than of all bodily harm to
goods, honor and life, and believe that they are worse than death
and all mortal sickness. These you shall earnestly before God,
lament and ask for help, and with all confidence expect help, and
believe that you are heard and shall obtain help and mercy.

Then go forward into the Second Table of the Commandments, and
see how disobedient you have been and still are toward father and
mother and all in authority; how you sin against your neighbor
with anger, hatred and evil words; how you are tempted to
unchastity, covetousness and injustice in word and deed against
your neighbor; and you will doubtless find that you are full of
all need and misery, and have reason enough to weep even drops of
blood, if you could.[28]

[Sidenote: Prayer for Holiness, not Because of Holiness]

X. But I know well that many are so foolish as not to want to ask
for such things, unless they first be conscious that they are
pure, and believe that God hears no one who is a sinner. All this
is the work, of those false preachers, who teach men to begin,
not with faith and trust in God's favor, but with their own
works.

Look you, wretched man! if you have broken a leg, or the peril
of death overtakes you, you call upon God, this Saint and that,
and do not wait until your leg is healed, or the danger is past:
you are not so foolish as to think that God hears no one whose
leg is broken, or who is in bodily danger. Nay, you believe that
God shall hear most of all when you are in the greatest need and
fear. Why, then, are you so foolish here, where there is
immeasurably greater need and eternal hurt, and do not want to
ask for faith, hope, love, humility, obedience, chastity,
gentleness, peace, righteousness, unless you are already free of
all your unbelief, doubt, pride, disobedience, unchastity, anger,
covetousness and unrighteousness. Although the more you find
yourself lacking in these things, the more and more diligently
you ought to pray or cry.

So blind are we: with our bodily sickness and need we run to God;
with the soul's sickness we run from Him, and are unwilling to
come back before we are well, exactly as if there could be one
God who could help the body, and another God who could help the
soul; or as if we would help ourselves in spiritual need,
although it really is greater than the bodily need. Such plan and
counsel is of the devil.

Not so, my good man! If you wish to be cured of sin, you must not