Sermon preached by

The Rev. Dr. Fulton L. Porter, III

at

St. Thomas Church, Chicago 

Easter VII, 5/16/10

 John 17:20-26

Somebody Prayed for Me

Oh God, so high above us that we cannot comprehend you and yet so deep within that we cannot escape you.  Make your self real to us today.  Amen.

This world is a place of disturbing realities.  Every day there seems to be something new in the headlines which remind us of that fact.  We need only glance at the newspaper and there in black and white reads descriptions of corporate corruption and concentrated criminality.  We do not have to read far to find entrenched in its sections stories of murder and abuse, war and rumors of war.

We are a nation and we are a people out of control, with seemingly no real power over anything.  Our babies are being murdered in our own neighborhoods and even in the sanctity of our own houses.  Our children are still being murdered in Iraq and it is so commonplace that it is never front page news.

Even the front page of our own lives may cast a sorrowful shadow.  Perhaps our personal headlines read: “Wife and Husband Not Speaking to Each Other; On the Verge of Divorce.”  Perhaps our personal headlines read:  “Child on Drugs and Wasting Their Life Away.”  Perhaps our personal headlines read: “Sick with a Devastating Illness; All Hope Gone.”   Perhaps our headlines say:  “Can’t Stand My Co-worker; Makes Me Sick.”  Maybe the first page of the newspaper of our life simply says “Lonely.”  Or maybe it reads: “Financial Trouble, No End In Sight.”  The headlines might even say: “Life is Great and Couldn’t Be Better!”  Wherever you find yourself in the Tribune of Life, Whatever the case, in good times and in bad times, we need to know that the only way that we can possibly make it is by the power of prayer. Prayer is the only thing that can fix the mess we’re in and sustain us in good times and in bad. 

If you don’t believe me, just keep living.  There will be another crisis in your life that will test your will to press on.  There will be another problem like the ones you’ve had before which will call upon all the strength resident in your soul and beyond.  Your money will not be enough.  Your intelligence will not be enough.  Your skill will not be enough.  Not even your sweat and tears will be sufficient.  It is only by the power or prayer that we can continue to press our way and push through life’s circumstances.

In today’s gospel lesson, we encounter Jesus in what has been called His High Priestly prayer.  Jesus had just finished teaching his disciples in previous chapters and John informs us that this prayer is to be understood as a kind of conclusion to the Lord’s teaching. This prayer, the longest of Jesus’ recorded prayers, was intended to be overheard by His disciples. One purpose of this prayer was to bring comfort and hope to the troubled hearts of the disciples.  It may have been more effective at that moment than all the teaching had done.

Well, let us be careful not to miss this truth here.  Sometimes we need to do less talking and more praying.  Sometimes we talk too much and we need to shut our mouths and turn our hearts to God and ask the father, “What would you have me do?  Use me Lord.”  When they talk about me, what would you have me to do?  When they abuse me, what would you have me to do?  When I am at the end of my rope, what would you have me to do?  When people and circumstances have pushed me to the brink, what would you have me to do?

And so Jesus prayed.  And while it is easy to get caught up in trying to determine the precise meaning of this prayer as we find it in John 17, there is something much more striking here.  It is much more simple and basic.  I would suggest that this prayer provides us with an excellent model for prayer on behalf of another.  For if we believe in the power of prayer, it is our duty to pray for someone else.  We cannot simply and selfishly place our petitions on God’s desk for ourselves alone, but we must pray one for the other.

We live in a world gone mad.  We’ve got an AIDS pandemic to cure.  We’ve got a drug epidemic to root out.  We’ve got a crime wave to tame.  We’ve got a healthcare crisis to manage.  We’ve got families to build.  We’ve got hearts that need healing and minds that need mending.  How can it be done unless we pray for one another?  How else can we deal with the difficult days ahead unless someone is praying for us?  How can we survive and maintain our sanity unless, even in the times that we could not pray for ourselves, either because we are too sick or even too mean?

How could we make it unless somebody called on God on our behalf?

There are some things and some people frankly that I don’t want to pray for, but thanks be to God for prayer partners who help to encourage me and who intercede in their prayer texts and prayer e-mails on my behalf.  You don’t always have to be on your knees or in the same space, but instead of sexting (young folk) and talking nonsense sometimes you can pray God’s word over your brother or sister and type in “Our Father who art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.  Thy kingdom come and thy will be done.”  Instead of gossiping, you can remind your brother who might be going through hell the “no weapon formed against him shall prosper and that all things work together for the good for those that love the Lord and are called according to his purpose!” You have absolutely no idea what folks that you interact with every day or sit next to in church today or whom you work with or for are going through right now. They need your prayers.

Let us not, my dear brothers and sisters, underestimate the power of intercessory prayer, because had it not been for somebody praying for you, had it not been for the prayers of mamma and daddy, had it not been for the prayers of your great grand parents, your friends and even the unknown ancestors, perhaps you would not be here today.  They prayed you through.  It was the generosity of their prayers that has preserved you to this hour.  It was somebody praying for you!

Yes, Jesus took the time out to pray for his disciples, and so we who are called to be Christ-like are called to pray for each other.  I am reminded of that old gospel hymn:

Somebody prayed for me, had me on their mind,
they took the time and prayed for me.
I’m so glad they prayed,
I’m so glad they prayed for me.

I have often told the story of a lady in my office who had lost absolutely everything. She lost her job.  She lost her home, and she was about to lose a husband to divorce.  She and her two young children were living in a motel while her oldest son was living in a tent in the desert of Iraq, fighting a never-ending war.  She was at the end of her rope.  And what’s more, she was going to be evicted the next day because she had been unable to pay the 300 or so dollars a month for rent.   She had been out of her medications for quite some time and came into the office with nosebleeds and a blood pressure in the stroke range.  Yet, she managed to keep a smile on her face and a kind word for everyone on her lips.  So, being amazed, I asked her, “How do you do it?  You have lost nearly everything, your job, your home, your family and your health.  How do you maintain such a positive attitude through the trials and difficulties you are now experiencing?”  She answered me in a voice as resonant as the sea, a voice that had been broken but not defeated.  She spoke to me smiling, almost euphoric, and said, “Doctor, I pray and people are praying for me. God keeps me in perfect peace.  God somehow supplies all my needs, so I am not worried.  I have had food to eat everyday.  I have had a roof over my head and a bed to sleep in every day.  And even though I am about to be evicted, I know God is able and will make a way for us out of no way.”  Now either she was crazy, or this was a woman who knew the power of prayer.  This was a woman who knew that her very life and existence, and the life of her family depended on and revolved prayer.

In that moment a chill ran up my spine as she ministered to me when I was supposed to be helping her.  In that moment I knew that even if the situation is not changed, God is still able to change it.  Even if our struggles are not immediately alleviated, God will change us in the midst of the struggle so that we can stand and grow and know that God is God.

Even in my own life my family and I have been upheld by the power of prayer.  There are people around the country that take the time to send up prayers for us daily.  And we are here today girded by their prayers.  When my marriage was in trouble, somebody was praying for me.  When my heart was in pain, somebody was praying for me.  When I was lost and confused, somebody was praying for me.  When my heart was filled with sorrow, somebody prayed for me.  When the doctors said that lump in your throat is cancerous, somebody prayed for me.

Some of you can even testify in your storms that somebody is praying for you.  Somebody is praying for you in the midst of your struggle.  Somebody is praying for you in the midst of your heartache.  Somebody is praying for you in the midst of your good times. Somebody is praying for you in the midst of your bad times.  Even now, some of you may not know whether you’re coming or going.  Some of you may feel like I have felt, that if one more thing happens,  I’m going to lose it.  But I came to encourage you today.  The reason that you are still here is because somebody is praying for you.

Beloved, we must pray one for the other, for prayer is the fuel of our lives.  Prayer is the foundation of our faith.  Prayer is the fix for our frailties.  Prayer is the comfort in our time of confusion.  Prayer is peace in the midst of the storm.  Prayer is connecting to the power that made the universe.  Prayer moves the hand that moves the world!  I don’t know about you, but all I know is I’m so glad they prayed for me!

Somebody prayed for me, had me on their mind,
they took the time and prayed for me.
I’m so glad they prayed,

I’m so glad they prayed for me!     

Amen.