Dr. Martin Luther was one who spoke his mind. What did he think about people who “pray” the Lord’s Prayer?
This, in brief, is how I go about praying the Lord’s Prayer. Like a child, I still suckle at it, and, like an old person, who cannot be satisfied, drink from it and eat of it. It is the best prayer, even better than the Psalms (which I dearly love). So it is because the Master himself composed and taught it. How shameful it is, then, to say the least, that a prayer from such a Master be treated so carelessly by so many who thoughtlessly rattle it off. Many undoubtedly pray the Lord’s Prayer a thousand times a year. And though they might pray it their way a thousand years, they haven’t benefited one little bit from it! To conclude: Together with the name and Word of God, the Lord’s Prayer is the greatest martyr on earth. For everyone tortures and abuses it; few joyfully use it correctly for comfort.
