Prayer, Meditation & Spiritual Trial: Luther's Account of Life in the Spirit by Gordon L. Isaac

Abstract

Reviewed by: Prayer, Meditation & Spiritual Trial: Luther's Account of Life in the Spirit by Gordon L. Isaac Steven Bielenberg Prayer, Meditation & Spiritual Trial: Luther's Account of Life in the Spirit. By Gordon L. Isaac. Peabody: Hendrickson Publishers, 2017. 206 pp. Through his sermons and writings, Luther promoted a daily theology that ranged beyond the world of clerics and academics. In a variety of ways, he taught the laity to pray and meditate regularly. He prepared them for spiritual trials. Regardless of the believer's education, Luther believed the rules of oratio, meditatio, and tentatio to be the basis for every Christian's life in the Spirit. From his own experience, Luther knew the terror of the law and the consolation of the cross of Christ. He knew the daily battle to love God and to [End Page 237] be Christ to one's neighbor. Life in the Spirit can only be lived in a context of daily prayer, meditation, and the wrestling that comes in spiritual trial. Luther made it abundantly clear that the Word of God must not only be read and studied. One's theology must also be lived. Throughout, the author gives practical illustrations of living in the Spirit and God's Word from Luther's published writings and personal letters. In the latter, Luther is conversational in his approach, as one Christian comforting another who struggles with sin, temptation, doubt, death, and the devil. Luther doesn't spout theology; he lives his theology, walking closely beside others. "Lived theology" begins with prayer (oratio). The rule of prayer is informed by Holy Scripture and guided by the Spirit of God. "The goal of prayer is thus to find oneself in the hands of the Holy Spirit, who will enlighten the mind through the text of Scripture" (30). The next rule for "lived theology" is meditation (meditatio). Isaac traces Luther's own spiritual history as he meditated on God's Word and wrestled with the God of scripture. As the Christian is terrified by God's wrath and his inability to keep the law perfectly, the Holy Spirit prepares him to receive the forgiveness of sins and the righteousness of Christ. This is an ongoing process; "the strangling of the old Adam does not take place all at once" (83). Isaac has several helpful discussions on Luther's distinction between law and gospel. To rightly distinguish between the two, one must consider Christ to be God's gift to us and not merely an example for us to follow. If we take Christ only as an example, we turn the gospel into yet another series of laws. For many, Christianity has only been another variety of moralism, an avoidance of sin and nothing more. The third rule is spiritual trial (tentatio/Anfechtung). Luther's own life offered nearly every kind of trial: fear of God's wrath, fear of death, persecution, and plague. When this book landed on my desk, little did we know that 2020 would provide extreme opportunities to be in prayer and meditation as we experienced spiritual and physical trials. Isaac's discussion of Luther's 1527 treatise, Whether One May Flee from a Deadly Plague, is timelier now than ever. In all trials, [End Page 238] personal or public, Luther leads his hearer to Christ, even as the devil is working his worst. His bold pastoral letter to Jerome Weller in 1530, quoted at length, should be more widely known. As always, physical and spiritual concern for one's neighbor is part of living our theology, directed by the Word and the Spirit. Isaac concludes with Luther's use of Abraham as an exemplar of all three rules, drawing chiefly from his Lectures on Galatians. While Abraham and Christ suffered trials we hope we never know, we can turn to their examples in hope as we face our own trials. This volume serves as a helpful guide for those who strive for a "lived theology." Scholarly yet accessible, Isaac's work clarifies our understanding of Luther's development in his daily application of oratio, meditatio, and tentatio. Isaac's carefully chosen examples will encourage readers in their own concern for each other...