Persisting in Prayer

Dear Friends,

Last Sunday, my wife, Véronique, and I went to worship at First Presbyterian Church in Victoria, Texas. We were welcomed enthusiastically by the congregation. I was glad to see that the congregation followed the Revised Common Lectionary (RCL), a deeply spiritual path of reading scripture over a cycle of three years. 

Rev. Bobby Musengwa and Rev. Bette Burris

Rev. Bette Burris preached a wonderful sermon on Martha and Mary, reminding us that Jesus considers both task and reflection as holy and acceptable in God’s sight. The sermon felt like an invitation to us who are deeply involved in the task of rebuilding our lives to also take time to reflect and pray. 

It reminded me of my activist days, when we emphasized the cycle of “Action and Reflection” in our struggle for democracy in South Africa. We would get nourished by reflection and prayer in preparation for us to get back again to the hard task of action in our fight for justice. 

This week’s gospel text, Luke 11:1-13, reiterates that message powerfully. In the text, the disciples witness Jesus praying, and ask, “Lord, teach us to pray.” Like the disciples, we too might find ourselves yearning for deeper connection with God during these difficult and challenging times.

Like Martha and Mary, we understand the tension between doing and being. While we must attend to the urgent tasks of reconstruction and community support, Jesus reminds us that prayer is not a luxury – it is essential sustenance for our spiritual journey. 

When Jesus teaches the disciples to pray, he provides a beautiful balance between acknowledging God's holiness ("may your name be revered as holy") and expressing our daily needs ("Give us each day our daily bread").

In these difficult times, Jesus offers us an encouraging message about persistence in prayer. He tells the story of a friend who keeps knocking at midnight, seeking bread for an unexpected visitor. 

In his 1967 sermon, “A Knock at Midnight," Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. used this same parable to illustrate the social, psychological, and spiritual "midnight hour" of his time, urging the church to provide "bread" (help and hope) to those in need. 

This parable reminds us that even when we feel exhausted or discouraged by the magnitude of our rebuilding efforts, we should persist in prayer. "Ask, and it will be given to you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you."

Friends, by now you all know that when we come to God in prayer, we're claiming our place in an intimate relationship with the Creator who knows our needs. My task is to remind you and encourage you regarding what you already know. 

The calls from around the PCUSA to offer help to rebuild our devastated Hill Country communities are a tangible manifestation of God’s provision and answer to our prayers. We are grateful to God who continues to see us in our “midnight hour.”

As we balance the Martha-like tasks of physical reconstruction with the Mary-like posture of spiritual reflection, let us remember that both are sacred. Indeed, Rev. Bette Burris reminded us last week that both are holy. 

May we find strength in knowing that our prayers, both individual and collective, connect us as one Body of Christ, and one family in faith, working together to restore not just buildings, but hope and community.

In Christ's service, 

Bobby Musengwa

Transitional General Presbyter