Many Christians have problems praying. Our minds wander; we run through our wants and needs; we forget what to pray for; and we soon turn to something else.
Christians in the past, though, often prayed “with” a text that would direct, inspire, and be a catalyst for their prayers. The Lord’s Prayer was not just repeated verbatim, though that was part of it. Each petition of the prayer sparked personal prayer–how can I do God’s will? What “daily bread” do I need? What temptations do I need to be delivered from?
Scriptures such as the Ten Commandments would also be prayed. Luther suggested finding in each commandment, an instruction (“I must honor my father and my mother”), a thanksgiving (“Thank you, God, for giving me my parents”), a confession (“I have been neglecting my mother”), and a petition (“Lord, help my parents with their health and money problems. . . .”).
Luther also advocated praying the Creed, and in doing so, addressing the Triune God and receiving His promises of grace.
The Catechism itself is not just an educational handbook for the instruction of children. Rather, it is an inexhaustible source book for prayer, meditation, and the richest, deepest devotions.
John Pless unpacks all of this in his book Praying the Catechism.
The professor from Concordia Theological Seminary in Ft. Wayne has written a short, easy-to-read, but unutterably profound commentary on each section of the catechism that unlocks its riches and applies it to our prayers.
The format is ideal for devotional reading: The section of the catechism is given. Then we have a sample prayer based on that section. Then Prof. Pless draws out its implications with the help of quotations from Luther and other Lutheran writers, showing just how mind-blowing it is. This makes us reflect further on God’s gifts, the Gospel of our forgiveness in the Cross of Christ, and the living Christian life.
All of this in just a few well-written pages. And then we go to the next part of the Catechism.
I have been pretty well catechized, I would say, and yet I found myself learning more and more from this little book. Prof. Pless shows the unity of the Catechism–how all of the Commandments hearken back to the First Commandment; how certain phrases and references become repeated motifs in the Commandments, the Creed, the Lord’s Prayer, and the Table of Duties; how the movement of the catechism circles back to the Gospel.
The discussions are full of insightful observations. For example, the Morning, Evening, and mealtime prayers allude to the Daily Offices, which were prayed in the monasteries seven or more times a day, now taken into the family kitchen table and bedrooms. These prayers are offered at time when we are most aware of our creatureliness–when we wake from sleep, when we eat, when we go to bed–and so remind us of our dependence on our Creator.
This book is itself a treasure. Those for whom the Catechism is new–confirmands, new Christians–will be introduced to a resource that will reward them for their entire lives. Those who have memorized the Catechism will learn the depths of what it means. Those who know the Catechism well will find just how inexhaustible it is. Non-Lutherans, you will benefit from it too, as it demonstrates that Protestants do have devotional and meditative resources of the highest order. And all will find that the Catechism offers not just “head knowledge” but can usher us into a life of prayer, faith, and love of neighbor.
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