Quotes from the Cloud #52

This year, I hope share weekly posts of quotes. These quotes are from authors I'm reading and enjoying from the Clouds of Witnesses Reading Challenge. 

For fellow participants, what I would LOVE, LOVE, LOVE to see is for people to share quotes from what they're reading. I'd love for you to share quotes occasionally with your readers and let me know about it. If you don't have a blog, you could always leave quotes in the comments here.

When sin is stirred to life, the precious blood of God’s Son is the costly medicine needed to remove it. We need to stay away from sin if we can. But if we have fallen into sin, we must learn how to get up again and regain a firm faith. These very struggles show us what it means to really believe. We need to realize that sin is a horrible evil. This doesn’t seem to be true when we’re committing sin. We enjoy it while we are doing it. But after God’s laws make us aware of our sin, we realize that sin is hell itself and far more powerful than heaven or earth. After that, we can’t understand God’s grace without great effort. But a heart burdened by sin can say, “Even though I have committed many sins, ‘God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him’” (John 3:17). Without this comfort, we would have no remedy or defense against sin and its sting. ~ Martin Luther, Faith Alone, October 26

Christ tells us, “My Father will give you whatever you ask in my name.” First, Christ commands us to pray. Then he admonishes us for not asking. He repeats his command and drives it home to show that he’s serious. He demands prayer as true worship and as the real work of Christians. Study what Christ commands in this passage and put it into practice. Don’t consider prayer something you do voluntarily, as if it wouldn’t be a sin if you neglected to pray. Don’t act as if it’s enough for others to pray. Now you know that Christ earnestly commands prayer. Prayer is our comfort, strength, and salvation. It’s our first line of defense against all of our enemies. ~ Martin Luther, Faith Alone, December 2

The most important requirement of a true, sincere prayer is that we firmly believe that we have eternal life and that God is merciful. It’s only because God is merciful that we can be sure the Lord will protect us from eternal death. The most important requirement of prayer is firmly holding on to God and believing that he is merciful and compassionate—someone who wants to help us. ~ Martin Luther, Faith Alone, November 29 

© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible