Sunday, May 03, 2009

Dog, Meat, and Prayer

Quote attributed to Martin Luther: "I wish I could pray like my dog looks at a piece of meat."

3 comments:

Laura Springer said...

Indeed!

Unknown said...

Indeed. So often it is thinking that is the greatest obstacle to a prayer life. If I could only shut down my reflective, questioning mind and become like a animal.

pennoyer said...

Here is the quote in full, found in Martin Luther's Table Talk no. 274, the entry dating from May 18, 1532:

When Luther's puppy happened to be at the table, looked for a morsel from his master, and watched with open mouth and motionless eyes, he [Martin Luther] said, "Oh, if I could only pray the way this dog watches the meat! All his thoughts are concentrated on the piece of meat. Otherwise he has no thought, wish, or hope."

Back to 2009: I have found the reading of Luther's Table Talk to be a blessing over the years and would heartily recommend it. The work consists of notes and observations jotted down by Luther's students as they lived with this imperfect but still great Christian man.

Ray