Prayer from Words by Martin Luther

One of the most amazing things about you, God,
is the way you redefined reality with words.
You looked into chaos and spoke the hopeful words of creation.
You looked into the chaos of my sin and declared me righteous in Christ.
By speaking those words, coupled with my belief in them,
you reconstituted my reality.
If you had declared me lost you would have spoken truth,
but you spoke a greater truth by recreating me with your words.

Others might tell me I am
a failure, an idiot, a clown, evil, incompetent, vicious, dangerous, pathetic etc.,
and these words are not just descriptive:
they have a certain power to make me these things,
in the eyes of others and even in my own eyes,
as self-doubt creeps in and the Devil whispers in my ear.

But you speak louder, and your word is more powerful.
Others may call me a liar, and they speak truth, for I have lied;
but since you declare me righteous,
then my lies and their insult are not the final word,
nor the most powerful word.
I have peace in my soul because your word is real reality.
That’s why I need to read the Bible each day,
and hear the word preached each week,
and come to you in prayer,
and hear words of grace from other brothers and sisters
as I seek to speak the same to them.
Only as you speaks your word to me,
and as I hear that word in faith,
is my reality transformed,
and only then do the insults of others,
of my own sinful nature,
and of the evil one himself,
cease to constitute my reality.
The words of my enemies, external and internal,
might be powerful for a moment,
like a firework exploding against the night sky;
but the Word of the Lord is stronger, brighter, and lasts forever.
Amen!

(paraphrased into a prayer from the writings of Martin Luther)