Praying from God’s Word

By the Rev. John T. Pless

When Luther described Christian worship in his sermon at the dedication of the church in Torgau, he said that our Lord speaks to us “through His holy Word and we respond to Him through prayer and praise” (AE 51:333). When we gather together in the Lord’s name on Sunday mornings, the Lord speaks to us through His Word and our lips are opened to confess His gifts. What happens in the Divine Service shapes the way we pray on a daily basis. Our Lord speaks and we listen. Out of that listening, with ears and hearts of faith, we then extol His name with praise, give thanks for all His benefits, and call upon Him for our own needs as well as those of the neighbor. The prayer offices of the church (Matins, Vespers, and Compline) give shape and structure to this rhythm of God’s Word and our response.

The daily office developed in monastic communities in an attempt to fulfill the biblical injunction to pray seven times each day (Ps. 119:64). Ordinary Christians with the daily responsibilities of their vocation were hardly able to participate in this regiment of prayer. Even the so-called “cathedral office” of morning and evening prayer in a corporate setting is not likely to happen for most Christians. Yet the prayer offices, as we have them in our hymnals, are wonderful tools for us to use in our personal devotions. In fact, this is exactly what Luther did in appending the daily prayers to his Small Catechism. Dr. James Nestingen, Professor Emeritus of Church History, Luther Seminary, St. Paul, Minnesota, observes that in the Catechism Luther brought the village altar into the intimacies of the family kitchen. Elements of the daily office extracted from monasticism were reset in the ordinary places of living.

That is a good model for us as well. Matins, Vespers, and Compline can serve well as a vehicle for your personal or family devotions, for they immerse us in the hearing and praying of God’s Word. Think, for example, of the opening biblical response in Matins and Vespers taken from Psalm 51, “O Lord, open my lips; and my mouth will declare Your praise.” These words remind us that it is only as the Lord opens our lips that our mouths are able to speak the truth, to praise Him rather than mumble on about ourselves. Prayer is that conversation with God where He has both the first and the last word. The Lord speaks to us in His Word. When we use the words He has given (the Lord’s Prayer, Psalms, and biblical canticles) and prayers that conform to His words (collects), we speak to Him.

God wants us to have certainty in our praying. And there is only one way to certainty for sinners and that is saying what the Lord says. The noted German theologian, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, put it nicely: “The richness of the Word of God ought to determine our prayers not the poverty of our heart” (Psalms: The Prayer Book of the Bible, p. 4). The prayer offices serve to keep our praying firmly anchored in Christ’s promises. For further reading (and praying!), let me recommend two short books: A Devotional Companion: Blessings & Prayers for College Students, edited by Scot Kinnaman (St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 2005), and Praying for Reform: Luther, Prayer and the Christian Life, by William Russell (Minneapolis: Augsburg Fortress, 2005).