Rosary Thread on the Lutherans.com Forums

However I have a rosary and do sometimes meditate by saying the Gloria Patri and Lord's Prayer and the Apostles Creed when i am having a hard time praying because it helps me to focus, but I do not think it salutary toward my salvation. It just helps me to calm down and get still for about thirty minutes which is not a bad thing I think.

My Pastor knows and has no forbade it but views it as neither good nor bad so I don't worry about it. 

However concerning the prayer of Hail Mary I find nothing objectionable in it and do use it sometimes also but I don't pray it with a Catholic understanding but rather with an historical understanding which I will be happy to explain if you want me too. 

God Bless

I've never done the rosary myself. I have at times tried the Jesus Prayer of the Eastern Orthodox, which is simply, "Jesus Christ, have mercy on me,a poor sinner." 

(More info here: http://orthodoxwiki.org/Jesus_Prayer)

What I do regularly is to repeat the Lord's Prayer because it long ago impressed me what Luther said about spending an hour meditating on just one of the petitions.

So, do what you like, it is adiaphora, and the mind is a very cluttered place and whenever we try and be quiet before the Lord a bunch of things will come to mind and such things help to quiet us. Of course, I learned long ago that you can take a piece of paper and a pencil into the prayer closet and make a laundry list until the mind is clear of such things.

The prayer is reflective of Christ (mostly)

Hail Mary full of grace the Lord is with thee (The greeting of the angel. Mary is highly favored full of grace because of the special calling she has been given, namely Christ will born through her.)

Blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. (The words of Elizabeth and the angel. The blessings which fall upon Mary are the result of Christ not Mary herself.)

Holy Mary mother of God (This is straight from the Chalcedon confession. It does not mean that God originated with Mary it means that which Mary had in her womb was truly and always God.)

Pray for us sinners in the hour of our need and in the hour of our death. (If you don't accept Maccabees, and a lot of Lutherans don't, then this sort of appeal is strange to your ears. However revelation does tell us that the prayers of the saints are poured out at the foot of the Throne of God so there is evidence the saints pray in Heaven.)

Where I differ from Rome is that Rome says this prayer enjoins the prayers of Mary, who being Christ's human mother has a special place in Heaven. There are some who argue for queen of heaven co-redemptrix with Christ, but even Catholics argue amongst themselves about this and the issue is far from settled. 

However Luther taught that the saints in Heaven pray but cannot hear us because our prayers are not carried to heaven by the angels but by the Holy Spirit and our one mediator is Christ. That is why I say there is nothing salvific or meritorious about the prayer. 

However in so far as it helps me to meditate on Christ I see nothing wrong with it, but I just as often pray the Gloria Patri instead because it helps me do the same thing. 

God Bless