Prayer, Enthusiasm, and Vain Repetitions

Joel Osteen in "prayer."

A friend once took me to a Bible study many years ago. It was quite different than any other Bible study I had ever been to, for two main reasons. First, while we talked about “spiritual things”, there was no actual studying done of God’s Word. The scripture passage to be discussed was read, and we spent a long time going around the room, talking about what the passage meant to us. Second, near the end of the meeting, we engaged in a form of prayer that was exceedingly strange to me. The leader said that it was time to join together in prayer. He dimmed the lights, and as the group moved in closely enough to put their hands on each other’s shoulders, another member grabbed his guitar.

When everyone was in position, the guitar man began to strum out his chord progression. The leader began with his petitions, mostly centered on the greatness of God’s glory. When he finished, other members of the group would randomly offer their petitions, in unctuous voices, trembling with spiritual emotion. All this was accompanied by the soft strains of the guitar, and the spontaneous ejaculations of “Amen!” and “Jesus! Jesus! Jesus!” While swaying. In the dark. For about half an hour.

I was caught by surprise. Never before had I experienced such a thing in a church setting. I got the vague sense that I did upset the apple cart to some degree. During the periods of silence between random petitions, several people cast a furtive glance in my direction; I suspect to see what I, the new guy, was going to offer. I offered nothing but silence. The space between prayers gradually became longer and longer. Eventually the guitar man changed his progression, cadenced, and the prayers were concluded.

While I didn’t realize it at the time, such mystical prayer practices are, in American Evangelicalism, standard operating procedure. To the American Evangelical, prayer is not simply asking God for things. Prayer is a two way line of communication, and a way in which we come into God’s presence.

Prayer is the practice of the presence of God. It is the place where pride is abandoned, hope is lifted, and supplication is made. Prayer is the place of admitting our need, of adopting humility, and claiming dependence upon God... Prayer changes the one praying because in prayer, you are in the presence of God as you lay before Him your complete self in confession and dependence. There is nothing to hide when in quiet supplication we are reaching into the deepest part of ourselves and admitting our needs and failures. In so doing, our hearts are quieted and pride is stripped and we enjoy the presence of God.[1]

We get in the right emotional state, tell Him how great He is, and God will speak to our hearts. The idea that prayers would be composed prior to the act of praying, let alone written down, is bad, and to be discouraged. Spontaneous prayers uttered from the heart are more authentic than reading written prayers, or reciting memorized prayers by rote:

Like turning to the right channel, God speaks to individuals who are ready and prepared to listen. A friend once put it this way: A Christ follower who builds the following four habits in his life will be in a good place to hear from God... A Christ follower should spend daily time reading the Bible, mulling over the message, and praying for ways to make scripture’s lessons into a lifestyle.[2]

Prayer, in and of itself, has power which the Christian can wield to get God to bring blessing into their lives. This is from Joel Osteen Ministries:

We Believe in the Power of Prayer: The Bible says the prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective, yet something extraordinary happens when two or more agree together in prayer. In Matt. 18:19, Jesus said, “If any two of you agree touching any matter on this earth, it shall be done.” Post your prayer request below and believe that God is going to move mightily in your life as others from around the world pray in agreement with your request![3]

In short, the complete opposite of the way we Confessional Lutherans pray.

Is this really the right way to pray? Many people, even some Confessional Lutherans, seem to think so. I hear Lutherans complain all the time about how boring their pastor is when he prays; or, how we need to spice things up when we pray. We can’t just keep using that stodgy old General Prayer in the liturgy, Sunday after Sunday. People stop paying attention after a while. Our pastors need to do more extemporaneously, and come up with their prayers on the spot from their hearts. Those prayers will be more interesting and meaningful.

This is nothing more than Enthusiasm. Luther used the term Enthusiasm, or enthusiast (in the German, Schwärmer, which means one who swarms, like a group of buzzing bees on a hive), to describe those who sought God through their feelings and spiritual experiences, outside of, and apart from, God’s Word. We know, however, that Scripture teaches that God does not want to deal with us in any way other than through Word and Sacrament.[4] Therefore, as Luther says, whatever is praised as from the Spirit, without the Word and Sacraments, is from the Devil himself.[5]

The American Evangelical view of prayer turns us away from the Biblical teaching on prayer, and makes us into Enthusiasts and magicians. Through prayer, rather than through Word and Sacrament, we would seek to come into God’s presence, commune with Him, and receive His instruction. This view turns prayer into a means of grace. Satan loves this, since it diverts our focus from the actual means of grace God has given us, and renders useless our prayers by turning them into mystical experiences and incantations, rather than petitions to the Almighty God. 

Likewise, to believe in, and rely on, the “power of prayer” is dangerous. If, by the phrase one means that prayer is powerful because Almighty God has promised to hear us when we pray, and to answer our prayers, then yes, prayer is powerful. If one believes that, simply by repeating a certain prayer, or “declaring” to inanimate things such as storms, diseases, your job, etc., you can change reality because God is obligated to give you what you have declared for, then no. Prayer has no power in and of itself or, as the Lutherans would say, by the outward act. That isn’t even praying. That is saying a magic incantation, and makes you some kind of witch or sorcerer. When explained like that it may sound silly. Who would ever do such a thing? This is the next step down the road of the misuse of prayer, and it is taught by all the beloved American health and wealth prosperity gospel heretic preachers.

What does God say prayer is? It’s pretty simple: Prayer is speaking to God, in words or thoughts.[6] The Bible is filled with good examples of what prayer is: Abraham praying for Sodom;[7] Jesus praying in the Garden of Gethsemane;[8] St. Stephen praying for those who were murdering him,[9] among many others. Scripture tells us that we should make our requests of Him in thankfulness, in the name of Jesus, and in accordance with His revealed will:

Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice! Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus... “And in that day you will ask Me nothing. Most assuredly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in My name He will give you. Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full... Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him (Philippians 4:6-7; John 16:23; 1 John 5:14-15).

We should pray for ourselves and for others, including our enemies, everywhere, regularly and frequently:

Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence...“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust... I desire therefore that the men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting...Then He [Jesus] spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart... pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you (1 Timothy 2:1-2; Matthew 5:43-45; 1 Timothy 2:8; Luke 18:1; 1 Thessalonians 5:17-18).

Jesus even gives us a model prayer, recorded in St. Matthew’s Gospel:

In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors. And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen (Matthew 6:9-13).

And also in St. Luke’s:

Now it came to pass, as He was praying in a certain place, when He ceased, that one of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.” So He said to them, “When you pray, say: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven. Give us day by day our daily bread. And forgive us our sins, For we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one (Luke 11:1-4).

In this, the Lord’s Prayer, we find, as Luther observes, seven petitions that include every need and never cease to apply to us.[10] So, if we find ourselves at a loss for what we should pray, we have Jesus’ own instruction to guide us. But don’t ignore, as many do that St. Luke is quoting Christ when he writes, “When you pray, say...”

But, in the same sermon, Jesus tells us to avoid vain repetitions! Wouldn’t reciting the Lord’s Prayer, or the General Prayer from the Divine Service, over and over, week after week, be the definition of vain repetitions?

“And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. 6 But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly. And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words (Matthew 6:5-7).

In short, no. He’s talking about using repeated prayers as a sorcerer uses incantations, or as one who prays using the same words over and over, thinking that his mere act of praying causes his prayer to be effective, apart from it’s content. Stated another way, Jesus condemns the idea that the “power of prayer” is in the performance of the outward act. To the contrary, Jesus himself used repeated prayers:

Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and said to the disciples, “Sit here while I go and pray over there.” And He took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and He began to be sorrowful and deeply distressed. Then He said to them, “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch with Me.” He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, “O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.” Then He came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, “What! Could you not watch with Me one hour? Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” Again, a second time, He went away and prayed, saying, “O My Father, if this cup cannot pass away from Me unless[a] I drink it, Your will be done.” And He came and found them asleep again, for their eyes were heavy. So He left them, went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words. Then He came to His disciples and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise, let us be going. See, My betrayer is at hand” (Matthew 26:36-46).

He does not merely give us a model prayer; he also gives us a prayer to pray at all times, in the Lord’s Prayer. When we pray this prayer, we can be sure that we are praying according to His will, and therefore that He hears us. It also shows us that, while extemporaneous prayers “from the heart” are not necessarily always bad, God encourages us to pray following guides which He provides, and using prayers that have been previously composed is acceptable. The Jesus who prayed “from the heart” in Gethsemane is, after all, the same Jesus who gave us the Lord’s Prayer, and prayed the “written prayers” of the Psalms “by rote” as he hung on the cross.

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[1] Slick, Matt. "Christian Apologetics & Research Ministry." What is Prayer? July 01, 2017. Accessed September 21, 2017. https://carm.org/what-prayer.

[2] Burns, Tim. "How Can I Hear God Speaking to Me?" How Can I Hear God Speaking to Me? May 27, 2016. Accessed September 21, 2017. http://www1.cbn.com/how-can-i-hear-god-speaking-me.

[3] "We Believe in the Power of Prayer." Pray Together. Accessed September 21, 2017. https://www.joelosteen.com/Pages/PrayTogether.aspx.

[4] Hebrews 1:1-2

[5] SA III IX 10

[6] Luther, Martin. Luther’s Small Catechism, with Explanation. St. Louis: Concordia Pub. House, 2005.

[7] Genesis 18:22-23

[8] Matthew 26:36-44

[9] Acts 7:59-60

[10] LC III 34

Forgive us our trespasses, but don’t trust or accept the behavior of those who trespass against us…

If You, Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? But there is forgiveness with You, That You may be feared (Psalm 130:3-4)

We all, from time to time, think that because we hold a certain belief, others who belong to our social/economic/political/religious group(s), whatever that may be, think the same way we do. To some degree this is true; it's safe to assume that if you belong to a stamp collecting society, the members all, to one degree or another, have an affinity for philately. On the other hand, we as individuals often project our personal beliefs onto the group. My theory is, most people don't study these things and whatever way they "feel" about the issue in question, they associate with their group. The formula goes like this: I'm a Lutheran. I think all people are basically good (because it seems mean, negative, and unfair to believe what the Bible teaches about original sin). Therefore Lutherans believe people are basically good. This is demonstrated by the recent Lifeway survey which shows that a large percentage of American Evangelicals hold heretical beliefs[1] (Lindgren 2016).

This phenomenon can also be seen among Christians because of the unrestricted posting of internet memes. Every day I see people who are confessing Christians, who belong to and regularly attend church, posting memes that would make the toenails of orthodox theologians curl in fright and disgust. The most recent gem to convulse my brain was a meme with the following phrase superimposed over a background of floating clouds, or majestic mountains, or whatever, no doubt meant to be “inspirational” (whatever that means):

I forgive people but that doesn't mean I accept their behavior or trust them. I forgive them for me, so I can let go and move on with my life. 

While this may seem to make good common sense, and even be seen by some as inspirational at first blush, this meme’s notion of forgiveness is, in reality, anything but actual forgiveness. This meme could be summed up as "Forgive, but don't forget." This sentiment may resonate with our sinful human nature, but it bears no relation to actual forgiveness, and Christians should not apply this nugget of worldly wisdom to their lives. 

If You, Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? But there is forgiveness with You, That You may be feared…Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation (Psalm 130:3-4; 2 Corinthians 5:17-20).

First, we Christians confess in the Apostles Creed that we believe in the forgiveness of sins. What does that mean? We believe that through Christ, God the Father has pardoned and forgiven sinful mankind. That's all there is to it, really. He keeps no record of our sins, as the psalmist tells us. In Christ we have been reconciled to God, and our sins are wiped off the books. With God there is no "forgiving, but not forgetting."

Scripture tells us that God hates sin and that it must be atoned for[2]. So, how can he simply declare sinners to be righteous? Well, it isn't simple. It took God the Son, second person of the Trinity, to come down to earth, take on human flesh, keep God's law perfectly, and bear our sin and it’s punishment in our place by dying on the cross to make the atonement. Jesus, the sinless one, became sin for us so that we could become righteous[3]. 

So, to God, all our sins have been paid for through the death of Christ. They are gone. They are forgotten. There is no record of them for God to consult and hold over our heads, as we sinful men do when we "forgive" our fellows. Moreover, having been baptized into Christ, we are joined to him in his death and in his resurrection. That means that his death is ours, and his life, the life that the Son of God won for us on the cross, is ours also[4]. 

How do we get this forgiveness of God? Must we complete some series of tasks? That might be logical to the human mind, and we certainly tend to operate that way with our neighbors on a daily basis. That would, however, be us working to atone for our own sins and would defeat the purpose of what Christ came into the world to do. No, God offers us his forgiveness as a gift through the Gospel. Through the means of Word and Sacrament Christ comes to us and works faith in us, according to his own timing and will. That faith, worked in us by the Holy Spirit, through his means, takes hold of the forgiveness Christ won for us. 

This teaching on forgiveness is the most important teaching of Christianity. It is what distinguishes Christianity from every other false religion. Salvation is completely the gift and work of God. It doesn't depend on me in any way, which is a relief, since there is no merit or worthiness in me. This scriptural teaching is of immense comfort to the penitent sinner, and much more satisfying than any fleeting feeling of self-righteousness we get from announcing to the world via Facebook that our philosophy is to "forgive, but not forget" the sins of our neighbor.

In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors. And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. “For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses (Matthew 6:8-15).

Second, we are commanded by Christ to pray, "Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us." In this petition of the Lord's Prayer we are literally told to forgive others the way that God forgives us. If we do not, it is perhaps a sign that we do not really believe that God has forgiven us as he has promised. This is a thing we cannot do perfectly and, when we sin by failing at it, we should repent...and ask for forgiveness! In the Small Catechism, Luther explains the Fifth Petition of the Lord’s Prayer like this:

We pray in this petition that our Father in heaven would not look at our sins, or deny our prayer because of them. We are neither worthy of the things for which we pray, nor have we deserved them, but we ask that He would give them all to us by grace, for we daily sin much and surely deserve nothing but punishment. So we too will sincerely forgive and gladly do good to those who sin against us (Concordia Publishing House 1991).

Stated another way, when we forgive others, it shows that we truly believe that God forgives us.

We have briefly described how God acts toward us; let's consider how we act toward him. We sin again and again, we repent of our sins, and God forgives us for Christ's sake. There is no mention of God not trusting us, or not forgetting our sins. In fact, scripture tells us precisely the opposite. Our sins are wiped away for good. This is the standard we are to have when forgiving those who trespass against us. 

Then Peter came to Him and said, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven (Matthew 18:21-22).

How many times shall I forgive my brother who sins against me? Not seven times, but seventy times seven. So…490 times? Jesus isn't giving his disciples a mathematical formula to figure out the exact number of times they should forgive someone before giving them the proverbial boot. He's telling them to endure repeated injury and continue to offer them forgiveness, just as God has done for them. Imagine how terrified and uncertain we would be if God adopted the philosophy of "Forgive, but don't forget" toward us sinners. When we put ourselves in that scenario, we get some idea of what actual forgiveness is, and why "forgive, but don't forget" is counterfeit wisdom. 

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so? Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect (Matthew 5:43-48).

It is logical to the mind of man that we should love those who love us and hate those who hate us. Christians, aware of the fact that we have a corrupt and sinful nature, should be wary of those things that "just feel right," like asserting the self-righteous attitude of "forgiving, but not forgetting." Because of his great love for us, God the Father sent Christ, his Only-Begotten Son, into the world to bear our sin and be our savior. Jesus, God in human flesh, demonstrated for us the very thing he teaches by his willingness to be put to death on the cross as the propitiation for the sins of the world. You see, we did no good thing which attracted us to Jesus and compelled him to save us. He loved us, his enemies, while we were still his enemies[5]. This is the attitude we are to have when dealing with our neighbors. Because Christ has been victorious over sin, death, and the devil, and forgives us our trespasses, we can love our neighbor and forgive them that trespass against us.

 Works Cited

Concordia Publishing House. Luther's Small Catechism. Translated by Concordia Publishing House. Saint Louis, Missouri: Concordia Publishing House, 1991.

Lindgren, Caleb. "Evangelicals' Favorite Heresies Revisited by Researchers." Christianity Today. September 28, 2016. http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2016/september-web-only/evangelicals-favorite-heresies-state-of-theology-ligonier.html (accessed October 17, 2016).

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[1] Reprising their ground-breaking study from two years ago, LifeWay Research and Ligonier Ministries released an update today on the state of American theology in 2016. Researchers surveyed 3,000 adults to measure their agreement with a set of 47 statements about Christian theology—everything from the divinity of Christ to the nature of salvation to the importance of regular church attendance (Lindgren 2016).

[2] Psalm 5:4; 92:15; Hebrews 9:22

[3] 2 Corinthians 5:21

[4] Romans 6:1-11

[5] Romans 5:6-11