciples to cover him, in some sense.
Reinhard: Jesus had met his humanity, as he did when he cried over Lazarus and when he lost his temper in the temple, but this time it was deeper. It was like us when we are at our lowest, when our suffering seems unbearable and we turn to deep prayer to connect with God and seek peace.
Jeff: It might indeed be a product of the level of vulnerability. There is some benefit in surrounding oneself with others for protection.
Michael: It is easy to worship a false god, or a false idea, when one is at a point of despair. Perhaps that’s what Jesus sought protection against.
Jeff: One is vulnerable when one is sincerely seeking an assurance from God and not getting it, seeking his presence and not finding it. One loses one’s compass, so it helps to have on hand people one knows and trusts to keep one pointed in the right direction. That could explain why Jesus was so disappointed in his three closest friends. Having felt the loss of connection with his Father he now felt a loss of connection with his friends.
David: In his human distress, Jesus probably recognized his own vulnerability to take the easy, human, way out and simply abscond—physically from the cemetery and spiritually from God. His prayer’s emphasis on “Not my will, but your will be done” seems to me absolutely critical: It was what kept him anchored and connected to God. The human side of him begged for the bitter cup to be taken away, and he perhaps feared he was sufficiently vulnerable to surrender to his human will—hence his need to be watched.
Jeff: Job went through a similar situation of despair and (essentially) betrayal by his friends. The message, the concept, that one can retain one’s spiritual moorings even in the face of utter despair and loneliness is a powerful one.
Donald: Perhaps our reluctance to be critical of others’ prayer hinges on these notions of sincerity and vulnerability. How can one be critical of a person who is sincerely expressing his or her vulnerability, even if s/he does so via ritual corporate prayer? Who are we to judge?
Jeff: An individual’s connection with God through prayer is sacrosanct. We are loathe to trespass on it.
Don: Do Christians feel that way toward Moslem prayer, Jewish prayer, Buddhist prayer, … etc?
Donald: I think we do.
Jeff: Absolutely. We are quick to judge religions and religious practices, but when it comes to any individual’s connection to whatever they hold to be God, we are very reticent to interfere and judge.
Michael: My uncle teaches Christian religion in a mainly Moslem school in Bethlehem. The passage from Matthew 6 about praying quietly in private and so on would seem to be universally applicable but over there (unlike over here) Moslems carry prayer mats around with them and will unfold them and pray on the street at the appointed times. But Christians too pray ostentatiously in church, a more or less public place. Jesus was quite clear about not praying in this way.
Don: He also warned against repetitious prayer and lengthy prayer and so on. It might benefit our own church elders to be reminded of this passage every week.
Jeff: I am not certain that Jesus’ Gethsemane prayer can be described as corporate. There were other people around, but they were not asked to participate in the prayer. It was a personal prayer that someone observed.*
Don: Then it seems to beg the question whether we should be involved in personal prayer in a corporate setting, whether we should be doing something to help one another in personal prayer. There seems to be a different dynamic than applies in ritual communal prayer. Was the Gethsemane prayer a model prayer? Was it the model prayer?
Jeff: Are there any examples of Jesus engaging in corporate prayer?
Don: Precious few, if any. He read the scriptures in the synagogue but we don’t see him praying there.
Jeff: Even the Lord’s Prayer was not necessarily intended as a corporate mantra.
Donald: The posture an individual adopts in prayer is something we are willing to criticize. Some people strongly disapprove of hand-waving during prayer, for example. If posture contributes to the value and the sincerity of personal prayer, should it be criticized?
Anonymous: I too don’t see a corporate prayer in Gethsemane. I see a man expressing his need of human emotional support and divine spiritual support. I also think he wanted his friends to stay awake in order to keep them from being led into temptation. They were afraid and vulnerable, too, and Jesus knew their fear—and thus their vulnerability to temptation—was bound to grow as the mob approached. Jesus wanted to show them beforehand how to pray to avoid being led into temptation. But they slept through the lesson. Jesus needed his friends to stand by him; they needed Jesus to keep them from temptation.
Don: We will look further into the question of corporate prayer, next week.
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* Postscript by David: Who? The three disciples slept through it all, so who observed it and passed it down to us?
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