An Explanation of Luther's Small Catechism · Martin Luther
I. IN THIS WORLD.
WHETHER IT AFFECT THE BODY,--sickness, pain, hunger, thirst, destitution, OR THE SOUL,--sin, impenitence, unbelief, sorrow, anxiety, care, despondency, insanity, and the like, PROPERTY,--poverty, want, famine, fire, flood, wars, riots, etc., OR CHARACTER,--disgrace, slander, and the like. _How we pray for this Deliverance_. God wills that we should sometimes suffer affliction, in order that our repentance and faith may be increased. [Isa. 48:10+, Rev. 3:19+, II Cor. 4:17, 18] Consequently, our prayer for deliverance from evil in this world is a prayer: 1. That, whenever it is possible according to His will, God would ward off affliction from us. 2. That He would give us grace to bear patiently those afflictions which He sends, [II Cor. 12:9+, Rom 8:28] and would make them a blessing in disguise for us. 3. That in His own time He would remove from us whatever distresses us. [I Sam. 2:6, 7] We should not grow discouraged or despondent under affliction, but trust in God's mercy and bear our cross cheerfully. [Matt. 10:38] And we should see to it that we do not, by our own sin and folly, bring upon ourselves evils which might have been avoided.
Text from Project Gutenberg, public domain in the United States.