A Simple Way to Pray | Book Review

     As I was preparing for my sermon last week on Luke 11:1-13, I happened to be reading RC Sproul's commentary for insight. In there RC Sproul recounted a story about Martin Luther and his barber. The barber asked Luther how he should pray, and after the haircut was finished, Luther went back to his study and wrote a pamphlet on prayer. This short, 32 page book, was a helpful read regarding how to form our prayers. (You can purchase the book here. It may be available for free from other locations)

    This short book, translated from the German by Matthew C. Harrison, was a quick read that was full of great guidance for prayer. Luther encourages his barber to pray through the Lord's Prayer, the Ten Commandments, and the Apostle's Creed. Though this pamphlet was written for a barber, it is extremely helpful for us, barbers and non-barbers alike. 

    What Luther does here is extremely pertinent for the church, as it seems that we often forget just how important prayer is. Sometimes our prayers can degrade into a wish list, which is something we must keep in check. Rather, prayer is a wonderful opportunity to dwell on the wonders of our God and ask for the things that we need, chief among these things being forgiveness. One can look to Luke 11:1-13 or Matthew 6:5-14 for Jesus' words regarding "The Lord's Prayer", but concerning Luther's work, we are reminded that there are other writings we can utilize to help us form our prayers. 

    The Ten Commandments are obviously scripture, but the Apostle's Creed is a historic faith document. Careful meditation on these will lead to a more fulsome prayer life. As well, we can see that utilizing other Bible texts, creeds, and confessions are helpful tools to keep our prayers from degrading into a wish list. 

    Grab this little book today and let us remember how important our prayer time is. Let us remember the joy that is found in interceding on the behalf of our fellow Church family. As we pray, we are formed to be more like God and less like this world, something that we should all desire.

Note: this work is translated by an LCMS Pastor, and contains references to the Lutheran Catechism and any other versions of this work by Luther may include drawings of Jesus. One should consider using the Westminster Confession of Faith, the Westminster Larger Catechism, and the Westminster Shorter Catechism.