Chapter I.

That God sees all things beforehand / and knows them before we ask.

That this is true stands grounded in Matthew 6: your heavenly Father knows what you need before you pray; and Psalm 139: Whether I sit or stand up, You know everything; yes, You see all my thoughts; there is no word upon my tongue that You, Lord, do not already know; Your eyes saw me before I was created; and Psalm 94: Shall He not hear, who planted the ear? Shall He not see, who made the eye? Should He not know, who gives understanding? Hebrews 4: God is a judge of the senses and thoughts. Matthew 6: You should not use many words in prayer; God already knows it well. From all this, it is concluded that we must awaken ourselves from sleep, and not God.

O eternal God, I am to pray the Our Father: The "Vater Unser" or Lord's Prayer; why? Truly, not to awaken You with it, but rather myself, so that I may learn to recognize You—how You recognize, see, and hear all my words, speech, and thoughts before I begin and ask, yes, even before I was born. Do not let me remain in such blindness that I think You require my babbling original: "Geschwätzes," referring to empty, repetitive, or mindless chatter like the heathens, who do not know Your omniscience.