Pages

Tuesday, July 15, 2014

Do Not Give False Testimony Against Your Neighbor


In 1535, the man who cut Martin Luther’s hair told the reformer of his struggles with prayer. Luther, ever the shepherd, wrote a little booklet to help him and others called A Simple Way to Pray. Near the end, Luther recommends that believers pray through the Ten Commandments as a means to warm one’s heart to God and he gives the following specific instructions:

“I divide each commandment into four parts, thereby fashioning a garland of four strands. That is, I think of each commandment as, first, instruction, which is really what it is intended to be, and consider what the Lord God demands of me so earnestly. Second, I turn it into a thanksgiving; third, a confession; and fourth, a prayer.”

With Dr. Luther’s prescription in mind, let us use his helpful exercise for the examination of the ninth commandment, “Do not give false testimony against your neighbor” (Ex 20:16), not only to understand it better, but also to warm our hearts to God. For “the precepts of the Lord are right, making the heart glad” (Ps 19:8). Keep reading

No comments:

Post a Comment