LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2013, Page 347

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THEOLOGICAL DOCUMENTS­­—COMMISSION ON THEOLOGY AND CHURCH RELATIONS
indicates both the need to encourage Christians to pray and also the potential
for the Christian view of prayer to be misunderstood.
This study’s goal is to encourage prayer and to guard against potential
misunderstandings, from the standpoint of Lutheran theology. As such, this
document is intentionally theological in nature (as distinct from “inspirational,”
“devotional,” “practical,” etc.). It is not a “how to” book on steps to a better
prayer life. It is meant to be accessible to the catechized layperson, but it is
directed especially to pastors, professional church workers, and lay leaders
who regularly encounter questions about the underlying theological realities
of prayer and seek to address them in sermons, Bible classes, evangelism calls,
and religious conversations with Christians and non-Christians. It also focuses
unapologetically on the Lutheran understanding of prayer. It frequently cites
the Lutheran Confessions and the writings of Martin Luther for insight into
scriptural realities about prayer. It regularly contrasts what Lutherans believe
about prayer with the views of other Christians and other religions. It does this
on the basis of the presupposition that a strong, healthy, God-pleasing prayer
life is inseparable from a clear understanding of what the Bible actually teaches
about prayer. Therefore the document draws heavily on Holy Scripture.
Lutheran theology is noteworthy for dualities: Law and Gospel, justification and sanctification, Word and Sacrament, kingdoms of the left and right
hand. So also here, one may note a certain duality about prayer. Consider the
following examples. Prayer is as instinctive and simple as a child’s first words,
yet it is taught and learned. One can pray freely in one’s own words spoken
straight from the heart (ex corde); and one can also pray in the words that flow
straight from a book (the Bible, hymnals, prayer books). One can ask God for
one’s deepest desires; and one also prays that God would fulfill His will and
not ours. Prayer is as easy as a breath, yet we often struggle to pray.
Because of such dualities, a Lutheran theology of prayer may seem somewhat different than a more “Evangelical”4 and informal perspective on the
one hand or a more Roman Catholic and liturgical perspective on the other. In
particular, Evangelicals are often noted for their emphasis on vigorous and free
ex corde prayer. Roman Catholics and Eastern Orthodox Christians are just as
frequently identified by the use of traditional, formal prayer offices and practices. A Lutheran view of prayer respectfully values both approaches and does
not pit one against the other. Instead, it encourages a middle way that includes
and emphasizes both while it invites all to this treasure: “Let us pray.”

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Introduction
“Thank God,” writes Martin Luther in the Smalcald Articles, “a sevenyear-old child knows what the church is, namely, holy believers and sheep
who hear the voice of their Shepherd.”5
A seven-year-old child who knows what the church is surely also knows
what prayer is. Prayer, as any little lamb of the Good Shepherd knows, is simply “talking to God.” Prayer is speaking to God in response to His speaking
to us in His Word, just as sheep respond to the sound of the shepherd’s voice
by “bleating back” to him their inarticulate expressions of gratitude, affection,
and dependence.
And “so,” Luther goes on to say, “children pray, ‘I believe in one holy
Christian church.’“6 Children not only know what prayer is, they also know
how to pray. They pray the words of the Creed, joining together with other
baptized children of God in confessing what God, through His Word, has
taught them to believe. They pray at mealtime and at bedtime and throughout
the day, thanking their Father in heaven for the daily gifts of His presence,
provision, and protection. They pray the prayer that the Lord Jesus himself
has given to all God’s children to pray, in which “God would encourage us to
believe that he is truly our Father and we are truly his children in order that we
may approach him boldly and confidently in prayer, even as beloved children
approach their dear father.”7
In one sense, therefore, the subject of prayer is very simple, and for this—
with Luther—we thank God. It is so simple, in fact, that (like the Gospel itself)
its true nature, power and value are often hidden from those who are extolled
as the “scholars” and “experts” of this world. “I praise you, Father, Lord of
heaven and earth,” Jesus once prayed, “because you have hidden these things
from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for
this was your good pleasure” (Matt. 11:25–26).
But God’s children, whether age seven or seventy, also need to grow in
faith and spiritual maturity. This means growing, too, in their understanding
and practice of prayer. In this as in every other area of the Christian life, they
need instruction and admonition, guidance and encouragement, direction and
protection. After all, not every voice we hear today is the voice of the Good
Shepherd—even among those voices that claim or intend to be speaking for
God. And not everything that goes by the name of “prayer” today is in conformity with the teaching of Scripture regarding prayer. For these and many
other reasons, God has included in his Word a vast treasure of comforting
and trustworthy teaching concerning prayer. And God is pleased, and we are

not want to deal with us human beings, except by means of his external Word and sacrament.”
The concept is discussed in more detail later.
4
We are using the term “Evangelical” in its common, contemporary understanding as a
reference to Christians and churches which give central emphasis to a personal commitment
made as part of a conscious conversion experience, as well as such teachings as the inerrancy of
Scripture and the obligation of personal evangelism.

5

SA III, 11, 2, KW, 324.

6

SA III, 11, 3, KW, 325.

7

SC, 3:2, KW, 356.

6

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richly blessed, when with child-like humility and enthusiasm we search the
Scriptures and plead, with the disciples, “Lord, teach us to pray!” (Luke 11:1).

Chapter One: What Is Prayer?
Prayer as a universal religious practice
The original meaning of the English8 word “pray” involves begging. To
pray is “to plead” or “implore.”9 Humanity prays because of great need and
distress. The beggar on the street hopes for help in poverty or need and pleads
for it. But he is asking that help from strangers and is uncertain that any will
respond. He cannot help but beg, yet he hates his circumstance and is alienated from the very people whose help he is begging. Their help is uncertain,
even doubtful. He would rather not beg, but he seems to have no other choice.
There is an important parallel here to prayer in its common, religious
context. According to standard dictionaries, prayer is “an address (as a
petition) to God or a god in word or thought,”10 it is pleading or imploring
addressed to divinity. As humans face their most desperate needs, they plead
for help—begging not only one another, but also begging for help from a god
or gods. Yet, like the street beggar, fallen humankind’s begging is uncertain,
even doubtful. Here, too, alienation is at work, because humankind is fallen.
Eden’s intimacy between a gracious God and His human creation has been
lost. Humankind begs, but does so conscious of distance, uncertainty, and
alienation. Are we begging the right god the right way? Is there even a god, or
are we talking to ourselves? Does the one whose help we are begging care or
even notice our misery? Such is our alienation.
The result is twofold. First, our need means that prayer never ends. It is
“the oldest and most universal of all religious rites,” a rite that “has played a
prominent role in all religious systems.”11 “In one form or another, prayer is
found everywhere, in all ages and among all people. The most discouraging
circumstances do not crush it, and the most damaging ‘scientific’ theories do
not prevent it.”12
8
The following comments are especially based on the English term “pray.” Neither the most
precise Hebrew nor Greek terms that are translated as “to pray,” “prayer,” etc. are directly
derived from the idea of begging. However, besides such specific verbs for praying, Hebrew
also uses verbs for asking, begging, beseeching to refer to speaking to God in prayer, e.g., la'v;.
Greek uses similar verbs for prayer (e.g., aijtevw, devomai) to ask, to beg or plead, as well as the
specific verb for to pray (proseuvcomai). See articles on prayer by H. Schönweiss in The New
International Dictionary of the New Testament, vol. 2, Colin Brown, ed. (Grand Rapids: Zondervan,
1977), 855–886. See also Johannes P. Louw and Eugene A. Nida, Greek-English Lexicon of the New
Testament Based on Semantic Domains (New York: United Bible Societies, 1988), 407–409, and
Theological Dictionary of the New Testament (TDNT), vol. 2 (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans,
1964), 775–816.
9
See “Pray,” The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition (Houghton
Mifflin Company, 2004), 1423.

8

10

Webster’s Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary (Springfield, Mass: Merriam-Webster, 1990), 924.

11

J.W. Acker, Teach Us to Pray (St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1960), 5.

12

Ronald W. Goetsch, Power through Prayer (St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1959), 11.

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2013 Convention Workbook