Vom ernsten Gebet. Vereinigte Kraft ist die stärkste
The Necessity of a Focused Heart
Just as a marksman must focus his sight to hit the target, the believer must gather scattered thoughts to pray with earnest strength.
When a marksman wants to shoot accurately and hit the mark, he closes one eye so that his vision focuses through the other and becomes that much stronger.1 Anyone who wants to think a matter through deeply withdraws their senses and thoughts from everything else and gathers them within the soul, so they can ponder the thing at hand all the better. My heart, if you want to pray in earnest, it takes strength. You take aim with your bow and set your sighs on it.2 If your arrows are to pierce into heaven and wound God's heart, it takes strength. You are entering into a struggle with God. If the victory is to be yours, then it takes strength. Ah, why then do you scatter your heart like this, split your thoughts, and let one chase this vanity and another that?
Gathering the Soul for Prayer
True prayer requires withdrawing into the inner self to present an undivided heart before God.
How can there be any strength in distraction?3 I give the Pharisee this much credit: he prayed within himself—Luke✦4 18. Stay with yourself if you want to pray. God wants the heart—not crumbled, not pieced together, but whole. Before I begin to pray, I gather all my thoughts, drive them into the most hidden corner of my heart, hold them there as if captive, then step before my God and say: Ah Lord, hear me—your servant has found his heart. 7:27. My heart is ready to praise and to pray.✦
The Power of Fervent Brevity
Brief, heartfelt prayer sealed with faith is more powerful than long-winded speech.
In prayer I keep it short, so that my thoughts don't grow weary and break loose again before their time. It's better to have few words and much heart than many words and little heart. Faith and the Spirit pray briefly, yet with feeling.5 When the prayer is finished, I seal the petition with a believing Amen; that gives those few words great power. If you want to pray with power, go and do the same.
Read the original Latin
Ein Schüße wenn er scharf schießen und das Ziel tref fen will, thut er das eine Auge zu, damit die Kraft zu se hen im andern Auge beisammen und desto stärker sei. Wer eine Sache gar tief bedenken will, zieht die Sinne und Gedanken von allen andern Dingen ab, zwingt sie in seiner Seele zusammen, damit er der vorhabenden Sache desto besser nachsinnen könne. Mein Herz wenn du mit Ernst beten wilst, da gehört Kraft dazu. Du zielst mit deinem Bogen und legst deine Seufzer drauf. Sollen deine Pfeile in den Himmel dringen und Gottes Herz verwunden, es gehört Kraft dazu. Du gehst einen Kampf mit Gott an. Soll der Sieg auf deiner Seite bleiben, so gehört Kraft dazu. Ach warum zerstreust du denn dein Herz so, trennst deine Gedanken und läßt einen dieser, den andern jener Eitelkeit nacheilen?
Wie kann Krast sein in der Zerstreuung? Ich rühme es am Pharisäer, daß er bei sich selbst gebetet hat Luc. 18. Bleib bei dir selbst, willst du beten. Gott will das Herz haben, nicht gebrökkelt nicht gestückelt, sondern ganz. Eh ich anfange zu beten, sammle ich all meine Gedanken zusammen, treibe sie in den verborgensten Winkel meines Herzens, halte sie da gleichsam gefangen, trete dann vor meinen Gott und spreche: Ach HErr höre, dein Knecht hat sein Herz gefunden 2 Sam. 7, 27. Mein Herz ist bereit, daß ich lobe und bete.
Im Gebet bin ich kurz, daß die Gedanken nicht ermüden und vor der Zeit wieder ausreißen. Es ist besser wenig Worte viel Herzens, als viele Worte wenig Herzens. Glaube und Geist beten kurz, doch beweglich. Wann das Gebet aus ist, versiegle ich die Bitte mit einem gläubigen Amen, das gibt den wenig Worten große Kraft. Willst du kräftig beten, so gehe hin und thu desgleichen.
Scripture echoes
- ↩Luke.18.11 — The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed these things toward himself: 'God, I thank you that I am not like the rest of people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector.'
- ↩Ps.57.7 — They set a net for my steps, and my soul was bowed down. They dug a pit before me, but they fell into the middle of it. Selah.
Notes
- 1 ↩Early modern spelling and line-break splits: Schüße = Schütze; tref fen = treffen; se hen = sehen; thut = tut. Sense is clear.
- 2 ↩Seufzer (sighs) are the arrows laid on the bow: prayer as aiming and loosing sighs toward God.
- 3 ↩Source reads "Krast"; almost certainly a printing/OCR error for "Kraft" (strength/force), the chapter's governing term.
- 4 ↩The commendation is for recollected, inward prayer ("bei sich selbst"), not for the Pharisee's self-righteous content in Luke 18.
- 5 ↩Early modern beweglich of prayer means affectively stirring/fervent, not physically mobile; rendered 'with feeling'.
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