Gerhard and Walther

Whatever good and salutary thing a person is able to think about or express comes to us through prayer.—Johann Gerhard, Schola Pietatis III:316.

Thus you can rejoice if God has given you a good understanding, but do not seek personal glory in this. Instead, you must be content on earth with your steward’s wages, with nourishment and clothing. Turn your gift to God’s glory and the good of your neighbor, and in heaven you will find a rich eternal harvest from your brief sowing.—C. F. W. Walther, God Grant It!, p. 620.