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Reclaim News has issued a number of releases explaining that the Benke
Case has led the majority of the LCMS District Presidents, the Synodical
President, and "Jesus First" to deny or ignore prayer as an act
of worship. Rather than spread citations across a number of news releases
that support prayer as an act of worship, we have collected them all
together in this release.
The intent is to provide information for many lay people in the LCMS who
are being told by their pastors that prayer is not an act of worship.
We request that any pastor or layman who has an additional quotation(s) to
add to the list, please send it to Reclaim News.
LUTHERAN CONFESSIONS
"But the Scripture teaches not the invocation of saints, or to ask
help of saints, since it sets before us the one Christ as the Mediator,
Propitiation, High Priest, and Intercessor. He is to be PRAYED to,
and has promised that He will hear our PRAYER; and this WORSHIP He
approves above all, to wit, that in all afflictions He be called upon, 1
John 2,1: 'If any man sin, we have an Advocate with the Father,
etc.'" (Augsburg Confession Article XXI.3 Concordia Triglotta page 57
LCMS CATECHISMS
Question 201 of the LCMS 1943 Catechism asks:
"What is prayer? Prayer is an act of worship . . ."
The new LCMS Catechism published in 1991 no longer identifies prayer as
worship.
Question 194, in the new LCMS Catechism asks: "What is prayer? Prayer
is speaking to God in words and thoughts."
CHEMNITZ
"And because it is an absolute certainty that God wills to be known
and invoked in the same way as He in His Word has revealed Himself, we
must cling to any definition of God to which our mind can refer in
worship. For adoration is confession which attributes to that
essence which we address in our prayers, all those qualities which are set
forth in a definition." (Loci Theologici, translated by J. A. O.
Preus, CPH 1989 Vol. I page 57
"Worship is given to deity. For it is certain that the
everlasting prayer is spoken about which the Messiah invoked, also when
not seen with eyes, nor is it said only of a gesture by which honor is
ascribed to present rulers." (Loci Theologici, Martin Chemnitz quotes
Philip Melanchthon Vol. I page 87).
ABIDING WORD
"Thesis IV Prayer, to be valid, must be offered to the Triune God in
the name of Jesus." "This Triune God reserves for Himself
alone the honor of being worshipped. Jesus in His memorable battle
with the devil quotes Deut. 6:13 freely in the challenge "Thou shalt
worship the Lord, thy God and Him only shalt thou serve" (Mat.4:10).
"Abiding Word," "Prayer" C. A. Behnke, CPH, 1946, Vol.
I page 255
LUTHER
"The First Commandment demands faith, that you believe that God is a
Helper in due time, as Ps. 9:9 declares. The Second demands confession and
prayer, that we call upon the name of God in danger and give thanks to
God. The Third, that we teach the truth and defend and preserve sound
doctrine. These
are the true and only forms of worship of God, which God demands . .
." LW1:328-329
"Because no law had yet been given about worship in a certain place,
they were free to sacrifice everywhere, just as we today are free to pray
everywhere." LW2:192
". . . the real kernel of worship, which is to give thanks, pray,
hope, and confess even under the cross and in disaster." LW6:237
Luther says: "In our days they [the papists] let obedience lie and
lead us so deeply into works, that we have completely drifted from
obedience, and we gape at works and despise our own mission and calling.
Hence there is no doubt it is Satan's own doings that divine worship is
confined only to churches, altars, masses, singing, reading, offerings and
the like, as if all other works were vain or of no use whatever. How could
Satan mislead us more completely from the right way than when he confines
God's worship within such narrow limits, only to the church and whatever
is done it?" In "Sermons of Martin Luther" [Lenker
Edition], Vol. 1, page 245,
"External, gross sins are relatively insignificant when compared with
the doctrine that one should become pious by means of works and by
worshiping God according to our reason. For this dishonors and
blasphemes the innocent blood more than anything else. The heathen
committed a far greater sin by praying to the sun and the moon, which they
regarded as the proper worship of God, than by sinning in any other way.
Therefore the piety of man is sheer blasphemy of God and the greatest sin
a man commits. Thus the ways now current in the world-the ways,
which the world regards as worship of God and as piety-are worse in the
eyes of God than any other sin. This applies to the priests and the monks
and to what seems good in the eyes of the world yet is without faith.
Therefore it is better for him who does not want to obtain grace from God
through the blood never to appear before the eyes of God. For by doing so
he only angers the Majesty more and more." LW:30:36
"Where the Son of God is, there Christ is; where Christ is, there the
Father is. I conclude that 'in Him the whole fullness of the Godhead
dwells,' Col. 2:9. Thus everything in the Old Testament looks to the
worship of Him who sits above the cherubim. They were always compelled to
turn toward the mercy seat when they prayed. This was a figure.
Christ says that He was concealed under that figure. John 14:6: 'I am the
Way, the Truth, and the Life.' For it pleased the Father that all the
fullness should dwell in Him, Col. 1:19." LW30:223
"The God who does such marvelous things is our God. This God we
worship. To this God we pray. He is that God at whose command the whole
universe was born. Why, then, do we tremble if this God is kindly disposed
toward us?" LW13:91
"Only that prayer is acceptable which breathes a firm confidence and
trust that it will be heard (no matter how small and unworthy it may be in
itself) because of the reliable pledge and promise of God. Not your zeal
but God's Word and promise render your prayer good. This faith,
based on God's words, is also the true worship; without it all other
worship is sheer deception and error." LW42:77
DICTIONARIES & LEXICONS
Liddell & Scott "A Greek-English Lexicon" published by
Oxford defines the Greek word for prayer (proseuchomai) as "3. offer
prayers, worship," page 1511
Kittel's "Theological Word Dictionary of the Greek New
Testament" states that the Greek word for "worship" (proskuneo)
in the New Testament includes prayer. "This new reality into
which the Son alone sets us is to control prayer. There is no longer
to be any exclusive place of worship, but prayer is still to take place at
specific places and with specific gestures." (Vol. VI Page 764).
Kittel also recognizes prayer as worship in Rabbinic Judaism on page 763.
The Lutheran Cyclopedia's definition of prayer includes, "Family
prayer (as at mealtime and in family worship and social prayer in public
worship are forms of corporate prayer." (CPH, 1975 page 631)
"The Christian worships . . . when he presents prayers and
supplications for all sorts and conditions of men . . ." (page 827).
WISCONSIN SYNOD
The current WELS catechism, page 290, question 329 asks: "What is
prayer?" After citing two passages, the answer states: "Prayer
is an act of worship in which we speak to God from our hearts."
CATHOLIC RESOURCES
The Catholic Catechism, "The Teaching of Christ" (1976) quotes
Vatican II on prayer and worship on page 389: "At the same time, let
the faithful be instructed that our communion with those in heaven,
provided that it is understood in the more adequate light of faith, in no
way is weakened but rather on the contrary more thoroughly enriches, the
supreme worship we give to God the Father, through Christ, in the Spirit (LG
51)."
"So to God we give absolute worship, and to Him we pray: 'Have mercy
on us. (LG 67)'"
The new "Catechism of the Catholic Church" lists the Magnificat
as both prayer and worship in paragraphs 2097 and 2619.
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