Houston, We Have a Problem
By Dean Collins
“Houston, we have a problem.”
You probably remember that line more from the movie Apollo 13 than from the actual incident that happened on the real Apollo 13 mission. According to NASA, astronaut Jack Swigert actually said, “Houston, we’ve had a problem here,” as he communicated back to NASA concerning the explosion that occurred some 55 hours into their mission. For dramatic effect, the Hollywood version used the line, “Houston, we have a problem.”
When it comes to prayer, I think it would be safe to say to those who profess faith in God—fellow believers—we’ve had a problem and we have a problem when it comes to prayer.
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus began his teaching on prayer this way: “And when you pray…” The assumption being that all who were listening prayed. Jesus was teaching his disciples about kingdom living, and there was a large surrounding crowd that likely came from Galilee, Judea, and other towns in the region. There would have been people who were serious about faith in God as well as those who were just curious.
Jesus of course understood that his listeners needed help with their prayers. Some prayed like hypocrites, some prayed occasionally, and some prayed ceremonially associated with religious gatherings.
Based on Pew research published last year, things haven't changed much, even though many of us have read this sermon and prayed the Lord’s Prayer, which is included in the text, hundreds of times. According to the research, 44% of Americans say they pray every day, down from 58% in 2007. Women, Black Americans, and older adults pray more than the rest of the demographics studied.
Globally, 49% pray daily. However, sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East, and North Africa lead the way with the most people who pray daily, in the mid 80-90% range. It seems that the less we have either in resources and various privilege, the more we rely on the Lord to meet our needs.
Jesus demonstrated in his own life and declared as much in his teaching that prayer is essential in truly aligning ourselves with God and the grand renewal and restoration he has initiated through Jesus. According to Jesus, when we pray:
We shouldn’t pray like the hypocrites whom he described as wanting to be seen as they prayed so that others would see them as spiritual. And we shouldn’t worry about all the right “church words” that make it sound like we are supposed to sound based on prayers we have heard from others.
Our focus should be on being alone with God and free from outside interference or interruption.
And we don’t need to go on and on as if God cannot hear or remember our needs.
The first part of the Lord’s Prayer teaches us to acknowledge God for who he is: holy and above all others. And it leads us directly into wanting his will and his kingdom to come in us and on earth as it is in heaven. We begin by aligning ourselves and our will with our creator. Then we express our needs, which are as basic as food for the day and for forgiveness of our sins, as well as the transformation we need so that we might be forgiving to others. And this prayer ends by asking God to keep us away from the temptations we face where we would give into evil, which is basically doing what is self-serving over what is loving and kind.
Father, forgive us for the many times we have failed to spend time alone with you. Today we choose to follow the example of Jesus and come to you first and often. Hear our prayer, O Lord:
“Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.” Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever! Amen.
Your Time with God’s Word
Matthew 6:5-13 ESV
Photo by Pexels
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