Sermon: Praying with Chutzpah!

: I grew up in a Lutheran home. We went to church faithfully and I was taught the catechism and the liturgy and hymnody of the church. I was taught to pray before I went to bed. One of the prayers that I prayed for years is that God would bless me by giving me a faithful and loving Christian wife.  God answered my prayer and He gave me a beautiful wife, a Christian wife who is a good theologian to boot, something most important for a man in the ministry.  God gave me more than I prayed for. 

Another example from my childhood: I always thought it would be cool to have a little brother or sister.  I prayed.  It never happened. But God answered my prayer in a way I would never have imagined. He gave me three sons and three daughters who are more than brothers and sisters.  Of course, these are pleasant examples of God giving us more than we pray for. Sometimes He gives surprise answers to our prayers after we have suffered, like the Canaanite woman or the man at the pool or those struggling Christians suffering under persecution. But whenever and however He answers, He gives us more and better than we deserve or ask. He strengthens us, makes us grow in grace and become better theologians. As the hymn writer puts it: “God knows full when times of gladness Shall be the needful thing for thee. When He has tried thy soul with sadness And from all guile has found thee free, He comes to thee all unaware And makes thee own His loving care,” (LSB 750 stanza 4). 

But does that really happen? Always? How many demons possessed and cripples never saw Jesus and were never healed? How many warring Christians have never reconciled with each other? How many faithful pastors have prayed for their congregation to grow and it never has? How many poor wives pray that their husbands quit beating them, and they never do?  How many times have we prayed for the violence and racism to stop and it doesn’t?  How often have we prayed for someone to be healed and they only die? Have all the prayers of these Christians been answered?  

Yes, or they will be, even if  it has to be eschatologically or in the last days.  God is giving us what we should have been asking for all along - and really were when we were praying our Lord’s Prayer - namely, forgiveness, salvation, fortitude, patience, and love, along with the intricate composite of all the blessings and sufferings which make us Christians. We hunger and thirst for all that we request in prayer, because the Word of God has promised exactly those things to us. We are eager to receive from our gracious heavenly Father and He is even more eager to give what we request.  “Lord, teach us to pray.”
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Trinity Lutheran Church, School and Child Care have been "Making Known the Love of Christ" in Sheboygan, Wisconsin and throughout the world since 1853 as a congregation gathering around God's Word and Sacraments to receive forgiveness and life everlasting. Trinity is located in downt

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Trinity Lutheran Church, School and Child Care have been "Making Known the Love of Christ" in Sheboygan, Wisconsin and throughout the world since 1853 as a congregation gathering around God's Word and Sacraments to receive forgiveness and life everlasting. Trinity is located in downtown Sheboygan, only one block from the Mead Public Library and the Weill Center for the Performing Arts. We invite you to visit us in person!

Trinity Lutheran Sheboygan is a proud member of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. Visit their website: https://www.lcms.org/​​​​

Music for this production was obtained through a licensing agreement with One License, LLC. The copyright permission to reprint, podcast, and record hymns and songs is acquired through ID Number: 730195-A

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