THE POINT OF A LIFE OF PRAYER  

- JOHN 2:  1-11 


 During the first two weeks of January, I have stressed that two of the fundamentals of a true Christian life are the observance of the Lord’s day and proper offering attitude.  I would like to assert, lastly, the importance of praying in lives of all Christians.  Because prayers are so important, I will be talking about it for the next three weeks. 

 People often worry about how to pray.  However, prayers are not difficult.  Prayer is like any other conversation that we may have during the course of a day; the only difference is that through prayer, we talk to God.  Prayers are intimate and sacred at the same time; thus, a simple conversation with God under any circumstance—as long as our hearts are true and pure—can be a prayer.  While there are formal prayers, offered at a set time in a designated place, there are also informal prayers that can take place at any time, without formalities, as we talk to God.  
 

One truth that we must all remember, as we lead a life of prayer, is that just as a warm, heartfelt conversation plays a critical role in maintaining relations in our lives—between spouses, from a parent to an offspring, and amongst members of a family—a conversation with God is necessary in maintaining a healthy relationship with God.  Without praying, we cannot hope to understand God’s true intent; without praying, we cannot gain true spiritual abilities and understandings.  One non-negotiable item in our ministry is offering morning prayers.  

I would be much more comfortable physically if we do not conduct morning prayer service.  And since I would not have to prepare a sermon for every morning, I would be less anxious and nervous.  However, if the spiritual sentinels of our church do not gather each morning to offer prayers to God, we cannot hope to shield ourselves from the flaming arrows that the demons cast in our direction.  Just as Jesus himself offered prayer during the darkest hours of each morning before He was crucified, Christians cannot become victorious without prayer.   

 According to an Internet survey, people had the following five resolutions for the new year.  First, people wanted to lose weight.  Second, people desired to quit smoking.  Third, people wanted to improve their relationships with others.  Fourth, people wished to make more money.  And fifth, people wanted to get a new hobby.  In order to fulfill, or achieve, these New Year’s resolutions, people need to consistently pray. 

 I have asked each of you to list your five wishes as prayers and submit it to the church.  To confirm how many, from the five that each of you listed, prayers you were able to fulfill, I will mail the sheet back to you at the end of the year.  In order to make these prayers become a reality, all of you must pray; in addition, I will be praying for each and every one of you to make your wishes come true.  After confirming your wishes through prayer, it is also important to follow through with action to ensure that your prayers will indeed bear the fruit that you desire.  I hope that through prayer, I hope, in the name of our Lord, that each one of our souls mature. 

 Then how do we pray?  I would like to seek that answer in the scripture reading of today.  John 2:  1-11 describes the first ever miracle that Christ performs.  About 12 miles north of Nazareth, where Jesus grew up, was a small town called Cana of Galilee.  Jesus, His mother Mary, and the disciples were invited to a wedding reception.  However, in the midst of the party, the host ran out of wine.  Mary, realizing that there was no more wine, told Jesus.  Jesus then instructs the servants of the house to fill six waterpots of stone with water; when the servants did as they were told, the water in the pots turned into wine. 

 We can easily decipher from today’s reading that turning water into wine represents the ability of our Lord to turn olds things into new and turning joyless, mundane life into a vibrant, radiant life.  The six empty, neglected stone waterpots and the joyless reception, as a result of lack of wine, represent Judaism that lost all happiness and signs of life, where only fundamental laws and regulations remain.  (Six waterpots, instead of seven—the perfect number among Jews—indicate the inability of the Jewish fundamentalists).  Our Lord, who is full of life, transforms water into water, thus injecting joy and life back into the party. 

  In regard to prayer, we must pay close attention to mother of Jesus, Mary.  Through Mary’s disposition towards Jesus, we can find one example of prayer.  First, when the problem arose, Mary turns to no one but Jesus.  The groom’s family, who invited Jesus and His entourage, probably had a special relationship with Jesus and His family.  When a party runs out of wine, it becomes a joyless party.  In the old Middle East, where deserts virtually surround everything, water, as well as wine, represented life itself—indeed, something very precious.  

When wine runs out, guests naturally become disappointed; the host, on the other hand, probably feels great deal of embarrassment as result of this breach of etiquette.  When such a situation presented itself at this wedding reception, Mary does not go someplace else to solve this problem; Mary turns to Jesus.  The proper attitude regarding prayer is that when faced with a problem, we must be able to turn to the right person, our Lord, in order to find a solution.  We can see many people who waste valuable energy, resources, and time in searching for a solution elsewhere—when they can turn to God to find what they need.  It is important to go to the right person to solve one’s problems. 

 Second, Mary, upon finding Jesus, says nothing but the phrase “they have no wine.”  (verse 3)  True prayers are offered without excuses or unnecessary details; true prayer consists of confessing to our Lord what we lack.  Intercessory prayers, offered on behalf of others, also consist only of reporting to God what those people lack and need.  Through faith, Mary knew what Jesus would do in such a situation; therefore, instead of recommending or telling Jesus what He should do, Mary does refrains from offering advice.  As mother of Jesus, Mary probably could have offered advice or recommendation; however, through firm faith, she refrained from doing so.  An important thing about prayer is that we must let God know what we need and wait; we must not offer instructions or provide our opinion about how God should grant our wishes.  

Just as offering our own diagnosis and treatment for our ailments to our doctors would be absurd, we cannot offer God instructions on how He should listen and answer our prayers.  Patients who trust their doctor merely describe their symptoms and wait for the doctor to diagnose and offer treatment.  Mary teaches us that the key point in praying is the latitude to concisely report our problems to God and having the faith to wait, believing that God will do as He must.   

 Third, Mary knows that her task is complete once she informs Jesus of the problem.  In verse 5, Mary tells the servants, “whatever He says to you, do it.”  Only thing that Mary can do is informing Jesus of the problem, and waiting for Jesus to find a solution.  After informing that there is no more wine, where is nothing more Mary can do.  The responsibility of not disappointing the guests and the host now falls on Jesus.  Likewise, when we report our problems to our Lord, there is no reason to worry or be anxious about them.  The responsibility of taking care of the problems rests with Jesus.  No matter what the result may be, once we pray, our Lord will take care of all problems.  We do not need to worry about the results; we merely need to go back to our normal lives.
 

  Fourth, Mary weathers a difficult situation with patience and obedience.  When Mary informs Him that wine had run out, Jesus responds coldly, “Woman, what does your concern have to do with Me?  My hour has not yet come.”  “Woman” is an honorific term for mother; however, Jesus’ response mounts to “the time has not yet come for doing God’s work as His Messiah, so why are you interfering?”  When His mother came to Him with such a request, it would have been easy for Jesus feel the temptation to do something when the time was not right; therefore, He clearly outlines that although she is His mother, Mary cannot influence the timeline or the intent behind God’s work.  The fact that Mary was a true person of prayer lies in how she deals with Jesus’ dispassionate response.
 

 Upon hearings Jesus’ answer, Mary does not complain or reflect displeasure.  It is not clear if Mary understood the true intent behind Jesus’ response.  The important fact is that Mary accepts, quietly and obediently, the cold response from Jesus.  Furthermore, knowing that Jesus is well capable of solving the problem, Mary instructs the servants of the house to do as Jesus tell them.  
 

 It is entirely up to God as to how and when to solve our problems.  Our sole responsibility is to inform God of our problems precisely and concisely.  Then the omniscient God will lead us down the best path.
 

  Let’s hope that all of us can learn from Mary the proper attitude in praying, and that we can adopt our lesson into practice.  Amen.