For You Will Answer Me: Thoughts on Psalm 17

I call on you, O God, for you will answer me; give ear to me and hear my prayer (Psalm 17:6).

 

Psalm 17 is a lament and prayer of David. In it David anticipates the joy of being in Yahweh's presence. David prays for God's help; for the defeat of his enemies, who are wicked and unfaithful, confident that God will hear and answer him.  

 

David prays for deliverance from his enemies. These are the ungodly men who do not have faith in God, nor keep His covenant. David is confident that God will answer him for three reasons: David is faithful, keeping God’s covenant; God is loving; David's enemies are ungodly and evil (v. 1-5). 

 

David prays that he has kept himself from the ways of the violent. He is free from the kinds of wicked and unjust deeds that his enemies are committing. He is inviting God to see that because of his faith, David is a good tree that bears good fruit. He isn't claiming to be without sin. David's confidence is based on his own faith that God will keep His promises, not on how good David’s own works are.

 

In reality it isn’t David who does the works he calls God to examine anyway. David say that it is by God’s word that he is blameless. David writes, “As for the deeds of men - by the word of Your lips I have kept myself from the ways of the violent” (v. 4). 

 

Paul makes this same point when he writes, “Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed – not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence – continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to His good purpose,” (Philippians 2:12-13).

 

David knows that God's love will not allow Him to be indifferent to the suffering of His people. God is compelled by His very nature to come to the aid of His people. Indeed, God has rescued His people from our true enemies of sin and death by Jesus' death on the cross and His resurrection. 

 

Then come David’s petitions. He prays that he would be protected from his wicked enemies (v. 6-9). He prays that those callous and arrogant men who seek to destroy him would themselves be destroyed. He calls on God to rise up and confront his enemies, and to save him (v. 10-14). 

 

Wicked men seem to prosper. That was as frustrating to David as it is to us today. Their end, however, is eternal punishment. While God may not strike down every enemy of His people during this present age, they will suffer eternal punishment and separation from God. They receive their reward in this age. God's people get the fullness of their reward in the age to come. 

 

God provides for the needs of His people. He directs us to seek first the kingdom of God. He gives us daily bread. He tells us not to worry about material wealth. He will make sure we have all the things necessary to support this body and life, about which the pagans spend day and night worrying about. Not only will He meet our physical needs, but the greatest blessing possible already belongs to us in Christ: forgiveness of sins and eternal life with God. 

 

As with all the Psalms, it is important to consider them from the perspective of Christ. David is a picture of the promised Savior, a promise that God fulfilled in Jesus.

 

Jesus knows that God the Father will hear and answer Him when He prays for the same reasons as David. Jesus is faithful, even to suffering death on a cross, doing the will of the Father. God is love, and Jesus is the personification of that divine love. Because of that love God took on human flesh and rescued His people from our true enemies of sin and death. 

 

Jesus, who is God incarnate, came into the flesh to bear our sin. He suffered at the hands of wicked and evil men. He, who had no sin became sin for us. By His sacrifice on the cross, sinless Jesus reconciled mankind to God. So, not only is this a prayer of David, it points to what God would do for mankind in Christ. He would rise up, confront our ultimate enemies of sin, death, and the devil, and rescue His people from the wicked by His sword (v. 13).

 

This prayer will come to ultimate fulfillement when Jesus returns on the Last Day. At His coming all men will rise again with their bodies and will give an account of their own works. And they that, like David, by their faith in Christ have done good will go into life everlasting. They that have, like David’s wicked enemies by their faithlessness done evil will go into everlasting fire.

 

In the meantime, God indeed stills the hunger of those He cherishes (v. 14). He prepares a table for us in the presence of our enemies. While we live in this fallen world He sustains us by giving us His very body and blood to eat and to drink. Because of Jesus’ death and resurrection, we will see His face in righteousness. And when we awake we will be satisfied with seeing His likeness (v. 15).

The Parable of the Persistent Widow

Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart, saying: “There was in a certain city a judge who did not fear God nor regard man. Now there was a widow in that city; and she came to him, saying, ‘Get justice for me from my adversary.’ And he would not for a while; but afterward he said within himself, ‘Though I do not fear God nor regard man, yet because this widow troubles me I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.’ ” Then the Lord said, “Hear what the unjust judge said. And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them? I tell you that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?” (Luke 18:1-8)

Jesus speaks this parable to His disciples after teaching them about the coming of the Kingdom of God, recorded in the previous chapter.[1] In that teaching, Jesus compares the time before the Last Judgment to the time of Noah before the flood. His return will be like lightning that flashes out of one part under heaven and shines to the other part under heaven. It will be no secret; it will happen quickly, and without warning. He warns His disciples to beware of those false teachers who would lead them astray to follow false Christs: The kingdom of God does not come with observation. One gets the impression from the disciples’ response, “Where, Lord,” that they were, perhaps, spooked by what Jesus said to them.

Jesus spoke the parable of the persistent widow to the disciples to show them that men always ought to pray and not lose heart. To make His point, Jesus compares the petitioning of God by His Elect to a woman seeking justice from a corrupt judge. The judge doesn’t do right by the widow because it is the right thing to do under the law, or because he is compassionate and feels sorry for her; he grants her petition because of her persistence. She brings her petition before the judge constantly and, because he doesn’t want to be annoyed by her “continual coming”, he grants it.

At first, we might think the lesson here is that if we are persistent and tenacious enough in our prayer to God, He will eventually relent and give us whatever we ask of Him, lest by our continual coming we weary Him. This is not the lesson. God is not like the corrupt judge of the parable. I should be greatly disturbed if our God was the type of god who would give us whatever we pray for, regardless of what He has previously said in His word, simply because we prayed persistently enough. That might work with beleaguered parents dealing with cleaver and persistent children scheming to get their way, but it isn’t how God operates with mankind. St. Paul was surely persistent in his prayers to God to remove his thorn in the flesh. God, far from relenting because of St. Paul’s persistent and fervent prayer, told him, “My grace is sufficient for you. For My strength is made perfect in weakness.”[2]

No, the lesson here is similar to the lesson Jesus teaches in His Sermon on the Mount:

Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give a serpent? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask Him![3]

Or, to His parable of the persistent friend:

And He said to them, “Which of you shall have a friend, and go to him at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves; for a friend of mine has come to me on his journey, and I have nothing to set before him’; and he will answer from within and say, ‘Do not trouble me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give to you’? I say to you, though he will not rise and give to him because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will rise and give him as many as he needs.[4]

Jesus uses the illustration of the corrupt to magnify the goodness and love of God. Even the sinful Pharisees know how to answer the petition of the people they love, their sons and daughters, in a way that benefits them. Don’t you suppose the God who created the universe by speaking it into existence, who describes Himself as love[5] knows how to do that better than they do?

Justice for the widow in the parable was anything but certain. It depended on her persistence in bringing her petition before the corrupt judge. It depended on how effectively she could annoy him. God’s justice, which will be revealed in the form of Christ’s judgment of the living and the dead on the Last Day, is assured. Still, He encourages us to pray persistently, along with all those who had been slain for the word of God and for the testimony which they held, who cry out with a loud voice, saying,

“How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?”[6]

St. Peter tells us that it won’t be long; God isn’t being slow, even if that’s what it looks like to us. Christ hasn’t forgotten about us. He isn’t waiting for all the geopolitical puzzle pieces to fall into their proper places before He sets His return to earth in motion. He could return any time. That’s why He tells us to wait expectantly, like the servant who works diligently while his master is away on a journey, and is found so doing when his master returns.[7] That’s why he compares Christians waiting for His return with bridesmaids waiting for the bridegroom with lamps trimmed and burning.[8] No, His delay means salvation for men:

But the heavens and the earth which are now preserved by the same word, are reserved for fire until the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men. But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.[9]

So we, Jesus’ disciples, always ought to pray and not lose heart. Even though we pray with our sainted brothers and sisters in heaven, “How long, O Lord?”, we know that God is faithful and will keep His promises to us. Christ died for our sins, and rose for our justification; He gave us a pledge to assure us of the forgiveness He won for us on the cross in the Lord’s Supper. And, not only to assure us, but to actually deliver it to us. In that meal Christ gives us His body and blood to eat and to drink with the bread and wine for the forgiveness of our sins. It is His New Testament in His blood. It is a living proclamation and distribution of His saving death and all its blessings.[10] Just as He saved eight souls through water by shutting them in the ark in the days of Noah, so Christ brings us into the ark of His Church, through the waters of Holy Baptism,[11] and saves us from the flood of fire that is to come upon the earth when He returns. All the time He waits to return in judgment is time for men to hear His Word, repent of their sins, receive His gifts, and be saved.

Just because He has waited this long, however, does not mean He will continue to wait forever. We know that,

“…the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat? Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.”[12]

Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth? The tone of Jesus’ question is ominous. After all, out of the entirety of mankind, only Noah and his family were saved from the flood. The flood, which serves as a type and shadow of the Last Judgement, suggests things will be similar when Christ returns. Yet we, heeding Christ’s words, remain persistent in our prayers, trusting that the gates of hell will not prevail against His Church,[13] just as He has promised.

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[1] Luke 17:20-37

[2] 2 Corinthians 12:7-9

[3] Matthew 7:9-11

[4] Luke 11:5-13

[5] Genesis 1:1-29 - 2:1; 1 John 4:8

[6] Revelation 6:9-10

[7] Mark 13:33-37

[8] Matthew 25:1-13

[9] 2 Peter 3:7-9

[10] Luther, Martin. Luther's Small Catechism, with Explanation. St. Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House, 2005. p. 236, question 294. See also 1 Cor. 11:26.

[11] 1 Peter 3:18-22

[12] 2 Peter 3:10-13

[13] Matthew 16:15-20

Invisible Fasting

“Moreover, when you fast, do not be like the hypocrites, with a sad countenance. For they disfigure their faces that they may appear to men to be fasting. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, so that you do not appear to men to be fasting, but to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly (Matthew 6:16-18).

Ash Wednesday is the beginning of Lent; this is the 40 day period preceding Easter. It is a season of fasting and penitential reflection.[1] Just as we Christians have been instructed to prepare ourselves to receive our Risen Lord in the bread and wine of Holy Communion by self-examination and confession,[2] so on the macro-scale, does Christ’s Church prepare to receive Him on Easter in a similar way. The Church has recognized the benefit of such preparation since ancient times. Though the length of the season varied initially, the fast of Lent was, early on, set at 40 days. The analogy with the 40 day temptation of Our Lord in the wilderness, following His baptism by John, is evident.[3] Ash Wednesday has marked the beginning of the Lenten fast since at least the late 5^th century.[4]

American Christianity, however, seems to have discarded the fast of Lent; it was lost to Rome when they affirmed the corrupt medieval version of fasting in the 16^th century, in response to the Reformation. If fasting shows up in American Evangelicalism at all, it generally manifests as a tool by which the individual Christian, or group of Christians, hope to manipulate the Lord into doing something they want. We see this in events like the National Day of Prayer, the United Day of Fasting and Prayer, and the National Day of Mourning. This is different than, by prayer and supplication, bringing everything to God, and trusting in Him no matter what might come our way. It is the idea that, if we pray hard enough, sincerely enough, boldly enough, or with a great multitude of people, we can convince God to give us what we are praying for. That is not praying according to God’s will. It is a symptom of American Evangelicalism’s corruption by the prosperity gospel. American Evangelicalism lost such things as Lent when they lost the lectionary and stopped worshipping according to the rhythms of the church year, whenever that was. Mainline liberal Protestants may have preserved the liturgical forms such as the lectionary and liturgical worship, but they threw out their belief in Christ, the very thing to which the fast was intended to direct them, in exchange for the deception of Higher Criticism and cultural relevance. To be certain, in the theological desert of American Evangelicalism, liturgical worshipers with black smudges of ash on their foreheads appear as a peculiar minority. The Lenten fast is seen as an attempt by men to earn God’s favor by their own good work.

So, should Christians fast? Should they put ashes on their heads and “give up things for Lent”? Jesus and His disciples didn’t fast; John the Baptist’s disciples questioned Jesus about this: Why do we and the Pharisees fast often, but your disciples do not fast?[5] Earlier in His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus condemns the hypocritical public prayers of the Pharisees, which they perform as a way of showing how pious they are; [6] He condemns public charity done for the same reason.[7] Jesus is consistent when it comes to fasting. Fasting done publicly to show what a good person you are is to be condemned: Moreover, when you fast, do not be like the hypocrites…[8]

Jesus said, however, when you fast; He did not say, “Do not fast.” In fact, it isn’t quite accurate to say that Jesus and His disciples didn’t fast. Jesus fasted for 40 days in the wilderness: Then [after His baptism] Jesus was led up by the Spirit to be tempted by the devil. And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry.[9] It is true that Jesus did not command His disciples to fast, but there are instances when they did so. One such instance was when Barnabas and Saul were called by the Holy Spirit: Now in the church that was at Antioch there were certain prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. As they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, “Now separate to Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” Then, having fasted and prayed, and laid hands on them, they sent them away.[10] Another time was after Barnabas and Saul preached in Derbe: And when they had preached the gospel to that city and made many disciples, they returned to Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch, strengthening the souls of the disciples, exhorting them to continue in the faith, and saying, “We must through many tribulations enter the kingdom of God.” So when they had appointed elders in every church, and prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord in whom they had believed.[11]

Fasting is not a way for people to earn God’s favor, or to “work off” or “make up for” sin. This is what Roman Catholicism teaches.[12] No, through faith in Christ we have a new and clean heart, and God does account us entirely righteous for the sake of Christ, our Mediator.[13] Fasting and prayer are also not tools by which we can manipulate God and get Him to do what we want. God hears our prayers for the sake of Christ, and answers them in His own way, and in His own time.

Fasting can be good for us, just like physical exercises can be good for us.[14] Fasting can move our focus from ourselves and our sinful desires, and help us develop self-control. The time we spend denying the desires of the flesh, that is, our Old Man, we can use to pray, and to study God’s Word, and to cultivate the fruits of the Spirit, things in which our New Man delights.[15]

It has always been the practice of Confessional Lutheranism to get rid of the traditions which are harmful, but to retain those which are helpful. The imposition of ashes and the Lenten fast fall into the second category. Remember that you are dust, and unto dust you shall return. We hear God’s Word calling us to repentance. We see the literal stain of ashes on our heads, which by itself is an outward mark of repentance throughout the Bible, reminding us that we are stained by sin. When the pastor puts those ashes on our heads, however, he draws them in the sign of the cross. This isn’t meant to be some mystical, magical symbol to ward off evil; by it we are to call to mind our baptism. The guilt of our sin has been paid for by Christ’s blood, shed on the cross. We can cling to His promise that, by His death and resurrection, Christ has set us free from sin, death, and the devil. We have a High Priest over the house of God. Our hearts have been sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies have been washed with the pure waters of baptism, which binds us to Christ, His death, and His resurrection.[16] In our baptism, that stain of sin has been washed away.

For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit, by whom also He went and preached to the spirits in prison, who formerly were disobedient, when once the Divine longsuffering waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water. There is also an antitype which now saves us—baptism (not the removal of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God), through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, angels and authorities and powers having been made subject to Him.[17]

Go, get your ashes. Remember that you are dust, and unto dust you shall return. Know that the stain of your sin corrupts your very nature, and that you are unable to make it better. Repent, and believe the Gospel. Remember your baptism. Remember that Jesus has washed away the stain of your sin. Remember that we were fornicators, idolaters, adulterers, homosexuals, sodomites, thieves, covetous, drunkards, revilers, extortioners, and perhaps many other things;

But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of God.[18]

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[1] Lueker, Erwin Louis., ed. Lutheran Cyclopedia: A Concise In-Home Reference for the Christian Family. Saint Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House, 1984. See p. 179

[2] 1 Corinthians 11:27-34

[3] Lueker, Erwin Louis., ed. Lutheran Cyclopedia: A Concise In-Home Reference for the Christian Family. Saint Louis, MO: Concordia Publ. House, 1984. See p. 179

[4] Ibid., p. 179, 292

[5] Matthew 9:14

[6] Matthew 6:5

[7] Matthew 6:1-4

[8] Matthew 6:16

[9] Matthew 4:1-2

[10] Acts 13:1-3

[11] Acts 14:21-23

[12] Fasting is a form of penance, and penance is a way of making satisfaction for sins. Catechism of the Catholic Church. New Hope, KY: Urbi Et Orbi Communications, 1994. See p. 360, paragraph 1434.

[13] McCain, Paul Timothy., ed. Concordia: The Lutheran Confessions: A Readers Edition of the Book of Concord. Saint Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House, 2005. SA III, 1

[14] 1 Timothy 4:8

[15] Galatians 5:22; Romans 7:21-25

[16] Hebrews 10:19-25

[17] 1 Peter 3:18-22

[18] 1 Corinthians 6:9-11

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

Christmas Eve Prayer

Christmas Eve - Prayers for the Divine Service (St. Paul's Ev. Luth. Church, Brookfield, IL)

P: Almighty and most merciful Father, we who cannot go to the manger have been drawn by Your grace and mercy to this altar to receive Him who is born to be our Savior. We who have not seen a multitude of the heavenly host, marvel at the words of the prophets and apostles by which You have declared to us where the Savior is to be found. Seeking Him where He promises to be found and finding Him where He comes according to His Word, we find also everlasting peace and joy.

Heavenly Father, we have often come to this altar to declare the complaints of our flesh – and because You have redeemed us, You answer us with grace and mercy. He have come before this altar with prayers at the birth of our children and grandchildren – and have likewise come at the death of our loved ones. At this altar You join together two as one flesh and You hear the vows of those who are confirmed, who are accepted as members, and who will serve as officers and board members. At this altar, we bring no gold, frankincense and myrrh, but our offerings that they may be used in service to Your kingdom. But over and above all things, we pray, O Lord, that Your glory may be declared and seen in Your salvation and in the fruits of righteousness. Lord, in Your mercy,

 

C: Hear our prayer.

P: O Consolation of Israel and Prince of Peace, grant Your peace which the world cannot give. When the devil seeks to rob us of our peace with his lies and accusations, when the world offers us its counterfeit peace achieved through self-centered glories and self-serving compromise, and when our own flesh feels no peace recalling its own guilt and shame, even the secrets of our heart which are known to You, grant that we would not pursue glory through worldly means or our own efforts, but may cling by faith to Your gracious work of redemption, by which we may enter into Your eternal glory. Grant us that peace which gives us courage to do and say what is right, which leads us to glorify and praise You in word and deed in our homes and communities. Give us that peace which is manifested in a sure and certain hope of Your eternal glory through Your only-begotten and beloved Son, born to be our Savior; Lord, in Your mercy,

 

C: Hear our prayer.

P: Heavenly Father, remember all of those who are called by Your name through holy Baptism and do not forsake or abandon them in the hour of their need. As they lie in hospital beds, grant them to know that You were laid in a manger to deliver them from every aspect of sin's cursed effects . . . For the sick and the needy during this blessed season, care packages of things that will break and wear out and grow old . . . Provide for their need in body and soul and preserve them through this life into that life which has been prepared for those who seek Your kingdom and righteousness in Jesus Christ alone; Lord, in Your mercy,

 

C: Hear our prayer.

P: Move the hearts of Your people to know the same joy as the shepherds to return to our homes glorifying and praising you for all that they have heard and seen in Your Word by faith as it was told to them. Hunger and thirst for righteousness as evidenced by their hunger and thirst for Your Word and Sacraments. Grant that our Bible classes and catechism classes may grow not for the sake of our congregation, but to the glory of Your holy name. Move the hearts of Your people to offer the sacrifices and offerings which are commensurate with Your grace and glory that the message of the angels may still be proclaimed in all the world. We pray especially this Christmas Eve / Day that You would grant strength and peace to missionaries who, for the sake of proclaiming Your Word, are isolated or far from home and family , who may be imprisoned or threatened for Your name's sake – and turn the hearts of Your enemies to believe, teach and confess Your truth and love . . . Lord, in Your mercy,

 

C: Hear our prayer.

P: These and whatsoever other things You would have us ask of You, O God, grant to us for the sake of the bitter sufferings and death of Jesus Christ, Your only Son, our Lord and Savior, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end.

 

C: Amen.