PRAYER

A Statement from The Office of the President
The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod
1333 South Kirkwood Road
St. Louis, Missouri 63122
United States of America

At first glance, someone might wonder, "Is prayer really an 'issue' in our Synod?" The most important priority which faces our church body is the continuing need to proclaim the Gospel and administer Christ's sacraments faithfully, in harmony with Holy Scripture and the Lutheran Confessions. Flowing from this need, I am convinced that one of the most important issues our Synod faces is for our people daily to be in the Word and prayer. We can make no progress in outreach, nor can we remain a faithful confessing Lutheran church body, if we are not genuinely devoted to the Word and prayer.

As I presented the challenge of daily being in the Word some time ago in one of the districts of our Synod, a pastor came up to me afterwards and said, "What about prayer?" I explained to him that my feeling is that to be in the Word is precisely then also to be devoted to prayer. Our prayers flow from and are guided by our meditation on the Scriptures. This has always been the pattern for Christian prayer: Speaking back to God the words and the promises He first has spoken to us is the essence of prayer. Bringing to God our every need and concern, our every trouble and worry, our every joy and our every sadness is possible because of our faith-relationship to Him through the blood shed on the cross by our Lord Jesus Christ.

Is being in the Word and prayer some sort of "magic" formula we follow to "make things happen"? Of course not. Nor would we want to suggest for a moment that prayer is a lever we pull to "get" God to do what we want Him to do. God's grace flows into our lives only through the Gospel and the Sacraments. Prayer is the natural response to the saving mercy of God in our lives. We must not let erroneous views of prayer which we hear about from other denominations stop us from being people marked by devotion to the Word and prayer. So, let's take some time here to look at prayer as we find it modeled and explained in Holy Scripture, our Lutheran Confessions and then in the life of a great man of prayer, Martin Luther.

As we take a look at the Holy Scriptures we notice that throughout the history of the people of God prayer was an important, yes an essential part of their lives as the redeemed children of the Lord. Moses was constantly in prayer to the Lord as he led God's people through the wilderness. On numerous occasions Moses prayed for the people of God (Num. 11:2, Num. 21:7, Deut. 9:20, Deut. 9:26). He prayed that God would be merciful to these people who repeatedly grumbled and mumbled as they trudged through the desert on their way to the promised land.

The entire book of the Psalms is a collection of prayer and praise to God. Over and over again in the Psalms we read the heartfelt cries of David and the other psalmists. "Answer me when I call, O God of my right! Thou hast given me room when I was in distress. Be gracious to me, and hear my prayer" (Psalm 4:1). The pattern of prayer in the Psalms reflects the tradition of prayer in the morning (Ps. 88:13) and prayer in the evening (Ps. 141:2). After the Lord's Prayer, there is no greater resource for Christian prayer than the Book of Psalms. The Psalms speak to our every need and give us words to speak when we cannot find the right words for ourselves. The prophets too were men of deep and profound prayer. They frequently wrestled with God in prayer. Daniel, the man of God, writes, "I prayed to the Lord my God and made confession..." (Dan. 9:4).

In the New Testament Scriptures we have the most complete revelation of what prayer is all about. The life of prayer finds its ultimate model and example in Jesus, the Son of God. The Master repeatedly sets before us a pattern for our lives of prayer. In the Gospel of Luke we learn that Jesus liked to go off by Himself to pray. As you look at Luke 5:15, 6:12; 9:19;9:28 and 11:1, you notice our Lord in private, personal direct communion with God in prayer. He once told a special parable, Luke tells us, "to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart" (Luke 18:1). Not only that, Jesus gave His church the Lord's Prayer, not simply as a model for prayer (although it is that), but as the prayer He wants us to pray. "When you pray, pray this..." He said when He gave us the Lord's Prayer. Then we notice in Christ's life His devotion to corporate prayer with fellow believers in the synagogue and at the temple.

Jesus prayed for His church and for all who would come to faith in Him through the preaching and teaching of the Apostles. John 17 is the great chapter of that Gospel often referred to as Jesus' "high priestly prayer." Our Lord said, "I do not pray for these only, but also for those who believe in Me through their word" (John 17:20).

Turning to the very early church we have a beautiful description of their life together in Acts 2:42 which informs us that "they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers." Notice that the Greek here is very specific. It says, "the prayers." The Apostles were devoted to the regular, orderly, liturgical prayers of the Old Testament people of God-the solid, substantial prayers of the Psalms and the other ancient orders of prayer. The Apostles recognized that the most important aspect of their ministry on behalf of the people was for them to be "devoted" to "prayer and the ministry of the Word" (Acts 6:4). Repeatedly throughout the book of Acts you have examples of the church going to the Lord in prayer for special needs or problems (Acts 9:40; 12:12; 13:3; 14:23; 16:25).

Some of the more important verses on prayer in the New Testament come from the Apostle Paul. In Romans 8:26 he writes, "The Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with sighs too deep for words." The Christian, because he has been justified and made a child of God, is constantly in communication with God. The Holy Spirit who dwells in every believer is constantly praying to God on our behalf.

Paul frequently encouraged the church to be devoted to prayer. "Be constant in prayer" (Rom. 12:12). "Strive together with me in your prayers to God on my behalf..." (Rom. 15:30). "Pray at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication" (Eph. 6:18). "Have no anxiety about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God" (Phil. 4:6). "Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving" (Col. 4:2). "Pray constantly..." (1 Thess. 5:17). "I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people..." (1 Tim. 2:1).

The other Apostles of our Lord also emphasized prayer. Peter writes, "The end of all things is at hand; therefore keep sane and sober for your prayers" (1 Peter 4:7). And finally, the verse we have discussed earlier, "But you beloved, build yourselves up on your most holy faith; pray in the Holy Spirit" (Jude 20).

Turning to our Lutheran Confessions we find that they too have much to say about our life of prayer. The most clear statements on prayer are found in Luther's Large Catechism, especially in his explanation of the Lord's Prayer. I urge you to once again read this portion of the Large Catechism. I will quote just one portion here. Luther writes, "Each of us should form the habit from his youth up to pray daily for all his needs, whenever he is aware of anything that affects him or other people around him... We are far too weak to cope with the devil and all his might and his forces arrayed against us, trying to trample us under foot. Therefore we must carefully select the weapons with which Christians ought to arm themselves...Let this be said as an admonition in order that men may learn above all to value prayer as a great and precious thing and may clearly distinguish between vain babbling and praying for something definite" (Tappert, p. 424).

Luther was a great man of prayer. The Reformation would never have been such a blessing to the church were it not for the prayers of this faithful servant of God. But even Luther struggled to find time for prayer. He told a friend once, "I still find it necessary every day to look for time during which I may pray. I am satisfied if, when I retire, I can recite the Ten Commandments, pray the Lord's Prayer, and then add a Bible verse or two. Meditating on these I fall asleep" (Plass, p. 1084). But, as Luther wrote, no prayer is possible apart from the merits of Christ: "You should come to God by faith, as a little chicken hastens under the hen's wings, and say: I would not be so bold as to speak this prayer were it not done in the name of Christ. In His name I bow my knees, although I am not worthy to be heard by God. Thus we pray that our prayer may be offered in faith and may flow from faith."

This last point is the most critical. Prayer is not an "emergency button" that human beings push. Prayer is the response of the child of God to the mercy of Christ in his or her life. There is the very closest connection between the Christian life and prayer. Psalm 27:8 indicates that prayer is the conversation of the heart with God, a heart which seeks after God. It is only prayer in the saving name of Christ which is heard by God. John 16:23 makes this clear: "Truly, truly I say to you, if you ask anything of the Father, He will give it to you in My name."

Just how powerful is prayer? We are taught in Holy Scripture that through the prayers of Christians, God responds and the word is spread and Satan's power is resisted (2 Thess. 3:16). Peace is preserved and restored through the answers God gives to fervent prayer (1 Tim. 2:1-3; Ps. 76:6). The forces of hell are turned away as God answers the prayers of His people (Ps. 5:6, 10).

The Christian's prayer for God's mercy and grace are always answered, "Yes!" Our prayer for specific things other than God's mercy are answered according to the will of God. Our Lord prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane, "Not as I will, but as You will" (Matt. 26:29). The promise is given us that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us (1 John 5:14). What comfort and what power! Our God answers our prayers. As Luther explains in the Small Catechism, "With these words God tenderly invites us to believe that He is our true Father and that we are His true children, so that with all boldness and confidence we may ask Him as dear children ask their dear Father." How thankful we as believers need to be for this great gift of prayer-the daily privilege of being able to approach our God in prayer.

From: The President's Newsletter, November 1994, pp. 2-3