Gerhard and Walther

Prayer is so highly regarded by God that the entire worship service and all the glory that we are obliged to render to God the Lord sometimes is understood to mean “by prayer.” That’s why prayer is the foremost exercise of worship and a brief summary of all Christian virtue.—Johann Gerhard, Schola Pietatis III:298

Heretics in the church have always appealed to Scripture. Even the prince of darkness, when he wanted to tempt the Son of God, said, “For it is written.”…Therefore, if the Scripture is held out to someone, he should be careful. By testing the offered doctrine against Scripture, he will soon discover whether an individual is to be believed.—C. F. W. Walther, God Grant It!, p. 602.