Thoughts on Prayer from Luther's Table Talk

O how great a thing, how marvelous, a godly Christian's prayer is! How powerful prayer is with God! A poor human being can speak with God's high Majesty in heaven and not be affrighted, but, on the contrary, he knows that God smiles upon him for the sake of Christ, his dearly beloved Son. In this act of praying, the heart and conscience must not fly and recoil backwards because of our sins and unworthiness. Nor should the heart stand in doubt, or be frightened away...[W]e must must certainly hold and believe that our prayers, offered with faith in Christ, have already been heard. The ancients quite rightly defined prayer as the ascent of the heart of God. (Taken from Luther's Table Talk, The World Publishing Company, 1969.)