From the Australian group, "Sons of Korah". I just discovered this group recently and I am impressed with their musical skill and that they have done many of the Psalms, and they are all very wedded to the text of Scripture. The song covers Psalm 94:1-11. I don't know what their church background or specific theology is, but so far, of the songs I have listened to, they seem very good.
Psalm 33:1-3 - "play skillfully" (verse 3) to the Lord with a shout of joy !
Psalm 94
"O LORD, God of vengeance God of vengeance, shine forth!
Rise up, O Judge of the earth, Render recompense to the proud. 3 How long shall the wicked, O Lord, How long shall the wicked exult? 4 They pour forth words, they speak arrogantly; All who do wickedness vaunt themselves. 5 They crush Your people, O Lord, And afflict Your heritage. 6 They slay the widow and the stranger And murder the orphans. 7 They have said, “The Lord does not see, Nor does the God of Jacob pay heed.”
8 Pay heed, you senseless among the people; And when will you understand, stupid ones? 9 He who planted the ear, does He not hear? He who formed the eye, does He not see? 10 He who chastens the nations, will He not rebuke, Even He who teaches man knowledge? 11 The Lord knows the thoughts of man, That they are a mere breath.
12 Blessed is the man whom You chasten, O [j]Lord, And whom You teach out of Your law; 13 That You may grant him relief from the days of adversity, Until a pit is dug for the wicked. 14 For the Lord will not abandon His people, Nor will He forsake His inheritance. 15 For judgment will again be righteous, And all the upright in heart will follow it. 16 Who will stand up for me against evildoers? Who will take his stand for me against those who do wickedness?
17 If the Lord had not been my help, My soul would soon have dwelt in the abode of silence. 18 If I should say, “My foot has slipped,” Your lovingkindness, O Lord, will hold me up. 19 When my anxious thoughts multiply within me, Your consolations delight my soul. 20 Can a throne of destruction be allied with You, One which devises mischief by decree? 21 They band themselves together against the life of the righteous And condemn the innocent to death. 22 But the Lord has been my stronghold, And my God the rock of my refuge. 23 He has brought back their wickedness upon them And will destroy them in their evil; The Lord our God will destroy them.
Dr. White keeps a good balance between the power of prayer and the power of the gospel for Muslims;
and
supporting just war/ self-defense principles against the evils of Islamic terrorism/Jihadism.
It is discouraging to see some Christians and conservatives to just have a response to Islam as "Bomb them all!"
We must keep our balance:
1. Pray for Muslims. Pray for God to make more and more Muslims disillusioned with Islam and all the violence and evil of the Global Jihadism, and that more and more regular Muslims will be drawn to the true Jesus Christ.
1 Timothy 2:1 says "first of all" = our first priority should be to pray. "pray for all men" " 'υπερ παντων ανθρωπων" means "for all kinds of men/people". (see samples of videos below of prayer for different nations and countries and cultures.) We usually jump to the praying for leaders and those in authority, but first it says, "pray for all kinds of people".
Matthew 9:36-38 - Jesus' insides turned with compassion for the masses of people that were like sheep without a shepherd; and He exhorted us to pray for God, the Sovereign Lord of the harvest, to send forth more laborers (evangelists, pastors, missionaries, teachers, etc.) into the harvest.
2. We can be patriotic and desire justice and support just war principles against evil Muslim Jihadist types.
3. But the gospel is still powerful to reach Muslims, even some who are Jihadist types (though it rarely happens; as their hearts are very hardended; but Dr. White pointed out the guy named Saul in Acts 8-9 who was watching the coats and watching Stephen get stoned.); but more importantly the gospel is powerful to reach other Muslims who are not the Jihadist types; so don't avoid all Muslims and don't think they are all like the Jihadi types.
4. Don't let fear or anger or prejudice lead you into a heart attitude of "Bomb them all" and hatred and never being willing to reach out to a Muslim. Remember Matthew 5:21-26 - "If you have anger and hatred in your heart, you are guilty of murder, and liable to go to hell." "the anger of man does not achieve the justice/ righteousness of God" - James 1:20
By the way, it was Marie Harf who said the root cause of the violent Jihad is lack of jobs. That is not the root cause, (maybe a symptom of why some others join in with them, as in Iraq, the Sunnis were alientated and lost lots of jobs by the Malaki Shiite government, but is the not the root of the leadership of Jihadism, as many Jihadist leaders were rich people - like Ben Laden, Al Zawahiri, the doctors and engineers, who commit suicide bombings, etc.) but liberals in our USA government like to use it as a way of avoiding the religious motivations of people.
Some examples of prayer for other nations by national believers: It is neat to hear people from those countries praying for their own land. The point is to develop a burden and heart for people and praying for these nations held in bondage by Islamic culture.
Egypt (there are some Evangelical Coptic Christians)
Iran - many Iranians are disillusioned with Islam today.
You can pray for places like North Korea, Syria, Iraq, Lybia, Israel, Palestinians, Kurds, Russia, China, India, Ukraine, Nigeria, Somolia, Afghanistan, etc. in the same way.
In our apologetics and debating; it is helpful to come back to basics, such as prayer, repentance, brokenness over sin, humility.
"The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; A broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise." Psalm 51:17 "For thus says the high and exalted One Who lives forever, whose name is Holy, “I dwell on a high and holy place, And also with the contrite and lowly of spirit In order to revive the spirit of the lowly And to revive the heart of the contrite." Isaiah 57:15 "The Place for Repentance in the Gospel" by John McArthur Luke 15:7; Luke 15:10 Luke 3:8 Luke 13:1-5 Luke 5:32 Luke 24:46-47 Acts 17:30 Acts 2:38 Acts 3:19 Acts 20:21 Acts 26:20 2 Corinthians 7:7-10 2 Timothy 2:24-26 Acts 11:18 Psalm 32 Psalm 51
"The message of salvation, by the way, can be fatally compromised by what is left out, by what is not said." John McArthur This also reminded me of the fact that the issue of the true meaning of repentance was Luther's very first point in the 95 Theses, against the Roman Catholic emphasis of centuries of "do penance" - doing an external act of dead ritual.
This is a nice documentary by Rick Steves on Iran. Tears came to my eyes when the man from his car said, "Your heart is very kind." and "We wish the relationship between Iran and America become good."
We should pray for Iran and the Iranian people. They have good family values, a rich and deep culture, amazing and beautiful architecture, art, profound poetry, and a glorious history. In my opinion, Iranians are the friendliest and most hospitable people in the world! They have very delicious food also!
خیلی خوش مزه (Khailee Khosh maze)
"Very delicious!"
Generally, Muslims fear and respect God and many of the non-fanatical Muslims have something similar to "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom" (Proverbs 9:10) kind of worldview, within Islamic Monotheism, and have a basic kind of 10 commandments morality. (except for the day of worship) Most Muslims just don't know who Jesus really is and don't understand the gospel and don't understand true Christianity; and in fact have been taught the wrong meanings of phrases like "the Son of God" and the Trinity and the purpose of Jesus' atonement on the cross.
But in the past 30 years, many Iranian Muslims have become disillusioned with Islam and are open to Christ and His gospel. God is working in many hearts as never before in history in the Muslim world!
May God bless them and protect the people of Iran, and the people of Israel from whatever the governments decide to do.
Iranians have a very interesting saying,
"siyasat pedar o madar nadareh" سیاست پدر و مادر نداره
It means - "Politics has no father or mother"; meaning politics is illegitimate and mean and cruel and inhuman.
Pray also for the Jewish people and Israel. (Psalm 122; Romans chapter 11)
Pray for peace and that no war will happen. God is sovereign (Proverbs 21:1; Ezra 1:1-4, Psalm 47:8-9; Daniel 2:19-23), and we don't know the future as to what will happen, but we can still pray and hope for peace and no more wars in the Middle East. People are tired and weary of these wars after Afghanistan and Iraq.
Just as God moved the heart of great kings of Iran like Cyrus کورش, (in Ezra chapter 1, Isaiah 44:28-45:1 ff) Dariush (English: Darius) the Great داریوش کبیر , (Ezra chapters 5- 6; Zechariah 1:1, Haggai 1:1) and Artaxerxes اردشیر (Ardeshir) (the book of Nehemiah; Malachi) to be kind to the Jews in their empire, we pray that God would again move in the hearts of Iranian leaders today to be kind to the Jewish people.
Maybe I am too idealistic. The most idealistic prayer is to pray that the regime in Iran will change without any American or Israel intervention. I am not completely naive, even if that should happen, the government of Iran will still blame everything on USA and Israel and England.
Pray for the people of Iran to rise up and take matters into their own hands. (As they tried to in the apparently rigged elections in 2009.) Pray that Muslims will be disillusioned with Islam and seek out the Injeel (the NT) and the Bible and read it, and that the Spirit of God will work in their hearts and change hearts. (Acts 16:14) Muslims are people, created in the image of God (Genesis 1:26-28) who need the love of God in Jesus Christ.
"But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." Romans 5:8
اما خدا محبت خود را نسبت به ما کاملآ ثابت کرده است زیرا در آن هنگام که هنوز گناهکار بونیم مسیح بخاطر ما مرد. رومیان ۸:۵
(Romans 5:8 in Farsi)
Pray for wisdom for the government leaders of USA, Iran, and Israel. (I Timothy 2:1-5)
Israel is understandably concerned for its own existence. Israel is so small, one nuclear strike would be a very devastating event. Jewish people all over the world are reading from the book of Esther right now, as they celebrate the feast of Purim, where God used Esther to protect the Jews from the evil plots of wicked Haman. In the end, God's justice was done against evil Haman, and the Jewish people in the land of Israel were able to defend themselves. It is interesting that the result of the events of God's protection caused "many of the peoples of the land to become Jews" (Esther 8:17) Pagan peoples converted to the true God!
Even though it seems very improbable, by human standards as we look at the world and the events and politics and we hear of "wars and rumors of wars" (Matthew 24:6); we can still pray for the leaders of USA and Iran and Israel that somehow they might come to hear and understand the gospel of Jesus Christ and be saved. We wish God's blessing on them, that they might know true repentance and faith in Jesus Al Masih عیسی المسیح/ Yashua HaMashiakh ישׁוע המשׁיח (Jesus the Messiah) and come to know the true God, the God of the Bible, and have true peace (John 14:27; Romans 5:1-11). Salvation from sin and guilt and hell is God's greatest blessing. USA leaders need salvation in Christ also. We pray the somehow God will give them all wisdom on what to do.
Pray for the gospel to go forth with the power of the Holy Spirit. (Acts 4:31) (2 Thessalonians 3:1-3)
Daniel 2:19-23
19 Then the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a night vision. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven;
20 Daniel said,
“Let the name of God be blessed forever and ever,
For wisdom and power belong to Him. 21 “It is He who changes the times and the epochs; He removes kings and establishes kings;
He gives wisdom to wise men
And knowledge to men of understanding.
22 “It is He who reveals the profound and hidden things;
He knows what is in the darkness,
And the light dwells with Him.
23 “To You, O God of my fathers, I give thanks and praise,
For You have given me wisdom and power;
Even now You have made known to me what we requested of You,
For You have made known to us the king’s matter.”
Proverbs 21:1
The king’s heart is like channels of water in the hand of the LORD; He turns it wherever He wishes.
Ezra 1:1-4
1 Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, in order to fulfill the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah, the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he sent a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and also put it in writing, saying:
2 “Thus says Cyrus king of Persia, ‘The LORD, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and He has appointed me to build Him a house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. 3 Whoever there is among you of all His people, may his God be with him! Let him go up to Jerusalem which is in Judah and rebuild the house of the LORD, the God of Israel; He is the God who is in Jerusalem. 4 Every survivor, at whatever place he may live, let the men of that place support him with silver and gold, with goods and cattle, together with a freewill offering for the house of God which is in Jerusalem.’”
2 Thessalonians 3:1-3
"Finally, brothers, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may speed ahead and be honored, as happened among you,
2 and that we may be delivered from wicked and evil men. For not all have faith.
3 But the Lord is faithful. He will establish you and guard you against the evil one."
Pray for the right priorities
We also pray that certain American churches and TV preachers will stop trying to predict the rapture and the Second coming of Christ, and instead focus on prayer, evangelism, missions, walking in the Spirit, sound doctrine, sober and careful exegesis of Scripture, and holiness.
Regarding His second coming at the end of time, Jesus clearly said, "no one knows the day or the hour" (Matthew 24:36; Mark 13:32)
Jesus said that the Father has fixed in His authority the future events. And Jesus said to the disciples "it is not for you to know the times or seasons which the Father has fixed by His own authority . . . " (Acts 1:6-8)
Even after the resurrection, it seems the disciples thought that now Jesus was going to lead a military expedition against the Romans and "restore the kingdom to Israel". (Acts 1:6) Jesus said essentially, "no". Jesus clearly took the kingdom of God away from political and theocratic Israel in Matthew 21:43 - "the kingdom of God will be taken away from you, and given to a nation producing the fruit of it." (see the whole parable in Matthew 21:33-46 and that the Pharisees and chief priests understood that Jesus was talking about them. Remember Jesus' words to Pilate: "My Kingdom is not of this world, if it was of this world, My servants would be fighting, that I might not be delivered up to the Jews; but as it is, My kingdom is not of this realm." (John 18:36)
A defender of Rome did just enough reading of the Catholic Encyclopedia to conclude Martin Luther was "extremely demonic" based on... his prayer life! Did this papal warrior survey Luther's vast writings and examine his statements on prayer? No, it was enough to pull one shocking quote out of the Catholic Encyclopedia. He posted the following:
If we look at Luther's prayer life we will see that it was extremely demonic, at least at certain times of his life. He is recorded as saying that he could not pray without cursing. Where did Jesus tell us to curse our enemies in prayer? I must have missed that in the Gospels. The Catholic Encyclopedia records Luther's words as, "For I am unable to pray without at the same time cursing. If I am prompted to say: 'hallowed be Thy name', I must add: 'cursed, damned, outraged be the name of the papists.' If I am prompted to say: 'Thy Kingdom come', I must perforce add: 'cursed, damned, destroyed must be the papacy.' Indeed I pray thus orally every day and in my heart without intermission" (Sammtl. W., XXV, 108)
This Roman Catholic layman isn't alone using this quote to denigrate Martin Luther. Secular psychologist Erik Erikson used the quote in his popular book, Young Man Luther. Erikson doesn't use it to prove Luther was "extremely demonic" in prayer. Rather, he uses Freudian psychology and determines statements like these "...are an attempt to find a safety-valve when unrelenting inner pressure threatened to make devotion unbearable and sublimity hateful- that is, when he was again about to repudiate God in supreme rebellion, and himself in malignant melancholy."
This defender of Rome though has followed the lead of the Catholic Encyclopedia. This resource infers statements like these were part of his "sinister moods." They refer to one of Luther's "old admirers" stating,"with his shameless, ungovernable tongue, [Luther] must have lapsed into insanity or been inspired by the Evil Spirit." The author of the Luther entry in the Catholic Encyclopedia, George Ganss presented a wild tempered Martin Luther, depressed and mentally ill, abandoned by most of his friends and colleagues, dejected and despairing, tortured in body and spirit.
Documentation
The Catholic Encyclopediavol. 9 cites "Sammtl. W., XXV, 108." This page can be found here. Erikson cites a different source: "L.W. W.A. XXX, 3, 470." This page can be found here. Both are correct references from editions of Luther's works. This quote was taken from the 1531 treatise, Wider den Meuchler zu Dresden. In English, the title is Against the [Character] Assassin at Dresden or sometimes referred to as Against the Traitor at Dresden. The Catholic Encyclopedia also notes this treatise can be found in Walch, op. cit., XVI 2062-2086. The treatise, to my knowledge, has not yet been translated into English.
There is debate as to who the "assassin" / "traitor" at Dresden was. Some older sources refer to Franz Arnold. The sparse information about Arnold identifies him as "a Roman Catholic priest at Cologne, [who] was one of the most violent, though not one of the most distinguished opponents of Luther." Franz is said to have penned "Der unpartheyische Laye" which was "a violent attack on Luther." Luther is said to have responded with "Wider den Meuchler zu Dresden." More often though, the "assassin" / "traitor" at Dresden is thought to be Duke George.
Duke George was a sworn enemy of Luther's. He stands out as a ruler vigorous in maintaining a campaign of propaganda against him. He kept a team of writers busy against Luther. The writings were quite hostile. Duke George actually sought to have Luther's works censured and reviewed, while his work and those under him who wrote just as intensely were allowed to print whatever they wanted. Interestingly, Duke George used one of the most virulent critics of Martin Luther whose impact on Roman Catholic scholarship lasted for centuries: Johann Cochlaeus. Duke George also used his ruling power to obstruct Reformation printing, as well as promoting wholesale burnings and confiscation of Luther's books. If one was caught printing pro-Reformation materials, it was quite possible Duke George would have that person arrested (which actually did happen). Duke George was part of a secret Roman Catholic alliance seeking to restore Roman Catholicism within Electoral Saxony by having Luther and other Protestants handed over to the authorities. After Luther published "Against the [Character] Assassin at Dresden," "Duke George expelled a number of evangelically minded persons from Leipzig and Oschatz" [LW 38:142]. Interestingly, Duke George was one of the leaders responsible for actually slaughtering the peasants during their revolt.
In 1531, things became heated between Duke George and Luther. The Duke campaigned that Luther was attempting to incite rebellion against the empire. Duke George wrote an anonymous work (published at Dresden) responding to Luther's "Warning to His Dear Germans" entitled, "Against Luther's Warning to the Germans That They Should Not Be Obedient To the Emperor, Another Warning That They Should Not Allow Themselves To Be Misled By It Nor To Be Moved To Disobedience." Franz Arnold wrote a short afterword to the second edition of this treatise. Luther entitled his response "Against the [Character] Assassin at Dresden" because Duke George published his attack against Luther anonymously.
In his counter treatise, Luther sauf it was the papists who were really against the empire, not the Lutherans. He listed twelve pieces of evidence proving that Roman Catholic authorities were seeking the physical destruction of Protestants. The quote in question comes from the end of the treatise. It's a response to Duke George's assertion that Luther's writings were filled with evil words and devil references.
Context
It should be my fame and honor, [and] so I also wish to have it, that one should say of me from now on how full I am of evil words, abuse, and cursing for the papists. For more than ten years I have often humbled myself and have used the very fairest words with the result that the longer [I have done so] the worse I have made them. . . . Now, however, since they are impenitent [and] have decided to do simply no good but rather nothing but evil so that there is no hope [for them], I also wish from now on to occupy myself with cursing and rebuking those rogues to my grave [wil jch auch hinfurt mich mil den bosewichten zu fluchen und zu schelten bis jnn meine gruben], and no good word more should be heard from me. I wish to ring them into the grave with my thunder and lightning.
For I cannot pray without thereby having to curse. If I say: "Holy be Thy name," I must in addition say: "Cursed, damned, and disgraced must be the papists' name and all who slander Thy name." If I say: "Thy kingdom come," then I have to add: "Cursed, damned, destroyed must be the papacy with all kingdoms on earth that are opposed to Thy kingdom." If I say: "Thy will be done," then I must add: "Cursed, damned, disgraced, and to nothing must be all thoughts and plots of the papists and all who strive against Thy will and advice." In truth, I pray thusly daily without fail [both] orally and in my heart, and with me [pray in the same manner] all who believe on Christ, and I also feel indeed that it will be heard. . . . Still I hold a good, friendly, peaceful, and Christian heart towards everyone. Even my greatest enemies know that [English translation from Mark U. Edwards, Luther's Last Battles, pp. 50-51. An alternate English rendering can be found in Arthur Cushman McGiffert, Martin Luther: The Man and His Work, pp. 151-152].
German text: ...das soll mein Ruhm und Ehre sein, wills auch so haben, daß man von mir hinfurt sagen solle, wie ich voll böser Wort, Scheltens und Fluchens über die Papisten sei. Ich hab länger denn zehen Jahr mich oft gedemüthigt, und die allerbesten Wort gegeben, damit ich sie je länger je ärger gemacht habe... Nu aber, weil sie verstockt, schlecht kein Gutes, sondern eitel Böses zu thun beschlossen haben, daß keine Hoffnung da ist, will ich auch hinfurt mich mit den Bösewichten zusuchen und zuschelten bis in meine Grube, und sollen kein gut Wort mehr von mir hören. Ich will ihn mit meinem Donnern und Blitzen also zum Grabe läuten.
Denn ich kann nicht beten, ich muß dabei fluchen. Soll ich sagen: Geheiligt werde dein Name; muß ich dabei sagen: Verflucht, verdammt, geschändet müsse werden der Papisten Namen, und aller, die deinen Namen lästern. Soll ich sagen: dein Reich komme; so muß ich dabei sagen: Verflucht, verdammt, verstöret müsse werden das Papstthum, sampt allen Reichen auf Erden, die deinem Reich wider sind. Soll ich sagen: Dein Wille geschehe; so muß ich dabei sagen: Verflucht, verdammt, geschändet und zunichte müsse werden alle Gedanken und Anschläge der Papisten, und aller, die wider deinen Willen und Rath streben. Wahrlich, so bete ich alle Tage mündlich, und mit dem Herzen ohn Unterlaß, und mit mir alle, die an Christum glauben, und fühle auch wohl, daß es erhöret wird...Er argumentiert, dass sein Zorn sich gegen das System (das Papsttum) richtet, das er als gottlos ansieht, er aber als Christ dennoch Nächstenliebe gegenüber jedem einzelnen Menschen empfindet (WA 30.3:470).
Conclusion The historical context demonstrates that this writing from Luther was not set in a quiet milieu of theological contemplation. Rather, the quote rests in a period of societal conflict with detrimental physical implications to both Protestants and Roman Catholics. In essence, this was a writing set in a war zone. Both sides were in a war of who had the right to be the true church. Extreme circumstances often lead to extreme behaviors.
But does the historical context acquit Luther of such harsh language directed against his enemies? Note that last line above, "Nevertheless I have a kind, friendly, peaceable, and Christian heart toward everyone, as even my worst enemies know." This is a tip off that Luther was admitting to using highly rhetorical and inflammatory language. Secular historian Will Durant's volume on the Reformation uses the same quote as an example of Luther's use of unrestrained language, often to a fault. He also adds the following disclaimer immediately after citing the quote:
Such rhetorical passion was in the temper of the times."Some of the preachers and pamphlet writers on the orthodox side," confessed the learned Cardinal Gasquet, "were Luther's match in this respect." Vituperation was expected of intellectual gladiators, and relished by their audiences; politeness was suspected cowardice (Durant, The Reformation, p.418-419).
Both sides, Papist and Lutheran, felt justified in such abusive language because they considered the other to be in league with the devil. Again, this identification of the devil's leadership was not arrived at in a quiet milieu of theological contemplation. These sixteenth century people took the devil's authority seriously and needed to be vigorously opposed. Historian Mark U. Edwards makes an insightful point that the use of harsh language may primarily have been used to inspire those on the side of the author rather than it serving as a direct attack against the opposition:
Given such opposed convictions, it is not surprising that the language and form of argumentation employed by the publicists—Luther, Duke Georg, Cochlaeus—suggest that each was speaking more to his own party than to one another. Expressions of righteous indignation, liberal use of insult and name-calling, lengthy recitals of old grievances, rehashing of past disputes, repetition of familiar arguments—such material may appeal to the converted and may reinforce convictions already held. But it is unlikely to move the unconverted. And it will only enrage the opponent [Edwards, Luther's Last Battles, pp. 38-39].
Delving deeply into history like this typically never satisfies Roman Catholics flippantly interpret history with conclusions like, "If we look at Luther's prayer life we will see that it was extremely demonic." This quote is yet another example of Roman Catholic bias, perceiving one's enemies in the worst possible way. It would be interesting to find out if this Roman Catholic critic would conclude David was also demonic in Psalm 109 when he wrote the following about his enemies:
8 Let his days be few; Let another take his office. 9 Let his children be fatherless And his wife a widow. 10 Let his children wander about and beg; And let them seek sustenance [e]far from their ruined homes. 11 Let the creditor seize all that he has, And let strangers plunder the product of his labor. 12 Let there be none to extend lovingkindness to him, Nor any to be gracious to his fatherless children. 13 Let his posterity be cut off; In a following generation let their name be blotted out.
Also, the facts of Luther's theology on prayer don't bear out the conclusion he was demonic. For Luther, prayer was a weapon we have to call down the power of God against the power of the devil. We call down God’s power against every evil the devil tries to bring upon our lives. Prayer is a weapon in our fight against the devil on the battlefield of the lives of those around us. We call down the power of God against the devil for those we love. For Luther, the devil was the mastermind behind the Papacy. Hence, his prayer above reflected this.
This entry at this point could succumb to text overload with Luther quotes. Anyone interested in a concise overview on Luther's theology of prayer should seek out the entry on "Prayer" in the anthology compiled by Lutheran theologian Ewald Plass, What Luther Says. An overwhelming amount of evidence could be put forth to demonstrate the conclusion Luther's prayer life proved him demonic is spurious and slanderous.
In a final point of irony, Roman Catholic historian Anton Fischer argued Martin Luther was an admirable man of prayer, a man to be appreciated by Roman Catholics:
However rich a Church may be in truly great Christian men of prayer, it would still have room for the distinctives of the praying Luther; it should not pass carelessly over this great man of prayer and his precious utterances on prayer and his excellent instruction on prayer (English translation by Richard Stauffer, Luther as Seen by Catholics, p. 55).
German text: Mag eine Kirche noch so reich an wahrhaft großen christlichen Beter-Persönlichkeiten sein, sie sollte doch auch noch Raum haben für die Eigenart des betenden Luther; sie sollte nicht achtlos an diesem großen Beter und an seinen köstlichen Aussprüchen über das Gebet und seinen trefflichen Anweisungen zum Gebete vorübergehen! (Luther in okumenischer Sicht, pp. 187-188).
Richard Stauffer explains:
Fischer makes a distinction in Luther between the fighter and the man of prayer. The former, to his mind, is the concern of only a part of Christianity; all Christian denominations can, however, lay a claim to the second. In so far as he was a man of prayer, Luther was truly ecumenical. Even a Church rich in believers who are devoted to prayer (he means the Roman Church, of course) has much to learn from him.
And what can Luther teach all Christians about prayer? Two essential truths. The first is that prayer has only one valid criterion—the Word and the Holy Spirit who reveals Himself through Scripture. Luther drew all his strength from the Bible and took all his instruction about prayer from the Bible. In the same way, all believers are exhorted to nourish themselves on the Old and New Testaments, if they wish to pray effectively; there they too will meet with God. The second truth is that the Pater noster constitutes the very heart of the Christian life, and for this reason should be pronounced with the reverence and fervour due to Christ's own words. If it is said in the spirit of the great masters of prayer like St. Augustine, St. Francis of Assisi and Martin Luther (so Fischer ends his article), the Lord's Prayer can bridge the gap which really separates Roman Catholics and Protestants.” [Richard Stauffer, Luther as Seen by Catholics, pp. 38-39].
Addendum: Lutheran scholar Julius Köstlin on the Historical Background
Luther gave open vent to his indignation at the Recess of the Diet and the violent attacks of the Catholics in two publications, early in 1531, one entitled 'Gloss on the supposed Edict of the Emperor,' and the other, 'Warning to his beloved Germans.' In the former here viewed the contents of the Edict and the calumnies it heaped upon the Evangelical doctrines, not intending, as he said, to attack his Imperial Majesty, but only the traitors and villains, be they princes or bishops, who sought to work their own wicked will, and chief of all the arch-rogue, the so-called Vicegerent of God, and his legates. The other treatise contemplates the 'very worst evil' of all that then threatened them, namely, a war resulting from the coercive measures of the Emperor and the resistance of the Protestants. As a spiritual pastor and preacher he wished to counsel not war, but peace, as all the world must testify he had always been the most diligent in doing. But he now openly declared that if, which God forbid, it came to war, he would not have those who defended themselves against the bloodthirsty Papists censured as rebellious, but would have it called an act of necessary defence,and justify it by referring to the law and the lawyers.These publications occasioned fresh dealings with Duke George, who again complained to the Elector about them, and also about certain letters falsely ascribed to Luther, and then published a reply,under an assumed name, to his first pamphlet. Luther answered this 'libel' with a tract entitled 'Against the Assassin at Dresden,' not intended, as many have supposed, to impute murderous designs to the Duke, but referring to the calumnies and anonymous attacks in his book. The tone employed by Luther in this tract reminds us of his saying that 'a rough wedge is wanted for a rough log.' It brought down upon him a fresh admonition from his prince, in reply to which he simply begged that George might for the future leave him in peace (Köstlin, Life of Luther, pp. 431-432).
Extensive Revision March 2026. The original can be found here.
Over on CARM forums there was a discussion on the similarities and dissimilarities between Roman Catholics praying to deceased saints and the spiritualist practice of consulting spirits. Someone brought up the point that "[Roman] Catholics can only ask for the intercessory prayers of a saint." I had always thought that as well, until I heard the magisterium's unofficial interpreter, Jimmy Akin, head apologist for Catholic Answers, say that isn't necessarily the case. In fact, Akin prays to his deceased relatives. Here is a short MP3 clip with Mr. Akin:
Dr. James White also reviewed this statement from Jimmy Akin on the Dividing Line broadcast a few weeks ago. This program can be found here. (Dividing Line 2-10-2009) The discussion is in the later part of the show.
O far be from us the dreary thought that death cuts off our friends entirely from us! Far be from us the heartless creed which declares a perpetual divorce between us and the just in heaven! Do not imagine when you lose a father or mother, a tender sister or brother, who die in the peace of Christ, that they are forgetful of you. The love they bore you on earth is purified and intensified in heaven. Or if your innocent child, regenerated in the waters of baptism, is snatched from you by death, be assured that, though separated from you in body, that child is with you in spirit and is repaying you a thousand-fold for the natural life it received from you. Be convinced that the golden link of prayer binds you to that angelic infant, and that it is continually offering its fervent petitions at the throne of God for you, that you may both be reunited in heaven.
Mr. Akin appears not to limit prayers only to those in heaven. Mr. Akin refers to a state in which a dead person is able to pray for you. He could mean: one does not know if they've been released from purgatory, so go ahead and give it shot, they may be now in heaven. Or, he could mean that, somehow, God allows those still in purgatory to hear your prayers and intercede on your behalf since these people are still members of the universal church. I think Mr. Akin means the later, but... well... I'm using my fallible interpretation to ascertain the meaning. Mr. Akin did though say "sure" in response to being asked if one could pray to someone deceased who is not yet a saint.
Revised 3-14-2023, removal of dead links, minor editing.
"It is true that the best apologetics can be given only when the system of truth is well known. But it is also true that the system of truth is not well known except it be seen in its opposition to error."- Cornelius Van Til
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"But a most pernicious error widely prevails that Scripture has only so much weight as is conceded to it by the consent of the church. As if the eternal and inviolable truth of God depended upon the decision of men!"- John Calvin
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