Happy Summer Vacation

Dear Readers,

I am taking some vacation time this week, which means two things. First, my sermon from today will not get posted until I’m back in the office next week. Second, this coming Sunday someone will be covering for Stephanie and me, so I won’t be preaching (or posting) again until August 14.

I hope you all are enjoying a pleasant summer!

The Power of Prayer

Pentecost 14/Proper 16, Year C
Texts: Gen 18.20-32; Col 2.6-19; Lk 11.1-13

At its simplest, praying is just talking to God. There are many different ways to pray: through study and reading scripture, individually or together, with joy or sorrow, even silently. When we pray together in worship, often the language we use is very poetic and flowery, filled with large words and complexly structured in intricate sentences; but prayer can be as simple as a single sentence or word or even a sigh. It’s hard to do it wrong. And this is precisely why I find it interesting that today’s gospel lesson begins with Jesus’ disciples asking him to teach them how to pray.