Second Sunday in Lent (2024)
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Genesis 32:22-32; Matthew 15:21-28
Genesis 32:22-32; Matthew 15:21-28
My Brothers and Sisters in Christ in our Old Testament Lesson today, we read of Jacob as He wrestles with God at Peniel, when Jacob left his father’s home he had a vision of the angels of God ascending and descending from heaven. Now Jacob finds himself in a wrestling match with the Lord, after hearing God’s promises. We too find ourselves in similar struggles albeit not quite as physical as Jacob’s, but when we come before the Lord in prayer it is difficult. It is good for us to understand why such things are battles for us. For that will also explain why it is that woman who beseeches Jesus to help her child is at first ignored, and then rebuked.
Praying to God
Prayer is an vital part of the Christian life.
The Scriptures call for us to pray without ceasing and prayer is the pulse of the Christian life. That we come before the Lord frequently. Why does our Small Catechism contain a morning prayer, mealtime prayers, and night time prayers. If you were to follow what the Small Catechism says, you would pray the Lord’s Prayer 8x a day, and the Apostle’s Creed twice. Suddenly the confirmation Prayer sheets aren’t looking too bad are they confirmands? :) There are a variety of prayers that one might say, that includes the
Prayer flows from true faith.
What one believes is put into a prayer, as we come before the Lord on the basis of what God has promised us. For if we did not believe in God or his promises, then our prayers would be purposeless.
Without faith, prayers are not heard.
To whom are you praying? If you don't believe in God, or in Christ then who are you praying to? Like a letter that has neither address or name on it. You can put it in the mail, but it has no destination.
Prayer is a Struggle
Prayer asks for God’s will, not my own.
This is where people often find their first difficulty. For they try to treat God like one that they can trick, or trade with, or ordered around. We see this frequently in the ministry of Jesus. Where people don’t believe He is the messiah, and so they demand that he prove himself, right after he performs a miracle. But they want the miracle to be for them.
We pray confidently for what God has promised.
For this is the nature of faith. We go to Him and ask for what God has promised to give to his children. For the nature of faith is that you believe God’s Word, you believe what He has spoken instead of acting like the pagans. Who don’t understand that
We cannot manipulate God by our prayers.
If you can control God or you can use him like a genie in a lamp to get what it is you want, then He isn’t really God at all, is he? Furthermore if that is true, why are you asking for so little? That is not how God operates.
Consider Jacob and the Woman
Both struggled with the Lord.
The Old Testament text tells us that this is the special angel the Melek YHWH who is Jesus before his incarnation. For Jacob confesses that He has seen God face to face, and yet no one has seen the Father, which means, this is the Son.
Jacob relied on God’s promise.
A few verses before this God made a promise to Jacob. That God would do good to him as he returned to the country of his kindred and so he went, despite fearing the wrath of his brother, trusting God’s promise. Whereas the Woman believed the Word of God that
Jesus is the one prophesied to free the captives.
Her daughter was oppressed severely by a demon. Jesus at first ignored, and refused to answer her, and then rebuked her sharply when she asked for help, but she persisted and Jesus praised her for her great faith. Because..
Faith believes God’s promises.
It clings to God’s Word despite the struggles and the trials and all the things around us that make us think this can’t be. But we go back to God’s Word and we stubbornly say, this is what God said. That is why
Prayer Follows Faith
To tell an unbeliever to pray is pointless.
For they have no faith, they don’t know what God has said, or believed, and so they go on thinking that they can persuade by speaking eloquently, there are those who make great boasts of what they will accomplish should God do this. Their prayers are not heard, because it’s all about them.
Prayer is built on God’s promises.
If you don’t know what God promised, then what are you praying for? Imagine if someone pounds on your door at dinnertime and demands to know why, you didn’t have a place set for them. I never said that I would feed you? The person leaves in a rage and talks about how horrible you are. Never once realizing they’re in fact the crazy one.
The Holy Spirit helps us in prayer.
Intercedes for us, especially when words fail us. When we don’t know exactly how, or what to say? The Holy Spirit intercedes that our prayers might be brought before God and pleasing to Him that they might be in accordance with His Word.
What has God Promised you?
You are God’s child.
As a dear Father sets aside time for his dear children, so too will the Father in heaven hear your prayers. This is why He has invited and so strongly urged you to come to Him with all of your concerns and your worries, that like a father who takes care of the scary things of the world. He will take care of you.
We have been promised spiritual blessings.
That is to say, forgiveness, salvation, a place in the kingdom of God, eternal life, the resurrection of the dead, and many more such blessings. These we pray for daily, asking that the Lord would forgive our sins, and grant to us hearts that forgive our neighbors as well.
Jesus has promised to never leave you.
This means that no matter how dark or difficult the road might be. No matter how bleak or awful the situation is, or even if you have fallen into the depths of the despair, Christ has promised to not be far away. This has strengthened Christians especially as they approach that valley of the shadow of death for their shepherd is with them.
What has God not Promised?
God doesn’t promise good health.
We will get sick, we will get cancers, diseases, lose limbs, and suffer loss. That’s hard, but we want to remember that Jesus has promised us a new body in the resurrection. So no matter what we lose here, it will be restored.
God doesn’t promise a life free of trouble.
Quite the opposite in fact. Jesus tells us that we will have trouble, but what we can do is leave the worrying to God our Father. So do not despair, do not give up no matter how dark the road might be, for it was the Will of God to send Jesus to redeem you. You are precious to Him.
God doesn’t promise worldly treasure.
Many people pray to have their financial troubles suddenly fixed and turn to get rich schemes, lottery, or gambling and end up poorer than when they began. Rather, we recognize that
We are called to be stewards.
That God has given us everything that we need. We are called then to make right use of it, and not just for our own benefit but the benefit of our neighbor. In order to do that, we must take the time to manage these things well for, if we fail it affects not only us, but those around us that depend on us.
So my dear Christians Prayer is an important part of our life, and of our faith, it is a great and glorious privilege that God the creator of the Universe has called us his children and He is our dear Father that we might approach him in all confidence. Make no mistake, prayer is not a substitute for the Word of God, and the means of grace. These are the things that keep us in the faith that our prayers might be pleasing to our Father. If you run into an unbeliever, don’t tell them to pray, offer to pray for them, and do so right there. For they don’t know the promises of the Father, and if they are not Christians they do not have the hope of being heard that you do. So you bring their concerns before God, when they are unable. If you don’t know what to pray, remember the prayer that Christ taught us. Our father who art in heaven, and in that one prayer, you will find more than enough. In Jesus name. Amen.