Our Lenten meditations this year have centered on Luther’s understanding of prayer, and why we pray. I thought it would be helpful to provide some of Luther’s own words on why we pray, taken from his Large Catechism.

First, we pray because God commands us to pray:

“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. 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.”

Second, we pray because in prayer we give God the opportunity to make promises and keep promises:

“In the second place, we should be all the more urged and encouraged to pray because God has promised that our prayer will surely be answered, as he says in Ps. 50:15, “Call upon me in the day of trouble, and I will deliver you,” and Christ says in Matt. 7:7, 8, “Ask and it will be given you,” etc. “For every one who asks receives.” Such promises certainly ought to awaken and kindle in our hearts a desire and love to pray. For by his Word God testifies that our prayer is heartily pleasing to him and will assuredly be heard and granted, so that we may not despise or disdain it or pray uncertainly.”

We also pray because it is as natural as breathing. In fact, God provides the very words for our prayers:

“Furthermore, we should be encouraged and drawn to pray because, in addition to this commandment and promise, God takes the initiative and puts into our mouths the very words we are to use. Thus we see how sincerely he is concerned over our needs, and we shall never doubt that our prayer pleases him and will assuredly be heard. So this prayer is far superior to all others that we might ourselves devise. For in the latter our conscience would always be in doubt, saying, “I have prayed, but who knows whether it pleased him, or whether I have hit upon the right form and mode?” Thus there is no nobler prayer to be found on earth, for it has the excellent testimony that God loves to hear it. This we should not trade for all the riches in the world.”