“The use of formal prayers can, under certain circumstances, be a help even for a small family group. But often a ritual becomes only an evasion of real prayer. the wealth of churchly forms and thought may easily lead us away from our own prayer; the prayers then become beautiful and profound, but not genuine. Helpful as the Church’s tradition of prayer is for learning to pray, it nevertheless cannot take the place of prayer that I owe to God this day. Here the poorest mumbling utterance can be better than the best-formulated prayer.”

Bonhoeffer, Dietrich. Life Together. (San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 1954), page 65.

“Never think that you are kneeling or standing alone, rather think that the whole of Christendom, all devout Christians, are standing there beside you and you are standing among them in a common, unified petition which God cannot disdain. Do not leave your prayer without having said or thought, ‘Very well, God has heard my prayer; this I know as a certainty and a truth.’ That is what Amen means.”

Luther, Martin. “A Simple Way to Pray” (1535) Luther’s Works Vol. 42. (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1969), page 198.

“In the first place, she is full of grace, proclaimed to be entirely without sin–something exceedingly great. For God’s grace fills her with everything good and makes her devoid of all evil.

“In the second place, God is with her, meaning that all she did or left undone is divine and the action of God in her. Moreover, God guarded and protected her from all that might be hurtful to her.

“In the third place, she is blessed above all other women, not only because she gave birth without labor, pain, and injury to herself, not as Eve and all other women, but because by the Holy Spirit and without sin, she became fertile, conceived, and gave birth in a way granted to no other woman.”

Luther, Martin. “Personal Prayer Book” (1522) Luther’s Works Vol. 43. (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1968), page 40.

“I am convinced that when a Christian rightly prays the Lord’s Prayer at any time or uses any portion of it as he may desire, his praying is more than adequate. What is important for a good prayer is not many words, as Christ says in Matthew 6 [:7], but rather a turning to God frequently and with heartfelt longing, and doing so without ceasing [I Thess. 5:17].”

Luther, Martin. “Personal Prayer Book” (1522) Luther’s Works Vol. 43. (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1968), page 12.

“Your trust must not set a goal for God, not set a time and place, not specify the way or the means of his fulfilment, but it must entrust all of that to his will, wisdom, and omnipotence. Just wait cheerfully and undauntedly for the fulfilment without wanting to know how or where, how soon, how late, or by what means. His divine wisdom will find an immeasurably better way and method, time and place, than we can imagine. In fact, even miracles will take place, as in the Old Testament.”

Luther, Martin. “On Rogationtide Prayer and Procession” (1519) Luther’s Works Vol. 42. (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1969), page 89.

“All teachers of the Scriptures conclude that prayer is nothing else than lifting up the heart or mind to God. But if the lifting up of the heart constitutes the essence and nature of prayer, it follows that everything else which does not invite the lifting of the heart is not prayer. Therefore, singing, talking, and whistling, when devoid of the sincere uplifting of the heart, are as unlike prayer as scarecrows in the garden are unlike human beings. The essence is wanting; only the appearance and name are present.”

Luther, Martin. “An Exposition of the Lord’s Prayer for Simple Laymen” (1519) Luther’s Works Vol. 42. (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1969), page 25.

“First, concerning the manner, that is, how we should pray. Our prayer must have few words, but be great and profound in content and meaning. The fewer the words, the better the prayer; the more words, the poorer the prayer. Few words and richness of meaning is Christian; many words and lack of meaning is pagan.”

Luther, Martin. “An Exposition of the Lord’s Prayer for Simple Laymen” (1519) Luther’s Works Vol. 42. (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1969), page 19.

“First, concerning the manner, that is, how we should pray. Our prayer must have few words, but be great and profound in content and meaning. The fewer the words, the better the prayer; the more words, the poorer the prayer. Few words and richness of meaning is Christian; many words and lack of meaning is pagan.”

Luther, Martin. “An Exposition of the Lord’s Prayer for Simple Laymen” (1519) Luther’s Works Vol. 42. (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1969), page 19)

“It is impossible for one who prays spiritually and sincerely to be verbose. When the soul becomes aware of what it is saying, and in its awareness tries to muster both the words and he ideas, it will be compelled to dispense with the words and cling to the thoughts, or, conversely, to lose sight of the thoughts and stress the words. Such oral prayers are to be valued only insofar as they spur and move the soul to reflect on the meaning and he desires conveyed by the words.”

Luther, Martin. “An Exposition of the Lord’s Prayer for Simple Laymen” (1519) Luther’s Works Vol. 42. (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1969), pages 20-21.