Your God and Father in heaven has promised that, before you call, He will answer, and while you are yet speaking, He will act. He has indeed taught you to pray and promised to hear you; but even before you have begun to do so, He is already providing for your every need of body and soul.
Prayer does not begin with your choice or decision or effort. It does not begin in your heart or with your voice. It begins with God speaking His Word of the Gospel, by which He opens your ears, your body and life to receive His gifts, and opens your heart, mind, and voice to respond in faith.
He speaks to you and calls you to Himself. And as He has reconciled you and all the world to Himself by the Cross of Christ, His Son, so does He welcome you into His arms. He calls you by name, for you are His. And He speaks such beautiful words: That your sins are forgiven. That you are in Christ. That His Spirit dwells in you. That you are beloved and well-pleasing to Him.
So does God the Father speak to you in the Person of His Son, Christ Jesus. And so does Christ Jesus show you the Father plainly and reveal His great heart of love to you by way of the Gospel, by the voluntary Sacrifice of His Cross and by His rising from the dead as your Righteousness. That is how you come to know and love His God and Father as your own dear God and Father.
And so do the faith and prayer of Jesus also become yours. Though you are weak and weary and afraid, when you open your mouth in prayer it is the Lord Jesus who speaks in you — and when you thus call upon your Father in heaven, it is Christ Jesus who is heard and answered in you.
The Lord teaches you to pray in this way — in such confidence — in faith, hope, and love — by the Word that He speaks to you. His Word of the Gospel opens up your ears to hear, your heart to believe, and your lips to show forth the praises of God. That is how you learn to call upon Him for everything that you need, to call upon His holy Name, to pray, praise, and give thanks.
What is more, as Christ Jesus has come down from the Father in heaven and returns to the Father on your behalf, with you in tow, by way of His Cross and Resurrection and Ascension, so does He gather you up, both body and soul, and bring you and your prayers to the Father in peace and joy.
That is the truth. But that is not yet your experience. For here on earth you are scattered like the disciples were when Jesus was taken away to His Passion, to His innocent suffering and death.
You are scattered by the trials and tribulations of this fallen and perishing world, by various and sundry sorrows, sicknesses, and sufferings, by your inescapable mortality and the fear of death. You’re scattered hither and yon by the sins that you commit, by your own persistent guilt and shame and the devil’s wicked accusations, and by the trespasses and sins of others against you.
And you are scattered by the Cross itself. For the peace that you are given as a Christian is not that of this old world. It is rather the Peace of Christ Jesus, that is, the reconciliation with God that He has accomplished for you and bestowed upon you by His grace, by His Cross and Resurrection. And belonging to Him, who was crucified for all your sins, you do have tribulation in the world.
There’s plenty of trouble in the world, of course, as a consequence of sin. But it actually increases when you are called to discipleship, to take up the Cross and follow Christ Jesus; for by His Word and Spirit, from your Baptism and throughout your life, you are crucified, put to death, and buried with Him. And that’s not just theoretical or make-believe; it is real tribulation in the world, in this body and life on earth. And like the disciples then, although you love the Lord and believe in Him, you are troubled by doubts and fears, confusion and pain — and you are scattered by His Cross.
Just so, the depth of your hurt and need compels you to cry out. And even in your misery, you are not alone. The Spirit helps you in your weakness; and Christ Jesus not only teaches you how to pray, but as your merciful and great High Priest He is always praying for you. Indeed, He is your Prayer, your Incense, and your Intercession. He bears you in His Body to His God and Father.
Christ Jesus is here with you, that you should be with Him where He is. The Tabernacle of God is among men, that is, the very flesh and blood of the incarnate Son. He breathes His Life-giving Holy Spirit into your body and soul by His Ministry of the Gospel, and He fights for you against the devil, the world, and the fallenness of your own flesh, that you should not be lost forever.
In order to save you from death and damnation, the Lord Jesus Christ has overcome the world. He has atoned for all your sins. He has defeated the devil and crushed his head. And the same Lord Jesus has gathered you to Himself. He has called you by name, and you are His. So it is that you are here in this place of prayer on this Lord’s Day: You are God’s own child, baptized into Christ.
You are here because Christ has brought you here; because He has bound you to Himself in His own Body; and because He strengthens and sustains you by His Holy Spirit, even in tribulation. He gathers you, enlightens you, and strengthens and sustains you in true faith by the speaking of His Word. For faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of Christ that is preached to you. And as you hear and believe, so do you also pray and confess the Name of Christ Jesus.
That is the rhythm of your Christian life. That is how you breathe. You inhale and exhale the Holy Spirit as you hear and confess the Word of Christ Jesus. You inhale and exhale the forgiveness of sins by faith in His Gospel, forgiving those who sin against you as the Lord Jesus forgives you.
As He has thus called you and gathered you into His Church, let me now describe that holy Bride, the Wife of the Lamb. Let me tell you what she is like. Let me tell you that in her midst there are those who have been lame, and those who have been sick, and those who have been afraid, and those who have been hurt. Into her stream people of all kinds, from all nations, because the Lord has sent His Apostles to make disciples, to baptize, to catechize, and to forgive sins in His Name.
This Bride of Christ, His Holy Church, stands upon the twelve foundation stones, which are His Holy Apostles who preached His Word, published Peace, and proclaimed the Gospel of salvation.
The Church stands upon that Word, which seems so weak and wobbly and yet stands fast against the gates of hell. The Church stands upon the apostolic preaching and confession of the Lamb who was slain, and yet, behold, He lives. For so He says to those whom He sends: “He who hears you, hears Me.” “If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven.” “Do this in remembrance of Me.”
That is the Rock upon which the City of God is built and established on earth as it is in heaven. And you have entered that City by His Word and Holy Spirit, by the washing of the water with His Word in Holy Baptism. For in that River of Life you have been cleansed and sanctified, washed in the Blood of the Lamb, and clothed in the white garments of His innocence and blessedness.
To be sure, there is no unclean thing in the City of God. But you are not unclean. You are not unholy. There is no sin or fault or blemish in you. You are cleansed, and you are holy, because you are in Christ Jesus, and He has brought you into His City by the righteousness of His Gospel.
This is a place of prayer, where you also pray, because this is a place where the Word of Christ is heard. And as you hear, so do you believe. And as you believe, so do you pray. And as you pray, so does the Father answer. And when you cannot speak, the Body of Christ prays for you. And when you can hardly dare to believe what He says to you, the Body of Christ supports you in Him.
Now, if it so happens that you are strong in the faith, that you already know the Word, that you stride through your week in joyful confidence, in the peace and joy of the Gospel, and that you need not be here for your own strength (though I wonder about that!), be here for your neighbor. For in the pews alongside of you, in front and in back of you, there are those who are struggling, those who are sad, and those who are afraid to pray because they do not think they will be heard.
There are those who wonder if they belong here. And yet, by the mercies of God, they are here. And they are part of the Body of Christ, or they are called to become members of His Body by repentance and faith in His Gospel. The truth is that your prayers strengthen them, your presence encourages them. And your words of peace and love in Jesus’ Name are living and active words, which spite the devil, and crush his head, and cast him away from your neighbor’s heart and mind.
That you might have such a Word to speak, to pray and confess, cling to Christ in the preaching of His Gospel. Cling to Him for yourself. Cling to Him for your family. Cling to Him for your neighbor. Cling to Him for the stranger, the widow and orphan, and the foreigner in your midst.
Cling to Him, and call upon the Name of the Lord, knowing that you are heard. For you are not simply a guest in the household and family of God. You are not only an acquaintance of the Bride of Christ, but you belong to her. You are part of her. So precious are you to Jesus, so beautiful by His grace, so glorious through His forgiveness, so much His very own in His Resurrection.
That is what He has given you in the waters of Holy Baptism. More has been accomplished there, and still avails for you, than your entire life on earth should ever be sufficient to consider. You cannot exhaust this treasure. You cannot think of it too much. You cannot rely on it too strongly.
In Holy Baptism Christ has forgiven all your sins, and by your Holy Baptism He is constantly washing your sins away. Though you daily sin much and surely deserve nothing but punishment, the waters of your Baptism wash over you, day after day, as you hear and receive the Gospel.
By the washing of those waters with His Word, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ has adopted you into His Family and made you His own dear child. He has named you with His Name. He has given you His Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Christ Jesus, the Author and Giver of Life, by whom you live. He has given you the Spirit, not because you are strong, but because you are His. Not because you are without sin, but that you may be cleansed. Not because you were holy, but that you should become holy in Christ Jesus, the beloved and well-pleasing Son of God.
In your Baptism Christ Jesus has bound Himself to you. He has taken His stand along with you. He has made all of your sins and all of your hurts, and all of your griefs and sorrows, His own. The wounds that He bears in His Body are your wounds. And by His wounds you are healed.
He has bound Himself to you, and He binds you to Himself, so that, where He is, you shall be also. Thus are you crucified, dead, and buried with Him. But His Cross does not destroy you; it makes you brand new. And as you are crucified with Him, so are you also raised with Him: daily through the forgiveness of your sins, and at the last when your body shall be raised from the dead, immortal and glorious, perfected and imperishable, set free from every weakness, every sadness, every sin.
As He binds Himself to you, and you to Him, so does He also share with you His Ascension into heaven. Thus are you seated with Him at the Right Hand of the Father in the heavenly places, hidden with Christ in God. As He has ascended, so do you ascend in His Body and in His prayer.
And so it is that here, at His Altar in His House, is your place of prayer. Here you are gathered by the riverside of Holy Baptism. Here the Word of Christ Jesus is preached to you. Here your sins are freely and fully forgiven. Here you are set free. Here you live and abide as a beloved child of God. Here nothing at all shall harm you. Death and the devil cannot have you. Christ has you.
So this is your place of prayer, and in the Name of Christ you are heard. In Jesus’ Name you pray, and you are answered with a loud and resounding “Yes” and “Amen” in His crucified and risen Body. For in Him all things are yours in heaven and on earth, and there is nothing lacking.
Take courage, and be at peace. Christ has overcome the world, and you are safe and sound in Him.
In the Name + of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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