Luncheon focused on power of prayer Published March 18, 2010 By John Stuart Tinker Public Affairs TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. -- If the patrons at Tinker's annual prayer luncheon took anything away from the gathering March 11, it's that God cares for them and hears their prayers. By the time the event's keynote speaker left the podium, the audience was challenged to pray ceaselessly "from the heart and from the hip," and realize God truly works in their lives through prayer. When Chaplain (Rear Adm.) Robert F. Burt, 24th chief of Navy Chaplains, took the podium for the keynote message, he represented the first Navy chief of chaplains to speak at Tinker. He drew on a wealth of personal and ministry experiences, portraying that very idea of prayer's power. "My dad was a complete alcoholic," Chaplain Burt said. "It was really a tough household to grow up in. But God in his wisdom said 'you know some day that little kid,' -- I was five at the time -- 'he's going to be the chief of Navy chaplains.'" Chaplain Burt explained that it was God's transforming love that allowed him to mend his personal life and move forward from a place of surety, resting on God through an active prayer life. "When I found out I had a father who loved me, a heavenly father -- I couldn't see him but I could sense him -- that began to give me some affirmation in my life and confidence I needed coming from kind of a dysfunctional home," Chaplain Burt said. "And I began to feel that since God really has a plan for my life, I'm excited and I need to find out what that plan is." These personal experiences gave Chaplain Burt a unique compassion to aid the servicemen and women to whom he ministered during his 36 years in the Navy, as he remembers how much role models meant to him. "It really helped me as I sought out mentors and male role models to provide guidance," Chaplain Burt said. "And I see that as a Navy chaplain I can help a lot of Sailors and Marines to really find their place in life, spiritually and professionally." It's easy in life to have a big-picture view that prayer is important, Chaplain Burt said, quoting from 2 Chronicles 7, where God commands all of Solomon's kingdom to pray. But Chaplain Burt drove home the point that the passage also commands us to pray as individuals. "When we hear the instruction for the nation, we high-five that. We can go 'yeah this nation needs to shape up,'" Chaplain Burt said. "But God didn't finish there and verse 17 says God turns from the masses and adjusts his sights upon the man, Solomon, and says 'now as for you.'" More than a once-a-day thing, an active prayer life is akin to breathing, Chaplain Burt said, a moment-by-moment occurrence. He contrasted "heart prayers," which are longer, thoughtful petitions -- to "from the hip" prayers that only last a moment. "I've always believed that prayer should be a first response and not a last resort in our journey," Chaplain Burt said. "No matter what our challenge or difficulty, instead of waiting till we've exhausted all our resources, we need to pray immediately for wisdom and guidance." The long-time Navy chaplain will soon retire and move closer to his extended family and "the best grandkids the world has ever seen." His visit to Tinker just before leaving the service is thus a notable facet of this year's luncheon. Through many entertaining stories of his life in the Navy, Chaplain Burt grabbed the attention of his audience Thursday, but he finished with the same simple message that he started with. "John Wesley once said 'God does nothing apart from prayer.' When you think about that we should be praying about everything," Chaplain Burt said. "And I've found that to be a resource that can calm our spirits during troubling times and give us hope during difficult times. Just pray and ask our Creator, the God who cares about us who is not only able, but willing to help us."