The Highway to Prayer
October 3, 2004
The Rev. Dr. Anthony J. Godlefski, Pastor
Montgomery United Methodist Church
Matthew 6:6
6But when you pray, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your Father secretly. Then your Father, who knows all secrets, will reward you.
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, good morning! Let us hear our Gospel reading for this morning once again. Jesus said, “When you pray, go away by yourself and shut the door behind you, and pray to your Father secretly. Then your Father, who knows all secrets, will reward you.”
That’s a verse we don’t think about often, do we? But it’s a beauty. Let’s explore it this morning. I’ve got a question for you. I wonder if any of you have ever had this experience. You want to pray. You try to pray. Maybe you begin your prayer as we talked about some weeks ago, by making a cross on your thumb to remind you that you’re in a state of prayer. And then you start to pray and it comes out something like, “Oh Lord, thank you for this beautiful day…and I wonder if I found my keys. Oh, sorry, Lord. I also want to thank you for…um, did I buy coffee this week? Oh, sorry, Lord, that’s right, I’m in prayer right now. Um, I wonder if I have that same ache or pain I had the other day.”
You get the idea. Have you ever been trying to pray and then your concentration just drifts away? It happens to all of us from time to time. We feel embarrassed. We wonder why we can’t concentrate. Or maybe your life is so stressful, and there are so many things happening. You want to pray. You know it’s the right thing to do. You know that God is going to bless you through prayer. But there are so many distractions that it’s hard to settle your thoughts. Thoughts crowd in on our minds one slam after another. Some researchers say that people think 40,000 thoughts a day. Sometimes they’re the same 40,000 thoughts everyday, aren’t they?
But that’s the point. Our minds are so crowded, our lives are so stressed, that it is hard to settle down and get in touch with God. It was hard even for Jesus Christ. Do you remember all those times in the Gospel when Jesus went away to a quiet place and said to His disciples, “Come away. Come away and rest awhile”? And they’d try, but people followed them and interrupted them, and He always put people first. But Jesus sought out the quiet place, the quiet place where He could observe the Scripture that says, “Be still, and know that the Lord is God.”
Oh, it’s so hard to be still, isn’t it? It’s so hard to quiet ourselves. It’s so hard to squeak between those 40,000 thoughts and make room for God. This morning, my dear friends, I would like to share a tool with you, a tool to help you focus on God. It’s a tool that I’ve been experimenting with through the summer, and I’ve found it to be a tremendous blessing. I owe a lot of these thoughts to Dr. Wayne Dyer. Some of you have heard of him and his books. This is a specific Christian orientation toward meditation – the Highway to Prayer. And we’re basing it on today’s reading from Matthew.
Now, I’m not too good at remembering verse numbers, calling out “That’s Ezekiel 3:72!” But I like to have little tricks to help me remember. Matthew 6:6 – Matthew’s Route 66 is the Highway to Prayer. So when you look it up, I think you’ll remember that one.
How do we focus on God and get in touch with God in prayer? This is a participatory sermon, so I’m going to be asking you to do a few things with me as we study this technique. At first, I’m going to ask you to practice a chant that goes with this. It’s very simple; just two words – “Lord God” – on one note, drawn out and low, and you say it three times that way. Isn’t there a peaceful feeling that comes even as we say that simple chant and unite our voices so beautifully?
At the end of the prayer we will chant “Amen”, again three times, low and drawn out.
If you are indeed in a private place and feel comfortable with out-loud chanting, it does aid in the prayer process. If you’re in a place where that would be more difficult, chant silently; chant within your head.
For the next step, I need three volunteers. They will simply stand up here with me and hold up a piece of paper with a word on it. [Matt, Susan, and Doreen come forward to volunteer.] Stand close together. Now, here’s a verse from Scripture: God is love.
Now, the first thing I’d like you to do in this prayer process is to get settled, take a deep breath, and relax. Picture these three words in your mind. See the words printed in your mind, in whatever typeface or lettering feels vivid and comfortable to you. Let’s read them again: God is love. That’s how the process, the meditation, begins.
Now, what I’m going to ask our volunteers to step farther apart. Now, read the words more slowly, with more space between the words: God … is …love. After you visualize the sentence a few times, you’re going to concentrate on just the first two words. Go back and forth between them a few times. God …is. God …is. God …is.
And then, you’re going to break through the gap. There is space between these two words, and when you enter the meditative state, you break through the space. Picture yourself breaking through the space between the two words, the space where there are no words. Dwell in the space between the words.
When you do this in your meditation time, it’s a very wonderful feeling. You may feel an immediate lightness and lifting. And when you’re here, what should you think about? I invite you to think about, perhaps, floating in the darkness of space, upheld by the invisible hands of God. I invite you to immerse yourself completely in the present moment and feel what you feel. Hear the sounds around you, and be in a state of deep relaxation. And when you are here, dwelling in this place, you don’t need to think of any words. You just need to think of the beauty and the wonder of God. And at that point, the chanting begins: Lord God, Lord God, Lord God. And after you’ve chanted, just rest in the Lord; be in the space between the two words.
When it feels right to you, come back out, and consider the next two words, “is …love.” And break through the gap between the two words, chanting again, “Lord God, Lord God, Lord God.” When you are here, as you enjoy the Lord’s presence, you may find yourself so relaxed that you fall asleep. That’s okay. Maybe you need to. Chances are, even if you don’t, you will emerge more rested than you were before you began the process. While you are in this space, this is the time to talk to the Lord. Bring before Him the requests of your heart. Bring Him the things you’re concerned about. Bring Him the things you want Him to touch and heal. And when that feels complete, come back out from this place in your mind and chant the amen. “Amen. Amen. Amen.” When it feels right, you can open your eyes and go forward with the day.
When Dr. Dyer does this process, he prefers to use the first ten words of the Lord’s Prayer. “Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.” and he does the process I just described between each of the words. Obviously, a longer meditation process and a very beautiful one. I invite us to start with this simple Scripture passage. You may use other words if you wish. God loves you, for instance. I use this one, and I invite you to, also.
Once again, very briefly: You start by settling in, taking a deep breath, relaxing, picturing the “God is love” Scripture verse. Go back and forth between the first two words three times. Break through the gap. Visualize yourself suspended in the arms of God. Chant. Relax. Come back out. Go back and forth between the second and third words three times. Break through the gap. Chant. Bring your petitions before the Lord. Listen for the Lord. In the stillness there may be something that God wants to say to you, and this is a wonderful time to listen for it. When that feels complete, come back to this space in your mind and chant the Amen three times.
I would be very interested, if you decide to experiment with this technique and try it, in how it goes. Tell me if this is a useful technique for you. And when you try this, always listen for the Lord. He wants fellowship with you, and this is a way you can get in contact with Him. I hope it’s a blessing for you, because God loves you. I do, too. Have a wonderful week. Amen.