LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2016, Page 166

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166

IV. THEOLOGICAL DOCUMENTS­­—COMMISSION ON THEOLOGY AND CHURCH RELATIONS
1. From Universal Practice to Christian Teaching
(TPP, pages 5-14)

Theology and Practice of Prayer
A Lutheran View
Study and Discussion Guide
(Commission on Theology and Church Relations)1

Outline
1: Universal practice to Christian teaching
2: Prayer and the Gospel
3: The paradox of prayer
4: “This is how you should pray…”
5: Jesus’ prayer priorities—I
Available from CPH 1-800-325-3040 or at
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6: Jesus’ prayer priorities—II

A.
Opening: Pray Psalm 61:1-5
What is prayer?
Dictionaries remind us that the English word “prayer” indicates a request from a lesser person to one
greater—imploring or begging. Although less common today, it is a word that was frequently used in
every-day relationships in court pleadings or requests from servants or beggars. Note the tone of the
humble request in Psalm 61:1-5. What are some of the words used to describe prayer in this psalm?
Prayer is often a cry—a faint call—which is an important fact. We pray because of weakness and need.
The universality of prayer
Prayer is found in every culture and among every class of humans, so it is a universal practice. But it
varies widely in terms of how people pray and the one to whom they pray. For example, some religious
prayer practices include petitions to different gods for different goals, use of carved wooden blocks to
seek guidance for a specific course of action, utter silence with the goal of entering into a trance-like state,
and other techniques. Consider what you know about the prayer practices of non-Christian religions and
why that is important. Why is prayer such a universal human practice?
All the world prays, because. . . of human powerlessness and need
We pray because “Man is a beggar before God,” said St. Augustine. Luther scrawled, “We are beggars, it
is true,” on a piece of paper found in his pocket when he died. No one wants to beg, but when the need is
most extreme, what other recourse do we have? Begging happens because of need. But for those who beg
on streets and by-ways around the world, it is coupled with uncertainty (“Will anyone help?”) and also a
sort of alienation and even resentment (“They don’t understand or care, if they did, they would help.”)
Read the familiar story of Elijah and the prophets of Baal (see 1 Kgs 18:23-24, 27-29, 36-38). Everyone
is praying, but what is the difference in the prayers to Baal and Elijah’s prayer? What do the differences
involve and reveal?
All the world prays, because. . . of something innate to humanity
Read Acts 17:22-28. Paul points out the inherent religiosity of people in verse 22. People have a natural
inclination to “seek God” and “feel their way” to him (v. 27). How effective is feeling our way to God?
Read Romans 1:21-23. How does the commonality of prayer correspond with the biblical teaching of
some level of natural knowledge of God? Is the instinctive or natural human knowledge of God adequate?
How does Romans 1 help explain the different approaches to prayer found in other religions? These
passages show that something of the invisible God is seen in creation; but the image is easily suppressed
and detours into falsehood.

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These materials may be used alone or as a companion to the CTCR report, Theology and Practice of Prayer: A
Lutheran View (2011; abbreviated as TPP). The headings for the six sections of this study provide the page numbers
from TPP which may be read in tandem with the study. The materials are presented in six parts, with each part
divided into two sections to allow for the study to take place in 6 or 12 sessions, as desired. Moreover, the
consecutive arrangement allows individuals or groups to break each section into additional parts if desired.

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There is “a ‘drivenness’ in our creaturehood that gives humanity no surcease from praying. As
praying Christians, seeking to fulfill our mission and destiny as God’s church in the world, we
need to understand this phenomenon.” (Kenneth E. Korby, quoted in TPP, 10.)

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B.
(Pray Psalm 8 if this is a separate session)
Why the world prays? (Luther’s explanation)
Read and summarize the message of Romans 2:14-16. That God’s Law is on our hearts might seem
evident only in that people tend to have a sense of right and wrong about such things as murder or
adultery. But part of the Law is also the recognition of a god (higher power, force, principles, etc.) to
which we are indebted and from whom we seek help.
The Large Catechism speaks of this “natural law.” Martin Luther also explains that humanity has
arranged “forms of divine service” (prayer, etc.) in a desire to find God and be helped and blessed by him,
but he also warns that seeking God by reason alone only makes us fools (Luther’s Works, 40:96). It
makes sense, then, that prayer is a universal experience, yet, one colored by sin. Indeed, even an atheist
chaplain (talk about a contradiction in terms!), Greg Epstein, has suggested a form of prayer for atheists
(Good Without God, 179ff.). So, although it is universal, prayer certainly is not understood in a universal
fashion.
Where do we begin in order to gain a solid foundation for prayer?
As Christians, we begin with Scripture and with Jesus’ teaching, especially the Lord’s Prayer.
As Lutheran Christians our understanding of prayer is connected to the central teaching of justification by
faith. We also realize that there is much to learn from the writings of past generations that are faithful to
Scripture—from church fathers, Creeds and confessions.
Identify some Biblical synonyms for prayer in these passages




Psalm 41:4; Acts 10:14
Psalm 61:1; Acts 7:60
Psalm 5:2; Luke 11:2





Psalm 2:8; Mark 11:24
Jer. 27:18; 1 Tim 2:1
Psalm 86:9; Acts 26:7

Biblical synonyms for prayer—such as “say,” “ask,” “cry,” “beg,” “intercede,” “entreat,” and
“worship”—all remind us that prayer in Scripture means some form of talking with God.
Prayer portraits
Each of the following pictures of prayer tells us something. Note the settings and the purposes for prayer
in these instances:
 Numbers 12:13
 Acts 3:1
 Psalm 69:30
 Matthew 26:41
 Psalm 35:13-14
 Ephesians 6:18-20
 Daniel 6:10
 1 Timothy 2:8
God’s people pray in times of need and rescue, in sickness and loss, alone and with others, at set times
and places and on all kinds of occasions and in any place.
“The Scriptures identify prayer as an act that could be set in particular moments and places and
routinized in definite ways. But it was not confined to such settings. Formality and fixity
interchange with openness and freedom in the time and place of prayer. (Patrick Miller, quoted in
TPP, 14.)

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2016 Convention Workbook

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