Therefore,every one of us should accustom himself from his youth daily to pray for all his wants,whenever he is sensible of anything affecting his interests or that of other people among whom he may live,as for preachers,the government,neighbors,domestics,and always (as we have said)to hold up to God His commandment and promise,knowing that He will not have them disregarded.This I say because I would like to see these things brought home again to the people that they might learn to pray truly,and not go about coldly and indifferently,whereby they become daily more unfit for prayer;which is just what the devil desires,and for what he works with all his powers.For he is well aware what damage and harm it does him when prayer is in proper practice.For this we must know,that all our shelter and protection rest in prayer alone.For we are far too feeble to cope with the devil and all his power and adherents that set themselves against us,and they might easily crush us under their feet.Therefore we must consider and take up those weapons with which Christians must be armed in order to stand against the devil.For what do you think has hitherto accomplished such great things,has checked or quelled the counsels,purposes,murder,and riot of our enemies,whereby the devil thought to crush us,together with the Gospel,except that the prayer of a few godly men intervened like a wall of iron on our side?They should else have witnessed a far different tragedy,namely,how the devil would have destroyed all Germany in its own blood.But now they may confidently deride it and make a mock of it,however,we shall nevertheless be a match both for themselves and the devil by prayer alone,if we only persevere diligently and not become slack.For whenever a godly Christian prays:Dear Father let Thy will be done,God speaks from on high and says:Yes,dear child,it shall be so,in spite of the devil and all the world.
Let this be said as an exhortation,that men may learn,first of all,to esteem prayer as something great and precious,and to make a proper distinction between babbling and praying for something.For we by no means reject prayer,but the bare,useless howling and murmuring we reject,as Christ Himself also rejects and prohibits long palavers.Now we shall most briefly and clearly treat of the Lord's Prayer.Here there is comprehended in seven successive articles,or petitions,every need which never ceases to relate to us,and each so great that it ought to constrain us to keep praying it all our lives.
The First Petition.
Hallowed be Thy name.
This is,indeed,somewhat obscure,and not expressed in good German,for in our mother-tongue we would say:Heavenly Father,help that by all means Thy name may be holy.But what is it to pray that His name may be holy?Is it not holy already?Answer:Yes,it is always holy in its nature,but in our use it is not holy.For God's name was given us when we became Christians and were baptized,so that we are called children of God and have the Sacraments by which He so incorporates us in Himself that everything which is God's must serve for our use.
Here now the great need exists for which we ought to be most concerned,that this name have its proper honor,be esteemed holy and sublime as the greatest treasure and sanctuary that we have;and that as godly children we pray that the name of God,which is already holy in heaven,may also be and remain holy with us upon earth and in all the world.
But how does it become holy among us?Answer,as plainly as it can be said:When both our doctrine and life are godly and Christian.For since in this prayer we call God our Father,it is our duty always to deport and demean ourselves as godly children,that He may not receive shame,but honor and praise from us.
Now the name of God is profaned by us either in words or in works.(For whatever we do upon the earth must be either words or works,speech or act.)In the first place,then,it is profaned when men preach,teach,and speak in the name of God what is false and misleading,so that His name must serve to adorn and to find a market for falsehood.That is,indeed,the greatest profanation and dishonor of the divine name.
Furthermore,also when men,by swearing,cursing,conjuring,etc.,grossly abuse the holy name as a cloak for their shame.In the second place also by an openly wicked life and works,when those who are called Christians and the people of God are adulterers,drunkards,misers,envious,and slanderers.Here again must the name of God come to shame and be profaned because of us.For just as it is a shame and disgrace to a natural father to have a bad perverse child that opposes him in words and deeds,so that on its account he suffers contempt and reproach,so also it brings dishonor upon God if we who are called by His name and have all manner of goods from Him teach,speak,and live in any other manner except as godly and heavenly children,so that people say of us that we must be not God's,but the devil's children.
Thus you see that in this petition we pray just for that which God demands in the Second Commandment;namely,that His name be not taken in vain to swear,curse,lie,deceive,etc.,but be usefully employed to the praise and honor of God.For whoever employs the name of God for any sort of wrong profanes and desecrates this holy name,as aforetime a church was considered desecrated when a murder or any other crime had been committed in it,or when a pyx or relic was desecrated,as being holy in themselves,yet become unholy in use.Thus this point is easy and clear if only the language is understood,that to hallow is the same as in our idiom to praise,magnify,and honor both in word and deed.
