During the Christmas Project last year Misión Rescate, directed by brother David Murphy, was a great blessing for me. They helped to package the Tee shirts by size for each church, a work which they did in two hours, and which would have taken me much longer doing it bit by bit.
For Simon Curry it was a great experience to see the routes by which, at times on foot, at times on bicycle and finally by land rover, Sam and Mary went to the different churches. As usual, the brothers asked that the missionary preach and David gave them a good message encouraging the children to continue learning the Word of God.
It is always a joy to converse with brothers and sisters who were converted through the preaching of the first missionaries. I can still see their black and white attitudes which reflect the teachings of these missionaries. On asking them how their churches were going on, one pastor said that two groups of young people had left the church, one along with their own leadership and the other with some of the young people. I asked him how he felt about this and he replied that it was good for the church because “I teach the Word of God and if someone does not want to obey this it is damaging for the church”. I asked him if he did not feel sorry for them and he replied “I cannot do anything, I just have to pray. I am the pastor and I have to care for the flock of God”. The church has now grown in numbers and they have more than 30 children in the Sunday School. The pastor’s daughter teaches them each week.
I was encouraged by the firmness with which the pastor spoke and decided to help him through the Christmas Project this year. This church is on the frontier with Bolivia. Pray for all the activities in the churches in the Sierra.
Lourdes Mengoa
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
A Frustrating but Useful “Weekend”
On Friday morning I felt the beginnings of a very bad cold. I taught my Apologetics class at 11.00 and asked Elizabeth Almanza if she would kindly do the devotional at the faculty meeting as I was feeling unwell. As usual she willingly agreed.
By 4.00 pm I was decidedly unwell but we proceeded with the faculty. This term we have about 86 students, which is up by about 11 on last term. This is partly due to the weekend with Pedro Arana which attracted many people including students from the university who want to know if our lecturers can teach them at the CU. Elizabeth, an ex-member, assured them that we could do so out of our term time. Silas and I will be glad to help. As Pedro had come at the end of the first week there was still time for many who had come to his course, attracted by the cheap offer of Bible Society materials which he had brought, to matriculate with us during the second week of term.
The Pastors’ Breakfast also had an effect with more pastors enrolling for the Pastors’ Course on Saturday mornings and also coming with their young people to encourage them to matriculate.
By the evening I was getting worse as I prepared to teach my church history course. As Lourdes tried the automatic locking system and finally entered the car by turning the key, we realized that there had been an electrical failure in the car at some point while we were having our tea. I rang a taxi and then rang Elizabeth to aske her to ask the students to wait as I would be late. When I arrived down the key to the door into the offices would not work and so I had to teach without giving out handouts which were in my office. Fortunately Maritza Casas was in my class and during the tea break she opened the door and I was able to give out the handouts before the second class. I had also forgotten my reading glasses, which did not help.
By Saturday morning I was really bad with the cold. The main door to the auditorium would not open as the key turned endlessly in the lock, as did the key to the offices. At last by a flook it turned and I was able to enter my office by the back door in order to collect the handouts for the eleven students in my History of Doctrine course. Fifteen students turned up! This was their last opportunity to enter the class. It ranges from technical to Licenciatura levels and is really too wide a spectrum which will have to be changed in the future.
By this time I was really feeling under the weather. The students brought me a glass of lukewarm water for my cough, which I both loathed for its taste and greatly appreciated for their kindness and its effects. At the end of my class I went home to bed.
Reading Robert Letham’s book on The Holy Trinity which had arrived too late for me to incorporate many its insights into my course, I realized that I would have to change the last twelve pages of the course. It is a most useful and highly recommendable book.
By Sunday morning I was feeling a bit better and was able to preach briefly in Pan de Vida where I had agreed to replace Ruben Mendoza who is ill with stones in his kidneys and awaiting an operation in June! Charles Pecharovich’s wife charo was out and feeling well that morning, though she is still far from good health. In the afternoon I rested briefly before going to Manantial de Vida at 5.00 pm to replace Abraham Rengifo, who although he was present, had had an eye injury following an incident on the football field in Ite the previous weekend which had prevented him from much activity, including reading, during the week.
Both services were enjoyable, although the preaching was less than inspiring as I coughed my way through it. But the Lord was good and some people were blessed. As we arrived home we discovered that our telephone wires were down yet again (a constant hazard here as they cross fields where every time trees are pruned the lines are cut). Monday was spent in bed with Robert Letham’s book contemplating the changes to my History of Doctrine course. Lourdes rang Blanca Valenzuela (cell phones are marvellous when they are charged and have credit) to apologize because we would not be going to the Bible Hour and discovered that she was with Ruben Mendoza and they were both awaiting their medical appointments in the hospital, Ruben for an echograph and Blanca for a X ray of her foot, which gives her continual problems.
It is now Wednesday and the changes have been made to the course. Neither the car nor the telephone have been fixed as yet. Nor is my cold completely cured, despite my absence from the Bible Hour last night. I rang Paul Durand, the preacher this term, to apologize for my absence and ask about his wife, who was teaching one of the courses in the Womens’ Study Fellowship this term until she had to go into hospital for a gall bladder operation last week. She is now home and recuperating.
My cold/flu is one of the least of the illnesses which are plaguing us at the moment. Yet the long weekend was good. I learned much about doctrine from my reading and about the practical help which God gives in difficult times as I preached.
PS Obviously our telephone line is now working again
By 4.00 pm I was decidedly unwell but we proceeded with the faculty. This term we have about 86 students, which is up by about 11 on last term. This is partly due to the weekend with Pedro Arana which attracted many people including students from the university who want to know if our lecturers can teach them at the CU. Elizabeth, an ex-member, assured them that we could do so out of our term time. Silas and I will be glad to help. As Pedro had come at the end of the first week there was still time for many who had come to his course, attracted by the cheap offer of Bible Society materials which he had brought, to matriculate with us during the second week of term.
The Pastors’ Breakfast also had an effect with more pastors enrolling for the Pastors’ Course on Saturday mornings and also coming with their young people to encourage them to matriculate.
By the evening I was getting worse as I prepared to teach my church history course. As Lourdes tried the automatic locking system and finally entered the car by turning the key, we realized that there had been an electrical failure in the car at some point while we were having our tea. I rang a taxi and then rang Elizabeth to aske her to ask the students to wait as I would be late. When I arrived down the key to the door into the offices would not work and so I had to teach without giving out handouts which were in my office. Fortunately Maritza Casas was in my class and during the tea break she opened the door and I was able to give out the handouts before the second class. I had also forgotten my reading glasses, which did not help.
By Saturday morning I was really bad with the cold. The main door to the auditorium would not open as the key turned endlessly in the lock, as did the key to the offices. At last by a flook it turned and I was able to enter my office by the back door in order to collect the handouts for the eleven students in my History of Doctrine course. Fifteen students turned up! This was their last opportunity to enter the class. It ranges from technical to Licenciatura levels and is really too wide a spectrum which will have to be changed in the future.
By this time I was really feeling under the weather. The students brought me a glass of lukewarm water for my cough, which I both loathed for its taste and greatly appreciated for their kindness and its effects. At the end of my class I went home to bed.
Reading Robert Letham’s book on The Holy Trinity which had arrived too late for me to incorporate many its insights into my course, I realized that I would have to change the last twelve pages of the course. It is a most useful and highly recommendable book.
By Sunday morning I was feeling a bit better and was able to preach briefly in Pan de Vida where I had agreed to replace Ruben Mendoza who is ill with stones in his kidneys and awaiting an operation in June! Charles Pecharovich’s wife charo was out and feeling well that morning, though she is still far from good health. In the afternoon I rested briefly before going to Manantial de Vida at 5.00 pm to replace Abraham Rengifo, who although he was present, had had an eye injury following an incident on the football field in Ite the previous weekend which had prevented him from much activity, including reading, during the week.
Both services were enjoyable, although the preaching was less than inspiring as I coughed my way through it. But the Lord was good and some people were blessed. As we arrived home we discovered that our telephone wires were down yet again (a constant hazard here as they cross fields where every time trees are pruned the lines are cut). Monday was spent in bed with Robert Letham’s book contemplating the changes to my History of Doctrine course. Lourdes rang Blanca Valenzuela (cell phones are marvellous when they are charged and have credit) to apologize because we would not be going to the Bible Hour and discovered that she was with Ruben Mendoza and they were both awaiting their medical appointments in the hospital, Ruben for an echograph and Blanca for a X ray of her foot, which gives her continual problems.
It is now Wednesday and the changes have been made to the course. Neither the car nor the telephone have been fixed as yet. Nor is my cold completely cured, despite my absence from the Bible Hour last night. I rang Paul Durand, the preacher this term, to apologize for my absence and ask about his wife, who was teaching one of the courses in the Womens’ Study Fellowship this term until she had to go into hospital for a gall bladder operation last week. She is now home and recuperating.
My cold/flu is one of the least of the illnesses which are plaguing us at the moment. Yet the long weekend was good. I learned much about doctrine from my reading and about the practical help which God gives in difficult times as I preached.
PS Obviously our telephone line is now working again
Friday, April 10, 2009
What is a Baptist?
A Baptist, first of all, is someone who has been born again (Jn 3), who has put his or her faith in the Lord Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of their sins (Ephes 2:8-10). Then he or she has obeyed His command to be baptized as a public testimony of his or her commitment to Him and to His people (Mat 28:18-20; Rom 6). Following this he or she has joined a church all of whose members have had a similar experience of saving faith and have been baptized (Acts 2:41-42). This is where he or she can grow as he or she learns more about Christ and how to obey Him (Mat 28:20). This church only has such members because it is under the authority of the Bible, the Word of God (II Tim 3:15-17), and is seeking to obey the commands of Christ its Head. As such it is autonomous and answers to Him alone for all its beliefs and practices (Rev 2,3). It does not depend on or accept interference from any person or body outside of itself (especially not from a non Christian state), though it seeks to develop and maintain close relations with other churches which have the same beliefs. A Baptist desires freedom to worship God as he or she believes the Bible teaches, but he or she also believes that everyone should have that same freedom to worship or not to worship as they believe, because each person will answer to God individually for their beliefs. While they should not be persecuted for their faith or lack of it, it is the duty and privilege of every Christian in every true church to spread the message of the Gospel to everyone, so that others too can have a relationship with God through Christ.
A SIMPLE WAY TO PRAY
Martin Luther was asked by Peter Beskendorf, known throughout the town as Peter the master barber, for a simple way to pray. The obvious answer was to go to the model prayer which Christ taught his disciples in response to a similar request. This is exactly what Luther does, but he also goes to the Ten Commandments and the (Apostles’) Creed to develop the theme. Note that whilst he begins with the words of Scripture he does not confine himself to them, but is prepared to use the Creed as well. This is undoubtedly because he saw this as a wise summary of biblical truth about God, which indeed it is.
He begins by recommending the Psalter, the Ten Commandments, the Creed, some words of Christ or of Paul or some Psalms as stimulants to prayer. He recommends prayer first thing in the morning and last thing at night. It should not be postponed for other business.
Work done for Christ’s sake can be prayer as it is offered to God. For the unbeliever his work is a curse because he ignores God. Christ says “pray without ceasing” (Luke 11) because we must guard against sin, which we cannot do unless we fear God and keep his commandments (Ps 1:1,2).
But we must not neglect formal prayer and become lazy. The devil is not lazy. “Our flesh is too ready and eager to sin and is disinclined to the spirit of prayer.” When your heart is warmed, kneel or stand, hands folded, eyes toward heaven. Think or think briefly. (Note his specific ideas which go against our ideas and practices today.)
He begins, “O Heavenly Father, dear God, I am a poor unworthy sinner.” Christ taught us to pray and this is our motivation: obedience to God’s word and trust in God’s promise. “In the name of my Lord Jesus Christ, together with all your saints and Christians on earth...” (Note his emphasis on the church collectively. I pray as part of the people of God, in communion with them) “Our Father etc.” He is prepared to use the form of words of the Lord’s Prayer as we, as “good” Baptists are not. But he does not leave it there. He goes on to say that we must repeat the petitions one by one and expand them.
1 “Hallowed be thy name” in us and in all the world He prays against those who take God’s name in vain, taking contemporary examples of the turk, the pope, false teachers and fanatics. They do the devil’s work and this is an affront to God.
We should pray that God would convert and restrain them. “Convert those who are still to be converted” (Predestination) so that together they can with us hallow God’s name in true doctrine and holy life. (Doctrine is practical and leads to holiness.) Restrain “those who are unwilling to be converted” (The Bondage of the Will does not deny responsibility and moral culpability.) so that they do not (1) dishonour God’s name or (2) mislead the poor people. (Note both the order of priorities and the pastoral concern.)
2 “Thy kingdom come”. Men take the gifts and power God has given them to serve him, and use them for their own ambition and to oppose his kingdom (Gen 3). There are many against the few in God’s kingdom, so he prays, “Convert them and defend us”. “Convert those who are still to become children and members of thy kingdom, so that they with us and we with them may serve thee in thy kingdom in true faith and unfeigned love, and that from thy kingdom which has begun, we may enter into thy eternal kingdom.” (Predestination gives confidence in prayer. The church is the kingdom begun. This in the light of his doctrine of the two kingdoms. He is Augustinian here.)
Defend us from those who continue to oppose. Their fall means they cease to oppose. (He is not afraid to call for their destruction, but he is not vindictive. They are opposing God’s kingdom.)
3 “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven”. The world tries by every means to destroy the things of God. (There is no neutrality.) Convert them and defend us. Convert them so that they obey your will (change of habit and lifestyle). This will involve the cross (no easy lifestyle), but in this way they “acknowledge, test and experience thy benign, gracious and prefect will”. Defend us: turn our enemies’ schemes against them (Ps 7:16).
4 “Give us this day our daily bread”. He seeks blessing in this temporal and physical life, peace and protection against war and disorder. He prays for the emperor: for his success against his enemies and wisdom to rule well. Grace for subjects to serve loyally and obediently. To all estates, diligence, charity and loyalty to one another. For the weather and good harvests. For house and property, wife and child. For myself, the ability to manage, support and educate as a Christian should. Defense against evil angels in the affairs of this life.
5 “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us”. “Enter not into judgment against us, because no man living is justified before thee.” Do not count against us unthankfulness for your goodness, or our straying into sin every day (Ps 19:12). “Do not look upon how good or how wicked we have been, but only upon the infinite compassion which thou hast bestowed upon us in Christ thy dear Son.” (Not even our good works. There is no merit outside of Christ.) Forgiveness to those who harm us “as we forgive them from our hearts”. (Do we?) They injure themselves by arousing God’s anger. “We are not helped by their ruin; we would much rather that they be saved with us.” If we feel that we cannot forgive we should ask for grace to do so.
6 “And lead us not into temptation”. We should be fit, eager and alert in God’s service in order to avoid laziness and complacency. Thus the devil cannot fall upon us, “deprive us of thy word” and cause factions and other sins. (Note the importance of the Word of God in this.)
7 “But deliver us from evil” (Eph 5:16). This life is full of calamity, misery and evil. (Note how he views life.) God help us to pass through this life so that we are not fearful when we come to die.
Speak the Amen firmly. “Never doubt that God in his mercy will surely hear you and say ‘yes’ to your prayers.” We are united with all Christians in our prayers, and they with us. (Not the individualism of which Luther is often accused.)
This should not be a vain repetition of words, but a guide for our thoughts. We may get so involved in one petition that we forget the other six. Do not obstruct this. Listen in silence and follow through these thoughts. “The Holy Spirit himself preaches here, and one word of his sermon is far better than a thousand of our prayers.” There is more learned in prayer than in reading and speculation.
The heart must be made ready for prayer. “Prepare your heart for prayer, and do not tempt God” (Ecclus 18:23). Better this than a babbling month and wandering thoughts. “A person who forgets what he has said has not prayed well. In a good prayer one fully remembers every word and thought from the beginning to the end of the prayer.” (On this criterion, how many of our prayers are good?). Concentration is necessary, as with a barber using his razor. “He who thinks of many things thinks of nothing and does nothing right.”
This is how to use the Lord’s Prayer, which is even better than the Psalter. But many use it thousands of times and never pray it. (We, as good Baptists, of course, ignore it.)
Luther then counsels that if there is time one should then go through the Ten Commandments. He divides each in four parts: (1) Instruction; (2) Thanksgiving; (3) Confession; and (4) Prayer. Thus he treats them pastorally using the first, second and at times even the third use of the Law to make his points.
1 “I am the Lord your God... you shall have no other gods before me.” “God expects and teaches me to trust him sincerely in all things.” He purposes to be my God. I must think of him like this or risk losing eternal salvation. Trust nothing else.
We should give thanks to him for his compassion. He has come to us in order to be our God.
I should confess my sin and ingratitude for despising such teaching and such a precious gift and for provoking his wrath through idolatry. (Note the teaching comes first. The teaching shows me that this is a gift.) I must repent and ask for grace. (Note this second use of the Law.)
I should pray for help to understand and live out the commandment and that God preserve my heart so that I never again forget these things.
2 “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.” (Remember Luther combines our introduction and 1st and 2nd commandments into one and divides our 10th.)
I must keep his name “in honour, holiness and beauty” not swearing, cursing and “not to be boastful or seek honour or repute for myself.” My honour is “that he is my God and that I am his lowly creature and unworthy servant”. (Giving myself honour is dishonouring him.)
I should be thankful that he has revealed his name to me. His name is my refuge (Prov 18:10).
I should confess my lifelong sin against this commandment, my failure “to invoke, extol and honour his holy name”. (Omission as well as commission.)
I should pray for health and strength to obey this commandment and be preserved from “ingratitude, abuse and sin against his name”.
Again if the Holy Spirit speaks then we should listen and leave this list (Ps 119:18).
3 “Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy”. (Luther is not a sabbaterian.) It is not for idleness or worldly pleasure, but to be kept holy. It is not sanctified by our works and actions, because our works are not holy, but by the word of God, which sanctifies all with which it comes into contact, “be it time, place, person, labour, rest etc.” (I Tim 4:5). I must hear and contemplate God’s word on the Sabbath. (It is not for playing bowls in Geneva.)
I should give thanks in my own words, praise God for his benefits, and pray for myself and the whole world. “He who so conducts himself on the Sabbath day. keeps it holy. He who fails to do so is worse than the person who works on the Sabbath.”
Thank God for his goodness in giving us the preaching of his word. “When this precious and saving word is absent, nothing remains but a fearsome and terrifying darkness:”(Do we believe this?)
Confess great sin against the word of God. Yet he still sends it to me.
Pray for preservation in the word, for preservation from false teachers, and that God would send labourers into his harvest (Mat 9:38) and for grace to “hear, accept and honour their words as his own words”. (Note the idea that the preaching of the word of God is the word of God. Note also Luther’s change from the day in itself to its right use.)
4 “Honour your father and your mother.” I should recognize God as my Creator and Sustainer. He has given me my parents and “instilled in them the desire to care for me”.
We should be thankful for the increase and preservation of the human race, of households and states. These two latter allow government to continue to function. (Note the first use of the Law.) Without government there is no peace, without peace there is no family, without family no children. This commandment guards and preserves both family and state and teaches children and subjects to obey. Failure in this leads to anarchy. This commandment then is of unspeakable benefit.
We should confess sins of disobedience by provocation, offence, impatience, resentment and scorn. “Whoever does not obey father and mother must obey the executioner, or otherwise come, through God’s wrath, to an evil end.” (Note God’s active wrath and not just cause and effect.)
We should pray for blessing on family and state. We should help improve home and nation by our actions, “all to the praise and glory of God, for our own benefit and for the prosperity of all.” (Seeking God’s glory first results in blessing for us and others.) Pray for parents and superiors.- for understanding and wisdom to govern well, and that God preserve them from tyranny. Parents should here pray for their children and workers. Pray to the Father “who has set you in an office of honour in his name”. The name “father” is an honour. Pray for grace to govern and instruct, and grace for them to obey. These are God’s gifts.
5 “You shall not kill.” God desires love for our neighbours. We must not harm, but protect our neighbours, and they us.
Thanks for God’s love, providence and faithfulness in giving me this shield of protection. The sword is established for those who disobey (Rom 13). Apart from this commandment the devil would instigate massacre, which God sometimes inflicts as punishment. (Note the balance: the devil instigates sin; God inflicts just punishment.)
Confession of ingratitude for this protection, and for killing our neighbour in our thoughts.- anger etc.
Pray for understanding and help to keep it; preservation from “the murderer who is the master of every form of murder and violence”; grace to live in peace with one another.
6 “You shall not commit adultery.” God wants me to live “chastely, decently and temperately, both in thoughts, and in words and in actions”. More than this, I “ought to assist, save, protect and guard marriage and decency to the best of my ability”. I must protect my neighbour’s good character and honour.
Thank God for accepting my husband, wife, etc. into his care and protection. Those who violate this commandment suffer for it now or in hell. This preserves decency in society; otherwise the devil would have a field day. At times God permits this as punishment on society. (Note here the first use of the Law again.)
Confession of sin, of ungratefulness for this protection, and for wishing at times that God would permit these things.
Pray for grace to keep the commandment “gladly and cheerfully”.
Again, it is not the form of words, but the thought that matters. Thought can review all Ten Commandments rapidly or take just one or two at a time.
7 “You shall not steal.” “I must not take my neighbour’s property from him, or possess it against his will, either in secret or openly.” Thus I must be honest in business and support myself by the sweat of my brow. God here protects my goods. God has provided a penalty which includes placing “the gallows and the rope in the hands of Jack the hangman” (Luther seems to have no problem with capital punishment for theft.) God punishes theft by bringing on beggary.
Thank God for his protection, without which nothing would be left to us.
Confess sin and ingratitude.
Pray for grace to learn, ponder and become better people, and that Judgment Day, for which we pray (Rom 8:20-23) would bring this crime to an end.
8 “You shall not bear false witness.” We should be truthful, shun lies, and be glad to speak well of each other and delight in hearing what is good in others. God thus protects our integrity and will not let violations go unpunished.
Give thanks for the teaching and protection provided.
Confession of sin.
Pray for help to obey “and for a healing tongue”.
9 & 10 “You shall not covet your neighbour’s house.” (Note that he takes these “two” together. Can he not really divide them?) We are not to dispossess our neighbour of his goods “under Pretense of legal claims”, but help him to keep it. We should give thanks, confess sin and pray for strength to obey.
The fourfold aspect of the Ten Commandments “as a school text, song book, penitential book and prayer book” should be noted. One should not tire oneself in prayer. (This from one who had prayer the Hours of the Church) It is not the length, but the frequency and ardency of our prayers which matters. Part of this is sufficient if it “kindles a fire in the heart”. The Spirit grants this when God’s word clears and frees our thoughts. (Note the Spirit and the Word together.- a favourate theme with Luther.)
To start to speak of the place of faith and Scripture in prayer would be unending. Take a commandment one day, a Psalm the next day to “kindle a flame in the heart”.
He begins by recommending the Psalter, the Ten Commandments, the Creed, some words of Christ or of Paul or some Psalms as stimulants to prayer. He recommends prayer first thing in the morning and last thing at night. It should not be postponed for other business.
Work done for Christ’s sake can be prayer as it is offered to God. For the unbeliever his work is a curse because he ignores God. Christ says “pray without ceasing” (Luke 11) because we must guard against sin, which we cannot do unless we fear God and keep his commandments (Ps 1:1,2).
But we must not neglect formal prayer and become lazy. The devil is not lazy. “Our flesh is too ready and eager to sin and is disinclined to the spirit of prayer.” When your heart is warmed, kneel or stand, hands folded, eyes toward heaven. Think or think briefly. (Note his specific ideas which go against our ideas and practices today.)
He begins, “O Heavenly Father, dear God, I am a poor unworthy sinner.” Christ taught us to pray and this is our motivation: obedience to God’s word and trust in God’s promise. “In the name of my Lord Jesus Christ, together with all your saints and Christians on earth...” (Note his emphasis on the church collectively. I pray as part of the people of God, in communion with them) “Our Father etc.” He is prepared to use the form of words of the Lord’s Prayer as we, as “good” Baptists are not. But he does not leave it there. He goes on to say that we must repeat the petitions one by one and expand them.
1 “Hallowed be thy name” in us and in all the world He prays against those who take God’s name in vain, taking contemporary examples of the turk, the pope, false teachers and fanatics. They do the devil’s work and this is an affront to God.
We should pray that God would convert and restrain them. “Convert those who are still to be converted” (Predestination) so that together they can with us hallow God’s name in true doctrine and holy life. (Doctrine is practical and leads to holiness.) Restrain “those who are unwilling to be converted” (The Bondage of the Will does not deny responsibility and moral culpability.) so that they do not (1) dishonour God’s name or (2) mislead the poor people. (Note both the order of priorities and the pastoral concern.)
2 “Thy kingdom come”. Men take the gifts and power God has given them to serve him, and use them for their own ambition and to oppose his kingdom (Gen 3). There are many against the few in God’s kingdom, so he prays, “Convert them and defend us”. “Convert those who are still to become children and members of thy kingdom, so that they with us and we with them may serve thee in thy kingdom in true faith and unfeigned love, and that from thy kingdom which has begun, we may enter into thy eternal kingdom.” (Predestination gives confidence in prayer. The church is the kingdom begun. This in the light of his doctrine of the two kingdoms. He is Augustinian here.)
Defend us from those who continue to oppose. Their fall means they cease to oppose. (He is not afraid to call for their destruction, but he is not vindictive. They are opposing God’s kingdom.)
3 “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven”. The world tries by every means to destroy the things of God. (There is no neutrality.) Convert them and defend us. Convert them so that they obey your will (change of habit and lifestyle). This will involve the cross (no easy lifestyle), but in this way they “acknowledge, test and experience thy benign, gracious and prefect will”. Defend us: turn our enemies’ schemes against them (Ps 7:16).
4 “Give us this day our daily bread”. He seeks blessing in this temporal and physical life, peace and protection against war and disorder. He prays for the emperor: for his success against his enemies and wisdom to rule well. Grace for subjects to serve loyally and obediently. To all estates, diligence, charity and loyalty to one another. For the weather and good harvests. For house and property, wife and child. For myself, the ability to manage, support and educate as a Christian should. Defense against evil angels in the affairs of this life.
5 “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us”. “Enter not into judgment against us, because no man living is justified before thee.” Do not count against us unthankfulness for your goodness, or our straying into sin every day (Ps 19:12). “Do not look upon how good or how wicked we have been, but only upon the infinite compassion which thou hast bestowed upon us in Christ thy dear Son.” (Not even our good works. There is no merit outside of Christ.) Forgiveness to those who harm us “as we forgive them from our hearts”. (Do we?) They injure themselves by arousing God’s anger. “We are not helped by their ruin; we would much rather that they be saved with us.” If we feel that we cannot forgive we should ask for grace to do so.
6 “And lead us not into temptation”. We should be fit, eager and alert in God’s service in order to avoid laziness and complacency. Thus the devil cannot fall upon us, “deprive us of thy word” and cause factions and other sins. (Note the importance of the Word of God in this.)
7 “But deliver us from evil” (Eph 5:16). This life is full of calamity, misery and evil. (Note how he views life.) God help us to pass through this life so that we are not fearful when we come to die.
Speak the Amen firmly. “Never doubt that God in his mercy will surely hear you and say ‘yes’ to your prayers.” We are united with all Christians in our prayers, and they with us. (Not the individualism of which Luther is often accused.)
This should not be a vain repetition of words, but a guide for our thoughts. We may get so involved in one petition that we forget the other six. Do not obstruct this. Listen in silence and follow through these thoughts. “The Holy Spirit himself preaches here, and one word of his sermon is far better than a thousand of our prayers.” There is more learned in prayer than in reading and speculation.
The heart must be made ready for prayer. “Prepare your heart for prayer, and do not tempt God” (Ecclus 18:23). Better this than a babbling month and wandering thoughts. “A person who forgets what he has said has not prayed well. In a good prayer one fully remembers every word and thought from the beginning to the end of the prayer.” (On this criterion, how many of our prayers are good?). Concentration is necessary, as with a barber using his razor. “He who thinks of many things thinks of nothing and does nothing right.”
This is how to use the Lord’s Prayer, which is even better than the Psalter. But many use it thousands of times and never pray it. (We, as good Baptists, of course, ignore it.)
Luther then counsels that if there is time one should then go through the Ten Commandments. He divides each in four parts: (1) Instruction; (2) Thanksgiving; (3) Confession; and (4) Prayer. Thus he treats them pastorally using the first, second and at times even the third use of the Law to make his points.
1 “I am the Lord your God... you shall have no other gods before me.” “God expects and teaches me to trust him sincerely in all things.” He purposes to be my God. I must think of him like this or risk losing eternal salvation. Trust nothing else.
We should give thanks to him for his compassion. He has come to us in order to be our God.
I should confess my sin and ingratitude for despising such teaching and such a precious gift and for provoking his wrath through idolatry. (Note the teaching comes first. The teaching shows me that this is a gift.) I must repent and ask for grace. (Note this second use of the Law.)
I should pray for help to understand and live out the commandment and that God preserve my heart so that I never again forget these things.
2 “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.” (Remember Luther combines our introduction and 1st and 2nd commandments into one and divides our 10th.)
I must keep his name “in honour, holiness and beauty” not swearing, cursing and “not to be boastful or seek honour or repute for myself.” My honour is “that he is my God and that I am his lowly creature and unworthy servant”. (Giving myself honour is dishonouring him.)
I should be thankful that he has revealed his name to me. His name is my refuge (Prov 18:10).
I should confess my lifelong sin against this commandment, my failure “to invoke, extol and honour his holy name”. (Omission as well as commission.)
I should pray for health and strength to obey this commandment and be preserved from “ingratitude, abuse and sin against his name”.
Again if the Holy Spirit speaks then we should listen and leave this list (Ps 119:18).
3 “Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy”. (Luther is not a sabbaterian.) It is not for idleness or worldly pleasure, but to be kept holy. It is not sanctified by our works and actions, because our works are not holy, but by the word of God, which sanctifies all with which it comes into contact, “be it time, place, person, labour, rest etc.” (I Tim 4:5). I must hear and contemplate God’s word on the Sabbath. (It is not for playing bowls in Geneva.)
I should give thanks in my own words, praise God for his benefits, and pray for myself and the whole world. “He who so conducts himself on the Sabbath day. keeps it holy. He who fails to do so is worse than the person who works on the Sabbath.”
Thank God for his goodness in giving us the preaching of his word. “When this precious and saving word is absent, nothing remains but a fearsome and terrifying darkness:”(Do we believe this?)
Confess great sin against the word of God. Yet he still sends it to me.
Pray for preservation in the word, for preservation from false teachers, and that God would send labourers into his harvest (Mat 9:38) and for grace to “hear, accept and honour their words as his own words”. (Note the idea that the preaching of the word of God is the word of God. Note also Luther’s change from the day in itself to its right use.)
4 “Honour your father and your mother.” I should recognize God as my Creator and Sustainer. He has given me my parents and “instilled in them the desire to care for me”.
We should be thankful for the increase and preservation of the human race, of households and states. These two latter allow government to continue to function. (Note the first use of the Law.) Without government there is no peace, without peace there is no family, without family no children. This commandment guards and preserves both family and state and teaches children and subjects to obey. Failure in this leads to anarchy. This commandment then is of unspeakable benefit.
We should confess sins of disobedience by provocation, offence, impatience, resentment and scorn. “Whoever does not obey father and mother must obey the executioner, or otherwise come, through God’s wrath, to an evil end.” (Note God’s active wrath and not just cause and effect.)
We should pray for blessing on family and state. We should help improve home and nation by our actions, “all to the praise and glory of God, for our own benefit and for the prosperity of all.” (Seeking God’s glory first results in blessing for us and others.) Pray for parents and superiors.- for understanding and wisdom to govern well, and that God preserve them from tyranny. Parents should here pray for their children and workers. Pray to the Father “who has set you in an office of honour in his name”. The name “father” is an honour. Pray for grace to govern and instruct, and grace for them to obey. These are God’s gifts.
5 “You shall not kill.” God desires love for our neighbours. We must not harm, but protect our neighbours, and they us.
Thanks for God’s love, providence and faithfulness in giving me this shield of protection. The sword is established for those who disobey (Rom 13). Apart from this commandment the devil would instigate massacre, which God sometimes inflicts as punishment. (Note the balance: the devil instigates sin; God inflicts just punishment.)
Confession of ingratitude for this protection, and for killing our neighbour in our thoughts.- anger etc.
Pray for understanding and help to keep it; preservation from “the murderer who is the master of every form of murder and violence”; grace to live in peace with one another.
6 “You shall not commit adultery.” God wants me to live “chastely, decently and temperately, both in thoughts, and in words and in actions”. More than this, I “ought to assist, save, protect and guard marriage and decency to the best of my ability”. I must protect my neighbour’s good character and honour.
Thank God for accepting my husband, wife, etc. into his care and protection. Those who violate this commandment suffer for it now or in hell. This preserves decency in society; otherwise the devil would have a field day. At times God permits this as punishment on society. (Note here the first use of the Law again.)
Confession of sin, of ungratefulness for this protection, and for wishing at times that God would permit these things.
Pray for grace to keep the commandment “gladly and cheerfully”.
Again, it is not the form of words, but the thought that matters. Thought can review all Ten Commandments rapidly or take just one or two at a time.
7 “You shall not steal.” “I must not take my neighbour’s property from him, or possess it against his will, either in secret or openly.” Thus I must be honest in business and support myself by the sweat of my brow. God here protects my goods. God has provided a penalty which includes placing “the gallows and the rope in the hands of Jack the hangman” (Luther seems to have no problem with capital punishment for theft.) God punishes theft by bringing on beggary.
Thank God for his protection, without which nothing would be left to us.
Confess sin and ingratitude.
Pray for grace to learn, ponder and become better people, and that Judgment Day, for which we pray (Rom 8:20-23) would bring this crime to an end.
8 “You shall not bear false witness.” We should be truthful, shun lies, and be glad to speak well of each other and delight in hearing what is good in others. God thus protects our integrity and will not let violations go unpunished.
Give thanks for the teaching and protection provided.
Confession of sin.
Pray for help to obey “and for a healing tongue”.
9 & 10 “You shall not covet your neighbour’s house.” (Note that he takes these “two” together. Can he not really divide them?) We are not to dispossess our neighbour of his goods “under Pretense of legal claims”, but help him to keep it. We should give thanks, confess sin and pray for strength to obey.
The fourfold aspect of the Ten Commandments “as a school text, song book, penitential book and prayer book” should be noted. One should not tire oneself in prayer. (This from one who had prayer the Hours of the Church) It is not the length, but the frequency and ardency of our prayers which matters. Part of this is sufficient if it “kindles a fire in the heart”. The Spirit grants this when God’s word clears and frees our thoughts. (Note the Spirit and the Word together.- a favourate theme with Luther.)
To start to speak of the place of faith and Scripture in prayer would be unending. Take a commandment one day, a Psalm the next day to “kindle a flame in the heart”.
A Simple Exercise for Contemplating the Creed
This fourfold method can be used with the Creed. The Creed has three parts “corresponding to the Three Persons of the Divine Majesty”.
The First Article of Creation
“I believe in God the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth.”
This teaches “who you are, whence you came, whence came heaven and earth”. You are God’s workmanship. “In yourself you are nothing, can do nothing, know nothing, are capable of nothing.” “What were you a thousand years ago?... Nothing, just as that which will never be created is nothing. But what you are, know, can do and can achieve is God’s creation.” Reason does not understand this, but we should rejoice in it. (Luther is not into “healthy Christian self-esteem”!!!)
We should give thanks for our creation out of nothing and for God’s provision “out of nothing” (!?), for our excellence.- body and soul, intelligence, five senses, that we are masters of the earth. Here we should meditate on Gen 1-3.
We should confess and lament our lack of faith and gratitude.
We should pray for a true and confident faith.
The Second Article of Redemption
“And in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,” etc. This teaches how Christ redeems us from death, the penalty of Adam’s sin. Just as we do not doubt that we are God’s creatures, we should not doubt that we are redeemed. “Jesus Christ, our Lord. Likewise, suffered for us, died for us, arose for us. All this is ours and pertains to us; that us includes yourself, as the word of God declares.”
We should be thankful for such grace and rejoice in salvation.
We should confess wicked unbelief and mistrust of this gift, idolatry, prayers to the saints, our good works.
We should pray for preservation “in true and pure faith in Christ our Lord” .
The Third Article of Sanctification
“I believe in the Holy Spirit,” etc. (Note that the rest of the Creed is seen as part of the article on the Holy Spirit. “The holy catholic church; the communion of saints; the forgiveness of sins; the resurrection of the body; and the life everlasting” are all results of his work.)
“This is the third great light which teaches us where such a Creator and Redeemer may be found and plainly encountered in this world, and what this will all come to in the end. Much could be said about this, but here is a summary: Where the holy Christian church exists, there we can find God the Creator, God the Redeemer, God the Holy Spirit, that is, him who daily sanctifies us through the forgiveness of sins, etc. The church exists where the word of God concerning such faith is rightly preached and confessed.
“Again you have occasion here to ponder long about everything that the Holy Spirit accomplishes in the church every day, etc.
“Therefore be thankful that you have been called and have come into such a church.
“Confess and lament your lack of faith and gratitude, that you have neglected all this, and pray for a true and steadfast faith that will remain and endure until you come to that place where all endures forever, that is, beyond the resurrection from the dead, in life eternal. Amen.”
Analysis
Luther deals with the importance of prayer in his Larger Catechism, written for the instruction of ministers, in 1528:
“1 We have heard what we are to do and believe. The best and most blessed life consists of these things. Now follows the third part, how we are to pray. 2 Mankind is in such a situation that no one can keep the Ten Commandments perfectly, even though he has begun to believe. Besides, the devil, along with the world and our flesh, resists our efforts with all his power. Consequently nothing is so necessary as to call upon God incessantly and drum into his ears our prayer that he may give, preserve, and increase in us faith and obedience to the Ten Commandments and remove all that stands in our way and hinders us from fulfilling them. 3 That we may know what and how to pray, our Lord Christ himself has taught us both the way and the words, as we shall see.
“4 Before we explain the Lord’s Prayer part by part, it is very necessary to exhort and draw people to prayer, as Christ and the apostles also did. The first thing to know is this: It is our duty to pray because God has commanded it. We were told in the Second Commandment, “You shall not take God’s name in vain.” Thereby we are required to praise the holy name and pray or call upon it in every need. For to call upon it is nothing else than to pray. 6 Prayer, therefore, is as strictly and solemnly commanded as all the other commandments, such as having no other God, not killing, not stealing, etc. Let no one think that it makes no difference whether I pray or not, as vulgar people do who say in their delusion: “Why should I pray? Who knows whether God heeds my prayer or cares to hear it? If I do not pray, someone else will.” Thus they fall into the habit of never praying, alleging that since we reject false and hypocritical prayers we teach that there is no duty or need to pray.”
Prayer is a duty as well as a necessity and a privilege: He does not have to prove this to Peter the master barber, because Peter has already requested help with this aspect of his Christian life. But we should note it. We pray because God commands it and it shows our dependence on him for all things.
There are several things to note in this presentation. Firstly Luther is writing pastorally to help a friend to pray. Thus he begins with the Lord’s Prayer unlike in his Small and Large Catechisms where it comes after the Ten Commandments and the Creed. He tells us that what he is explaining is his personal norm in prayer. He recommends praying the whole prayer through before detailing each petition: “I pray in the name of my Lord Jesus Christ together with all thy saints and Christians on earth as he has taught us: Our Father who art, etc., through the whole prayer, word for word.” Whilst others are content to “recite” it, we, as Baptists, seem to have a fear of repeating it.
Time is important as a matter of priority: “It is a good thing to let prayer be the first business of the morning and the last at night.” Not only time of day but length of time. Luther prayed for hours at a time. Spurgeon claimed he could not do so , but that there was scarcely fifteen minutes in the day when he was not in communion with God. In a way that is even more challenging, as we can always make excuses for not having long periods available, but cannot avoid Spurgeon’s argument so easily.
Physical position is also something which, whilst mentioned in passing, is not ignored: “kneel or stand with your hands folded and your eyes toward heaven and speak or think as briefly as you can”. He seems to be saying that we should pray looking up to heaven. This is interesting. Spurgeon in contrast, speaking of public prayer says “I have noticed a habit among some.- I hope you have not fallen into it.- of praying with their eyes open. It is unnatural, unbecoming and disgusting. Occasionally the open eye uplifted to heaven may be suitable and impressive, but to be gazing about while professing to address the unseen God is detestable.” (Lectures to My Students I:5 p 68).
But attitude of heart is fundamental:
But Luther does not stop with the Lord’s Prayer. The Ten Commandments are useful in prayer as well as they show us our sin (Second use of the Law). But, as we have seen, he uses them not only to elicit confession. They and the articles of the Creed which follow have a fourfold aspect: “as a school text, song book, penitential book and prayer book”. He begins with instruction, because we must know “what man is to believe concerning God, and what duty God requires of man” (WSC 3) before we can rightly come to him.
Nor should we come with a “shopping list”. Luther puts thanksgiving even before confession. We must see and appreciate the privileges God has given to us. He takes time to deal with this aspect of prayer. We should be grateful for all that God has given us, and everything we have has come from him (See the First article of the Creed). We should also use the Ten Commandments as motives for thanksgiving. God has given them as a means of protection for society. What is a command and duty to me with respect to others is also a command and duty to others with respect to me. Thankfulness is important in prayer then. When we come to deal with our sin, this realization of God’s goodness to us should make it even more heinous to us.
The Heidelberg Catechism takes the order Guilt, Grace and Gratitude (Q/A 2. “How many things are necessary for thee to know, that thou, enjoying this comfort, mayest live and die happily?
Answer. Three; (Luk 24:47) the first, how great (I Cor 6:10, 11; Jn 9:41; Rom 3:10, 19) my sins and miseries are; the second, how I may be delivered (Jn 17:3) from all my sins and miseries; the third, how I shall express my gratitude (Ephes 5: 8, 9, 10) to God for such deliverance.”), but Luther says in effect that in prayer Grace should be recognized first, (how else can we understand God’s character or approach him?) and then Gratitude should follow.
It is interesting that he does not argue for confession of guilt in order to “clear the way” to enter into God’s presence. Following his conversion, and being constantly aware of the roman doctrine of merits, he always wanted to reject anything which would give the appearance of “good works” somehow contributing to his relationship to God. (See on the first article of the Creed: “In yourself you are nothing, can do nothing, know nothing, are capable of nothing.” “What were you a thousand years ago?... Nothing, just as that which will never be created is nothing. But what you are, know, can do and can achieve is God’s creation.”) We should be thankful to God for his mercy and grace to us in Christ (See the Introduction to the Lord’s Prayer: “O Heavenly Father, dear God, I am a poor unworthy sinner. I do not deserve to raise my eyes or hands toward thee or to pray. But because thou hast commanded us all to pray and hast promised to hear us and through thy dear Son Jesus Christ hast taught us both how and what to pray, I come to thee in obedience to thy word, trusting in thy gracious promise. I pray in the name of my Lord Jesus Christ together with all thy saints and Christians on earth as he has taught us: Our Father who art, etc.”) God’s mercy in Christ is what gives me access to him, not my confession of and repentance for sin.
But confession of sin is necessary, for we are great sinners, even in our best moments. Thus in the Second Article of the Creed we should confess “innumerable good works of yours which have opposed such salvation”. We generally fail to put our good works into the category of things to confess, yet this is biblical: “But we are all like an unclean thing, And all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags; We all fade as a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, Have taken us away.” (Isa 64:6).
Here the Second Use of the Law comes into its own, though he is not unaware of the first, as we see in his thanksgiving for the protection of the Law. But the Law shows us our so that we may confess it and seek forgiveness. Then we should pray for strength not to repeat these sins, but to live henceforth in conformity with the will of God revealed in his Law.
In his instruction he often applies the Third Use as well. He does see the commandments as showing us our Christian duty.
He then comes to the Creed. He has no problem in using this as a stimulus to prayer. In doing so he is not elevating it to the status of Scripture, but it is a valid and a valuable summary of Christian doctrine. The use of the Creed helps to keep our prayers not only God-centred but positively Trinitarian in outlook, as indeed they should be. Creation, Providence and Redemption are all Trinitarian. We have communion with the Triune God and these things should be reflected in our prayers
Note in everything that doctrine leads to devotion. They are neither divorced nor opposed. Good doctrine should lead to spirituality and spirituality should flow from good doctrine. Paul’s Epistles are a good example of this. Sadly it is not always the case. Muddle-headed doctrine can exist side by side with genuine loving devotion to Christ. Exact orthodoxy can be cold and lifeless or even aggressively hostile. But ideally appreciation of Who God is and what he has done for us in creation, above all in redemption in Christ, and also in our lives and relationships through the Holy Spirit, should lead to thanksgiving, confession and prayer.
He relies also on reading, or probably he assumes a good memory: (He himself would have known most of the Psalter by heart.) “as time permits, I say quietly to myself and word-for-word the Ten Commandments, the Creed, and, if I have time, some words of Christ or of Paul, or some psalms, just as a child might do.”. Meditation is also part of the exercise of prayer. We should think through what we pray and seek the Holy Spirit to “kindle a fire in the heart” but do so not by awaiting a mystical experience but by meditation on Scripture or Scriptural truth.
The exercise of the heart is vital: “It is of great importance that the heart be made ready and eager for prayer. As the Preacher says, “Prepare your heart for prayer, and do not tempt God” [Ecclus. 18:23]. What else is it but tempting God when your mouth babbles and the mind wanders to other thoughts?”
Coldness or joylessness are real possibilities, but these must be corrected, and the way to do this is by meditation on Scripture: “First, when I feel that I have become cool and joyless in prayer because of other tasks or thoughts (for the flesh and the devil always impede and obstruct prayer), I take my little Psalter, hurry to my room, or, if it be the day and hour for it, to the church where a congregation is assembled and, as time permits, I say quietly to myself and word-for-word the Ten Commandments, the Creed, and, if I have time, some words of Christ or of Paul, or some psalms, just as a child might do.” Even private meditation in a public service of the church is legitimate!
Should we use catechisms to stimulate our prayers? I am thinking of the sections on the Ten Commandments and the Lord’s Prayer and even the Apostles’ Creed in Luther or Heidelberg. I am not sure as there is the danger of things developing into a reading session or a theological study, which would defeat the purpose of the whole thing.
The big danger is formalism. This has always been the free church argument against liturgical forms. Bunyan says somewhere “Scripture saith ‘I will pray with the Spirit and with the understanding also’, it saith not ‘I will pray with the Book of Common Prayer’.” But the sad fact is that often our prayers are impoverished, and a form of words can sometimes be of great help in correcting this. L. E. Deans, that well known Irish Baptist pastor of the Twentieth Century, once said that he used the Apostles’ Creed as the framework for his public prayers on Sunday mornings.
This brief work of Luther’s has once again been a great challenge to me. Even if we do not agree on with all that he said, and personally I think I do, or if you do not agree with my analysis or questions, we would all agree that our prayer life is defective. I for one am glad for the stimulus and encouragement which Luther has given me. Once again, “I believe in ... the communion of saints” and thank God for the communion with his servant Martin Luther which has helped me in my communion with God himself.
“1 We have heard what we are to do and believe. The best and most blessed life consists of these things. Now follows the third part, how we are to pray. 2 Mankind is in such a situation that no one can keep the Ten Commandments perfectly, even though he has begun to believe. Besides, the devil, along with the world and our flesh, resists our efforts with all his power. Consequently nothing is so necessary as to call upon God incessantly and drum into his ears our prayer that he may give, preserve, and increase in us faith and obedience to the Ten Commandments and remove all that stands in our way and hinders us from fulfilling them. 3 That we may know what and how to pray, our Lord Christ himself has taught us both the way and the words, as we shall see.
“4 Before we explain the Lord’s Prayer part by part, it is very necessary to exhort and draw people to prayer, as Christ and the apostles also did. The first thing to know is this: It is our duty to pray because God has commanded it. We were told in the Second Commandment, “You shall not take God’s name in vain.” Thereby we are required to praise the holy name and pray or call upon it in every need. For to call upon it is nothing else than to pray. 6 Prayer, therefore, is as strictly and solemnly commanded as all the other commandments, such as having no other God, not killing, not stealing, etc. Let no one think that it makes no difference whether I pray or not, as vulgar people do who say in their delusion: “Why should I pray? Who knows whether God heeds my prayer or cares to hear it? If I do not pray, someone else will.” Thus they fall into the habit of never praying, alleging that since we reject false and hypocritical prayers we teach that there is no duty or need to pray.”
Prayer is a duty as well as a necessity and a privilege: He does not have to prove this to Peter the master barber, because Peter has already requested help with this aspect of his Christian life. But we should note it. We pray because God commands it and it shows our dependence on him for all things.
There are several things to note in this presentation. Firstly Luther is writing pastorally to help a friend to pray. Thus he begins with the Lord’s Prayer unlike in his Small and Large Catechisms where it comes after the Ten Commandments and the Creed. He tells us that what he is explaining is his personal norm in prayer. He recommends praying the whole prayer through before detailing each petition: “I pray in the name of my Lord Jesus Christ together with all thy saints and Christians on earth as he has taught us: Our Father who art, etc., through the whole prayer, word for word.” Whilst others are content to “recite” it, we, as Baptists, seem to have a fear of repeating it.
Time is important as a matter of priority: “It is a good thing to let prayer be the first business of the morning and the last at night.” Not only time of day but length of time. Luther prayed for hours at a time. Spurgeon claimed he could not do so , but that there was scarcely fifteen minutes in the day when he was not in communion with God. In a way that is even more challenging, as we can always make excuses for not having long periods available, but cannot avoid Spurgeon’s argument so easily.
Physical position is also something which, whilst mentioned in passing, is not ignored: “kneel or stand with your hands folded and your eyes toward heaven and speak or think as briefly as you can”. He seems to be saying that we should pray looking up to heaven. This is interesting. Spurgeon in contrast, speaking of public prayer says “I have noticed a habit among some.- I hope you have not fallen into it.- of praying with their eyes open. It is unnatural, unbecoming and disgusting. Occasionally the open eye uplifted to heaven may be suitable and impressive, but to be gazing about while professing to address the unseen God is detestable.” (Lectures to My Students I:5 p 68).
But attitude of heart is fundamental:
But Luther does not stop with the Lord’s Prayer. The Ten Commandments are useful in prayer as well as they show us our sin (Second use of the Law). But, as we have seen, he uses them not only to elicit confession. They and the articles of the Creed which follow have a fourfold aspect: “as a school text, song book, penitential book and prayer book”. He begins with instruction, because we must know “what man is to believe concerning God, and what duty God requires of man” (WSC 3) before we can rightly come to him.
Nor should we come with a “shopping list”. Luther puts thanksgiving even before confession. We must see and appreciate the privileges God has given to us. He takes time to deal with this aspect of prayer. We should be grateful for all that God has given us, and everything we have has come from him (See the First article of the Creed). We should also use the Ten Commandments as motives for thanksgiving. God has given them as a means of protection for society. What is a command and duty to me with respect to others is also a command and duty to others with respect to me. Thankfulness is important in prayer then. When we come to deal with our sin, this realization of God’s goodness to us should make it even more heinous to us.
The Heidelberg Catechism takes the order Guilt, Grace and Gratitude (Q/A 2. “How many things are necessary for thee to know, that thou, enjoying this comfort, mayest live and die happily?
Answer. Three; (Luk 24:47) the first, how great (I Cor 6:10, 11; Jn 9:41; Rom 3:10, 19) my sins and miseries are; the second, how I may be delivered (Jn 17:3) from all my sins and miseries; the third, how I shall express my gratitude (Ephes 5: 8, 9, 10) to God for such deliverance.”), but Luther says in effect that in prayer Grace should be recognized first, (how else can we understand God’s character or approach him?) and then Gratitude should follow.
It is interesting that he does not argue for confession of guilt in order to “clear the way” to enter into God’s presence. Following his conversion, and being constantly aware of the roman doctrine of merits, he always wanted to reject anything which would give the appearance of “good works” somehow contributing to his relationship to God. (See on the first article of the Creed: “In yourself you are nothing, can do nothing, know nothing, are capable of nothing.” “What were you a thousand years ago?... Nothing, just as that which will never be created is nothing. But what you are, know, can do and can achieve is God’s creation.”) We should be thankful to God for his mercy and grace to us in Christ (See the Introduction to the Lord’s Prayer: “O Heavenly Father, dear God, I am a poor unworthy sinner. I do not deserve to raise my eyes or hands toward thee or to pray. But because thou hast commanded us all to pray and hast promised to hear us and through thy dear Son Jesus Christ hast taught us both how and what to pray, I come to thee in obedience to thy word, trusting in thy gracious promise. I pray in the name of my Lord Jesus Christ together with all thy saints and Christians on earth as he has taught us: Our Father who art, etc.”) God’s mercy in Christ is what gives me access to him, not my confession of and repentance for sin.
But confession of sin is necessary, for we are great sinners, even in our best moments. Thus in the Second Article of the Creed we should confess “innumerable good works of yours which have opposed such salvation”. We generally fail to put our good works into the category of things to confess, yet this is biblical: “But we are all like an unclean thing, And all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags; We all fade as a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, Have taken us away.” (Isa 64:6).
Here the Second Use of the Law comes into its own, though he is not unaware of the first, as we see in his thanksgiving for the protection of the Law. But the Law shows us our so that we may confess it and seek forgiveness. Then we should pray for strength not to repeat these sins, but to live henceforth in conformity with the will of God revealed in his Law.
In his instruction he often applies the Third Use as well. He does see the commandments as showing us our Christian duty.
He then comes to the Creed. He has no problem in using this as a stimulus to prayer. In doing so he is not elevating it to the status of Scripture, but it is a valid and a valuable summary of Christian doctrine. The use of the Creed helps to keep our prayers not only God-centred but positively Trinitarian in outlook, as indeed they should be. Creation, Providence and Redemption are all Trinitarian. We have communion with the Triune God and these things should be reflected in our prayers
Note in everything that doctrine leads to devotion. They are neither divorced nor opposed. Good doctrine should lead to spirituality and spirituality should flow from good doctrine. Paul’s Epistles are a good example of this. Sadly it is not always the case. Muddle-headed doctrine can exist side by side with genuine loving devotion to Christ. Exact orthodoxy can be cold and lifeless or even aggressively hostile. But ideally appreciation of Who God is and what he has done for us in creation, above all in redemption in Christ, and also in our lives and relationships through the Holy Spirit, should lead to thanksgiving, confession and prayer.
He relies also on reading, or probably he assumes a good memory: (He himself would have known most of the Psalter by heart.) “as time permits, I say quietly to myself and word-for-word the Ten Commandments, the Creed, and, if I have time, some words of Christ or of Paul, or some psalms, just as a child might do.”. Meditation is also part of the exercise of prayer. We should think through what we pray and seek the Holy Spirit to “kindle a fire in the heart” but do so not by awaiting a mystical experience but by meditation on Scripture or Scriptural truth.
The exercise of the heart is vital: “It is of great importance that the heart be made ready and eager for prayer. As the Preacher says, “Prepare your heart for prayer, and do not tempt God” [Ecclus. 18:23]. What else is it but tempting God when your mouth babbles and the mind wanders to other thoughts?”
Coldness or joylessness are real possibilities, but these must be corrected, and the way to do this is by meditation on Scripture: “First, when I feel that I have become cool and joyless in prayer because of other tasks or thoughts (for the flesh and the devil always impede and obstruct prayer), I take my little Psalter, hurry to my room, or, if it be the day and hour for it, to the church where a congregation is assembled and, as time permits, I say quietly to myself and word-for-word the Ten Commandments, the Creed, and, if I have time, some words of Christ or of Paul, or some psalms, just as a child might do.” Even private meditation in a public service of the church is legitimate!
Should we use catechisms to stimulate our prayers? I am thinking of the sections on the Ten Commandments and the Lord’s Prayer and even the Apostles’ Creed in Luther or Heidelberg. I am not sure as there is the danger of things developing into a reading session or a theological study, which would defeat the purpose of the whole thing.
The big danger is formalism. This has always been the free church argument against liturgical forms. Bunyan says somewhere “Scripture saith ‘I will pray with the Spirit and with the understanding also’, it saith not ‘I will pray with the Book of Common Prayer’.” But the sad fact is that often our prayers are impoverished, and a form of words can sometimes be of great help in correcting this. L. E. Deans, that well known Irish Baptist pastor of the Twentieth Century, once said that he used the Apostles’ Creed as the framework for his public prayers on Sunday mornings.
This brief work of Luther’s has once again been a great challenge to me. Even if we do not agree on with all that he said, and personally I think I do, or if you do not agree with my analysis or questions, we would all agree that our prayer life is defective. I for one am glad for the stimulus and encouragement which Luther has given me. Once again, “I believe in ... the communion of saints” and thank God for the communion with his servant Martin Luther which has helped me in my communion with God himself.
Monday, April 6, 2009
The Integral Mission of the Church
Last weekend (Friday 3rd and Saturday 4th of April) we in the Evangelical Baptist Seminary of South Peru at last had the privilege of having Pastor Pedro Arana present in Tacna. He was due to come last November but could not due to a regional strike which closed the airport. His theme was “The Integral Mission of the Church”, and if he confirmed us in our faith in the centrality of the Gospel in the life and proclamation of the church, he also challenged us as to our practices.
He began by speaking of the need to go to Scripture in order to define mission. There, he argued, we find that God is a missionary God, going out from himself to the human race. Thus he fulfils his eternal purpose by showing his love in Jesus Christ, his incarnate Son. In the incarnation, death, resurrection, ascension and intercession of Jesus Christ God enters into this world. Christ is also present in our preaching and in giving faith and repentance to men and women.
The Word of God is central in the life of the church. It gives existence and purpose to the church. It is our only standard of faith and practice. We must return to this historic Evangelical belief in an age when experience, tradition and even dreams are seen as norms in some churches. It is the Bible which defines the mission of the church.
The church worships God and thus glorifies him. But we must also respond to the signs of the times. We need to understand the times in which we are living, but we also must understand the Word of God in order to understand what God thinks of the present situation.
The church is God’s agent in mission. It is defined in Trinitarian terms. We are 1) the People of God, 2) the Body of Christ, and 3) the Community of the Spirit.
The mission of the Bible is not to teach us the events of the future nor to give us an economic or social plan for society. It is to instruct us in the way of salvation through faith in Christ and sanctification by the Spirit (II Tim 3: 14-17) and this will make us useful in society.
Mission in the Bible is defined in terms of the church and its testimony. We testify by all that we do as the People of God. God made this world and he also made us in his image. Everything we do is in this context. Our worship, fellowship, proclamation, service, stewardship and all that we do should be firmly based on the Word of God and reflect the God whom we serve in a world which needs to know him.
We were seriously challenged as to the place of the Word of God in the life of many Evangelical churches today. It does not have the central place it once did, and should still have. In Peru parts of the Roman Catholic Church are waking up to the need for Evangelism. Some are studying the Bible seriously and are even talking of justification by faith alone. If Evangelicals are sidetracked by other matters, could it be that God is raising up others to do his work with his Word. As Evangelicals we must not be complacent, but must repent of our failings and return to the centrality of the Word of God.
The course was well worthwhile. I personally would love to have Pastor Arana back again some time in the near future to continue to challenge us biblically.
He began by speaking of the need to go to Scripture in order to define mission. There, he argued, we find that God is a missionary God, going out from himself to the human race. Thus he fulfils his eternal purpose by showing his love in Jesus Christ, his incarnate Son. In the incarnation, death, resurrection, ascension and intercession of Jesus Christ God enters into this world. Christ is also present in our preaching and in giving faith and repentance to men and women.
The Word of God is central in the life of the church. It gives existence and purpose to the church. It is our only standard of faith and practice. We must return to this historic Evangelical belief in an age when experience, tradition and even dreams are seen as norms in some churches. It is the Bible which defines the mission of the church.
The church worships God and thus glorifies him. But we must also respond to the signs of the times. We need to understand the times in which we are living, but we also must understand the Word of God in order to understand what God thinks of the present situation.
The church is God’s agent in mission. It is defined in Trinitarian terms. We are 1) the People of God, 2) the Body of Christ, and 3) the Community of the Spirit.
The mission of the Bible is not to teach us the events of the future nor to give us an economic or social plan for society. It is to instruct us in the way of salvation through faith in Christ and sanctification by the Spirit (II Tim 3: 14-17) and this will make us useful in society.
Mission in the Bible is defined in terms of the church and its testimony. We testify by all that we do as the People of God. God made this world and he also made us in his image. Everything we do is in this context. Our worship, fellowship, proclamation, service, stewardship and all that we do should be firmly based on the Word of God and reflect the God whom we serve in a world which needs to know him.
We were seriously challenged as to the place of the Word of God in the life of many Evangelical churches today. It does not have the central place it once did, and should still have. In Peru parts of the Roman Catholic Church are waking up to the need for Evangelism. Some are studying the Bible seriously and are even talking of justification by faith alone. If Evangelicals are sidetracked by other matters, could it be that God is raising up others to do his work with his Word. As Evangelicals we must not be complacent, but must repent of our failings and return to the centrality of the Word of God.
The course was well worthwhile. I personally would love to have Pastor Arana back again some time in the near future to continue to challenge us biblically.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)