​Though not unique to feeling pain, King David had his share.  Even though the pain was self-inflicted, readers of Psalm 51will find it easy to feel sorry for David.  Readers find themselves feeling sorry for King David because all readers have done what David has done - in some form or fashion.  Perhaps it was not the act of adultery itself, for many are faithful to their spouses in this life.  Nevertheless, all of those who read David’s confession and cries to God have misused someone or something.  All have brought pain upon themselves through their actions.  
 
The pain that David dealt with was a real and existential.  If Nathan had never come to David to hold him accountable, perhaps David could have brushed the pain under the rug, per se. This, though, was impossible.  The pain David experienced wasn’t just a result of his misuse Bathsheba, his murder of Uriah, or his overall abuse of his office. No, the pain that David felt was a result of his abuse of his relationship with God, “Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight.”  David’s offense against Uriah, Bathsheba, and his office can be seen solely as an offense towards God Himself.
 
Psalm 51 is David’s response to the fact that he offended God.  There are several things that become clear in reading Psalm 51.  First, David takes full ownership of his offense.  This is evident in v. 3 “For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me.”  Though he might have done so before his encounter with Nathan, David isn’t trying to hedge his bets here.  He goes on in v. 5, ”Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me. Nevertheless, you desired faithfulness . . . “  
 
Second, David realizes that his offense has ruptured his relationship with God.  David’s offense isn’t just evidence that he is a bad person.  The result of his offense is a broken relationship with God.  David knows what is at stake here.  Look at v. 11, “Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me.”  David is well aware that there is a price to be paid with God for his offense.
 
Lastly, David acknowledges that it is only God that can heal the relationship.  Despite being responsible for the broken relationship, David cannot heal it - only God can.  See vs. 1-2 and v. 7, “Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions.  Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin . . . cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I’ll be whiter than snow.”
 
On Ash Wednesday as we enter into the Lenten season we as believers do as David did.  We confess and own our offenses.  Secondly, we acknowledge that these offenses are primarily offenses against God.  Our abuse and misuse of others really is an abuse and misuse of our relationship with God.  Thirdly, we acknowledge that only God can heal the broken relationship between Him and ourselves.  He finally does this through the person and work of Jesus Christ.

Luther on Prayer
 
Prayer is somewhat elusive for a lot of us.  Even as a full-time pastor prayer does not come naturally.  We know the “why” of prayer, but we don’t necessarily know the “what” of prayer.
 
What is it that Luther can teach us today about prayer?  Is there anything that we can import from the sixteenth century that can help us pray today?  Luther is famous for praying for three hours a day first thing in the morning.  Despite a hectic schedule, Luther knew that prayer could not be spared.  
 
To ease the process, we will look at three instances where Luther deals with the topic of prayer.  The first is Luther’s analysis of Abraham’s prayer for Sodom in Genesis 18, the second is his commentary on Jonah, and third his small tract entitled A Simple Way to Pray. 
 
Luther is not only concerned about praying itself, but also about the correct way to pray.  More specifically he is concerned with our approach and content of our prayers.  Luther sees Abraham’s prayer in Genesis 18 as a model prayer.  Why?  Luther gives us four reasons.  First, Abraham’s prayer contains intercession for others.  So often we get wrapped up in our own lives that we forget to use the tool of prayer for others.  Luther commends Abraham for not being self-centered and using prayer for only benefitting himself.  Second, Abraham’s prayer is a prudent one.  Abraham does not over-ask or expect too much.  The prayer challenges God, but not in an antagonistic way.  Abraham expects God to take care of His children – to keep His promise.  Third, Luther sees Abraham’s prayer as a model for us because it contains emotion.  Abraham is passionate in his plea to God for the people of Sodom.  The prayer is far the rote sort of prayers that Luther was used to as a monk or that were taught to laypeople in Wittenberg.  Luther said that one should be passionate; they should cry out to God with emotion.  Lastly, it has boldness, persistence, and humility.  Abraham really pulled no punches in his request to God.   As mentioned earlier, Abraham challenges God to keep His promise to protect the wicked.  This in itself was bold.  Abraham takes it a step further by continuing to increase his request at each turn.  This is true boldness!  Abraham’s prayer is an inspiration for Luther and should be for us as well.
​
The story of Jonah is well known, but perhaps not for the reasons it should.  Yes, surviving three days in the belly of a whale is amazing!  Perhaps more important in the story of Jonah is Jonah’s example of prayer.  Many scholars believe that some of Luther’s most powerful language comes from Luther’s commentary on Jonah, specifically Jonah 2:2 - “I called to the Lord out of my distress, and he answered me; out of the belly of Sheol I cried, and you heard my voice” (NRSV).   Luther indicates that Jonah’s cry teaches us two lessons.  The first is that in times of trial we should call out to God and place our needs before Him.  The second is that we must believe that God will answer our pray when we cry out to Him.  Luther also indicates that Jonah’s true victory is not when the fish spits him out.  The true victory is when Jonah overcomes his inclination not to pray and reaches out to God!

As we have seen Luther is greatly concerned with equipping lay Christians with tools that will help them with their faith.  In “An Exposition of the Lord’s Prayer for Simple Laymen” Luther gives simple and clear directions on the how and why of prayer.  Luther sees the Lord’s Prayer as the greatest example of prayer for the Christian: “it would be better for you to pray one Lord’s prayer with a devout heart and with thought given to the words, resulting in a better life, than for you to acquire absolution through reciting all other prayers” (LW 42:22).  When approaching prayer, specifically the Lord’s Prayer, Luther gives three motives for prayer.  First, you should pray out of sheer obedience.  God commands us to pray.  When we reach out to God in prayer we are showing our obedience.  Second, prayer should not be done reluctantly or grudgingly.  When we lift our hearts in pray we should be happy and excited to do so!  Lastly, prayers should be spoken with devoutness of heart.  God teaches that He doesn’t just want our words, but also our hearts.

Prayer is not something that we all are good at or even inclined to do.  Nevertheless, we are called to it.  Martin Luther calls us to a life of prayer.  Not only does he call us to life of prayer he informs us on what a practical life of prayer should look like.  

 
 
 
 

He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.
    And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
    and to walk humbly with your God. - Micah 6:8
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I feel like I've seen this verse a lot over the past 3-5 years.   Not just in church, but in pop culture in general.  You can even get a t-shirt! (https://www.zazzle.com/walk+humbly+tshirts - FULL DISCLOSURE - I think we have a t-shirt with this Scripture on it :).  I'm not saying that I think everyone loves Micah 6:8 or even knows what it is exactly about.  What I am saying is that pop culture reveals something about what is lying just underneath the surface - and there is something going on with these t-shirts and the need to quote Micah 6:8.

My thoughts here are on the "walk humbly" section of that verse.  To be blunt - I think we love the t-shirt, but we don't really do what it says.  It's like someone wearing a t-shirt of a band and not owning any of their albums - there is a disconnect there and not a lot of credibility.  

What is Micah (more importantly God) getting at here?  Unlike other OT passages I don't think we're facing much danger in applying the Scripture to us today as humility is a central attribute of a follower of God in the NT as well (Matthew 5:5 - meekness has humility as a partner).  What does it mean for a Christ-followers to walk humbly.  Without expanding I am defining humility as Christ.  Christ is both humble and humility itself.  The sister to this is the surrounding culture.  What does it mean to be humble in our culture or in what ways can we be humble that will make a difference in the surrounding culture?  Let me suggest a few ways here:

1. Humble in our words (particularly on social media) - The dangers and misuses of social media are well catalogued.  I don't want to be the "get off my lawn" guy, but daily I am amazed at what my Christian friends post on social media.  Further, it's the attitude with which they post.  It seems people (yeah, I know - big surprise) are willing to say things on line that they would never say to someone or a group of people in person.  The other day as I was perusing my news feed I saw one of my Christian acquaintances refer to Dr. Fauci as "Fraud Fauci" as they proceeded to lambast him and his seeming inconsistent approach to COVID-19.  Quite apart from whether I agree with them on their beliefs on Dr. Fauci I was disturbed by their need to denigrate someone personally "in public."  Name calling and ad-hominem arguments are just embarrassing for Christians and reveal quite more about the person engaging in them than the person they are attacking.  We need to do better and be better than this. If we want to be a part of and taken seriously in the public square than we need to be more articulate.

2. Humble in our reading of Scripture - I've written about this before, but it bears repeating.  Christians need to have a larger umbrella for those who might disagree with their reading of a particular Scriptural passage or theological idea.  We need to admit that we don't have it all worked and figured out.  There are still questions to be answered, positions to be nuanced, and dialog to happen.  So much more to say here . . . 

3. Humble in our interactions - this relates somewhat to point #1 above.  In our interactions with people we should do more listening than talking.  What is needed in our lives as Christians is less insisting we are right and more listening to others to at least (at the bare minimum) show that we care.  Somewhere along the line we have bought into the idea that if we are silent and listening it must mean we are accepting what the other person or party is saying.  This is false.  Further, I've come to believe that it takes a lot more strength to be silent and listen than it does to open my mouth and strongly state my opinion about something.  I'll get my chance to talk, but I may never get a chance to listen to this person again if I anger or frustrate them and they walk away.