A barber was in his shop and noticed a man come in and take his seat. As the barber took out his straight razor and as he was stropping it to hone it to a razor’s edge, he noticed that the man who had entered his shop was a fugitive. He was wanted. There was a price on his head. And the man was one of the most hated men in the whole continent.
And when he took his place to have his hair cut and his beard shaved, the barber took that razor, pressed it against the edge of the man’s neck, and knew that if he just put a little more pressure on the blade, he could become famous and rich for collecting the reward.
But he made no move to exert such pressure on the patron’s neck, because despite the hatred the customer bore, the barber loved him and considered one of his greatest heroes, and considered himself blessed that he would even have the earthly privilege of shaving the face of Martin Luther. Luther came to Master Peter’s shop on a regular basis for the haircut and the shave.
And when Master Peter had Martin Luther as a captive audience, he would spend the time asking the great Reformer theological questions.
And one day he raised the question of ora et labora when he said to Martin Luther, “Dr. Luther, can you teach me how to pray?”
And Luther said, “I’d be glad to Master Peter.”
He went back to his room at Wittenberg and he picked up a pen, and specifically for his barber he wrote this short little essay, A Simple Way to Pray.
Ligonier sells a copy of this essay as a short book, edited by Archie Parrish: A Simple Way to Pray.
You can also download a free study guide for the book here.