Martin Luther wrote a little pamphlet when he was a pastor called “A Simple Way to Pray.” It basically takes some of the content of the Small Catechism and turns those things into headings for prayer. It was all written down in a letter to a guy named “Peter the Barber,” and was recently translated by our re-elected Synod President, Rev. Dr. Matthew Harrison.

Luther starts off with telling Peter that the Lord’s Prayer can be divided up into petitions that can serve as an outline for his prayers. After that, Luther recommends going to the 10 Commandments to pray about the things that are listed there. After that, then, if you’ve still got some steam – Luther recommends that you pray according to each article of the Apostle’s Creed. Basically he says, “pray the catechism”.

Still, Luther recommends *against* doing this all in one fell swoop. Rather, Luther tells Peter that he should keep his prayers brief. This is somewhat like what Ignatius Loyola, the founder the Jesuits, said about his prayer guide – the Examen. He said that you really only need about 15 minutes of prayer and then get to work in the trust that God has heard your needs.

I think sometimes we make praying something more than what God intended it to be. When it comes down to it, it is just bringing God our concerns and leaving them in His hands, trusting that He has heard us. Sometimes those concerns are ours, sometimes those concerns are those of our neighbors, and sometimes those concerns are things that we have to be reminded up in things like His Word.

So this week, take some time and be like Peter the Barber – pray in a simple way and leave the rest up to God.