This morning we usher in the season of Lent, the forty day period that both remembers the temptation of Jesus in the wilderness; as well as our call to repentance and renewal. During the season of Lent we will be exploring the practices of our faith as we seek repentance and renewal. These practices help deepen our commitment to living out our beliefs. The practices of faith we will look at are those identified as the marks of discipleship by Michael Foss in his book: "Power Surge." Foss identified six marks of discipleship as practices of faith that would help his congregation bridge the gap between beliefs and behaviors. (Power Surge, page 83) The marks of discipleship they identified are not exhaustive, rather they are a place to start. The six practices we will look at are: prayer, worship, Bible reading, serving, being in relationships that encourage spiritual growth, and giving. When listing the practices, they seem both simple and obvious. One is tempted to say, well of course, we're all supposed to be doing these things. At the same time, I suspect that while they are simple and obvious, we tend to get out of practice. Just like physical exercise, the regular disciplines of our faith life are things we have to do over and over again in order to strengthen our faith. You can't exercise once or twice a year and expect to develop any physical strength. No more can you worship now and again, pray once in a while, read the Bible occasionally and expect to have a very healthy faith life. The season of Lent is an appropriate time to renew the call to regularly practice the disciplines of our faith.

We open our series on the marks of discipleship this morning by taking a look at the first mark of discipleship – prayer. Our offertory music this morning is from the hymnal, hymn #492 – "Prayer is the Soul's Sincere Desire." Listen to some of the words from that hymn: "Prayer is the soul's sincere desire … the burden of a sigh, the falling of a tear … the simplest form of speech … the Christians' vital breath." Prayer should be for us as automatic and natural as breathing in and breathing out. It is, after all, the way in which we keep in touch with God who is constantly in communication with us … whether we are listening or not.

As always, our model for discipleship is Jesus Christ. It is no different as we look at the discipline of prayer. Think of all of the times in the gospels that Jesus goes off to find a quiet time to pray; away from the clamor of the crowds that pull and tug at him. Of the many prayers he offers up in the crowds of people – thanking God for what is about to happen. Remember the garden of Gethsemane prayers as he prays in anguish that somehow the events that seem inevitable might be changed. And this morning's text as Jesus goes off into the wilderness to fast and pray for forty days. Jesus offers us a model of intimacy in prayer. When the disciples asked him to teach them how to pray he taught them what we know as The Lord's Prayer. It is a prayer of discipleship, setting a pattern for how we are to relate to God, to each other and to the world. Its opening is remarkable – we translate Jesus' address to God as "our Father," but it is much more informal and intimate than our formal translation allows. Jesus uses the word "Abba." And the best translation for that word is not the formal address of "father," but rather it is "daddy." Jesus' relationship with God was such that no matter what he knew he could come to God in prayer no matter what. That there was no right or wrong way to pray … it was more about bringing one's self to God.

Prayer should be as natural as our breathing in and breathing out. But we've made it so much harder than that, haven't we!? Prayer should be the deep spring of nurture and sustenance that keeps us going and sends us out into the world to be God's presence. But, again, we get ourselves so hung up on the right or wrong way to pray. If we do only one thing every day as a spiritual discipline, prayer should be that one thing. But how many of us get hung up on the time factor?! And then, how many of us worry that we don't really know how to pray?

Start by remembering there is no right or wrong way to come and talk to God and to listen to God. We don't need to worry about putting our best foot forward, or having our acts together when we pray. It is not as if we can hide ourselves before God! Our Companions in Christ unit on prayer says: "pray as you can, not as you ought." Then remember that there is nothing you can bring to God, that God can't handle. The Psalms are a marvelous reminder of that. They express the range of human emotion brought to God in prayer. There is praise for God's greatness when you feel on top of the world: "Make a joyful noise to the Lord … worship the Lord with gladness." (Ps. 100) There are psalms for when you have lost your way: "How long O Lord, will you forget me forever?" (Ps. 13) There are psalms of rage when the world seems to conspire against you and you want to lash out at your enemies. Read the entirety of Psalm 137 sometime for an example of that. So, the next time you worry about how to pray … start by going to the Psalms, the prayer book of the Bible. There are many forms of prayer, so many so that it is beyond the scope of this worship service … perhaps a prayer workshop might be in order at some point if there is interest.

And then find a way of discipline for your prayer life. You may have noticed me speaking often about the practices of our faith. It is an odd way perhaps to talk about what we do together … but also a fitting one. As the body of Christ it is not enough for us to gather and talk about what we are supposed to be doing, and then go out and live as if nothing is different for us. The analogy is this – how many of you have exercise equipment in your homes? How many of you use them regularly? It is not enough to know what we are supposed to do … we also have to put it in action. Do what it takes to find a daily rhythm of prayer. Praying once a week as we worship together is a start, but not enough. Think for a moment of your prayer life … .and where you would like it to be. Now figure out how you will get there. I find that I need a group to keep me disciplined. Currently the Companions in Christ program is doing that … as it calls for setting aside at least half an hour a day for prayer and meditation. A poem by Howard Thurman begins my time: "I will light candles this day: Candles of joy despite all sadness, candles of hope where despair keeps watch, candles of peace for tempest-tossed days, candles of grace to inspire all my living, candles that will burn all year long."

The bottom line is the why of prayer – we come to God in prayer not to tell God anything God doesn't already know. Rather we come, to acknowledge our need to find God, to know God's direction for us and to find a place where our spiritual desires might be filled. As the psalmist says: "O God, you are my God, I seek you, my soul thirsts for you … because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you … my soul is satisfied as with a rich feast … for you have been my help and in the shadow of your wings I sing for joy." (Ps 63) Our journey towards the cross starts here, with the basic necessity of daily prayer. We follow in the footsteps of Jesus Christ who modeled and taught us to pray. May your prayer life become as basic as your breathing … in and out the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.