Luther On Prayer

In 1535, Martin Luther wrote and published A Simple Way To Pray dedicated to his barber, Peter Beskendorf, who had asked him for some guidelines on how he might improve his prayer life. The German Reformer taught that prayer should be living, powerful, strong, mighty, earnest, serious, troubled, passionate, vehement, fervent and ardent.

Consider Luther's confident Evening Prayer.

I thank You, my heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, Your dear Son, that You have graciously kept me this day;

And I pray that You would forgive me all my sins where I have done wrong, and graciously keep me this night. For into Your hands I commend myself, my body and soul, and all things.

Let Your holy angel be with me, that the wicked one may have no power over me.

Amen.

Noteworthy, too, is Luther's comment: “As a shoe maker makes a shoe, or a tailor makes a coat, so ought a Christian to pray. Prayer is the daily business of a Christian.”
Kind of fits in well with verse 5 of Song 625 written by James Montgomery in 1818 ~ "Prayer is the Christians' vital breath, the Christians' native air..."

Yes, Lord, make us a passionately prayerful people!