A Christian Epistle on Prayer

...might serve, you shall—for the sake of the Lord Jesus Christ—find me always ready and willing in everything that He has granted to me, unworthy as I am, in the knowledge of Him and His many benefits. Because at this time this cannot happen in any other way than through writing, I pray that the Lord Jesus might teach you through His Spirit, making all my writing and what you read in my books come alive and be felt in your hearts; so that all of it may serve you fruitfully and contribute to your spiritual practice gaistlichen übung: spiritual exercises or disciplines intended to strengthen faith and the growth of the inner new man A reference to the "new man" mentioned by St. Paul in the New Testament, representing a person transformed by faith. in Christ Jesus and in His eternal grace.

Since I have now resolved to write to you, I would gladly record something useful that might also benefit my own spiritual practice and bring forth good fruit before God. However, according to the knowledge of Jesus Christ, I find hardly anything more useful to you at this time—since you daily and often engage in vocal prayer—than to describe for your consideration, in the simplest terms, the characteristics of true prayer, the distinctions between different types of prayer, and what is required for a Christian prayer to be heard by God. This is so that your prayers may not be in vain before God the Lord; then, my own benefit and fruit shall also blessedly follow, especially as you remember me all the more in your prayers before the face of God.

Now, you shall briefly hear and take note of...