The Chief Exercise of Faith: John Calvin on Prayer (From The Institutes) by John Calvin. Cross-Points.org. 84 pages. 2016
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This small book is an excerpt of Henry Beveridge’s 1845 translation of John Calvin’s classic work Institutes of the Christian Religion, Book 3, Chapter 20. The book is broken down into 52 individual sections. As an example, Section 2 is on prayer defined, its necessity and use.
Calvin covers many aspects of prayer in this short but exhaustive book on prayer. Here are ten of the topics or thoughts from Calvin that I highlighted as I read the book:
- The true object of prayer is to carry our thoughts directly to God, whether to celebrate his praise or implore his aid.
- God is to be invoked only in the name of Christ. We pray to God in the name of Christ alone.
- The Lord’s Prayer contains everything that we can or ought to ask of God.
- The rules of prayer. Let the first rule of right prayer then be, to have our heart and mind framed as becomes those who are entering into converse with God.
- One of the requisites of legitimate prayer is repentance.
- The suppression of all pride. He who comes into the presence of God to pray must divest himself of all vainglorious thoughts, lay aside all idea of worth; in short, discard all self- confidence, humbly giving God the whole glory, lest by arrogating anything, however little, to himself, vain pride cause him to turn away his face.
- The laws of prayer. It is also of importance to observe, that the four laws of prayer of which I have treated are not so rigorously enforced, as that God rejects the prayers in which he does not find perfect faith or repentance, accompanied with fervent zeal and wishes duly framed.
- Christ is the only Mediator between God and man. It is manifest sacrilege to offer prayer to others.
- The principle we must always hold is, that in all prayer, public and private, the tongue without the mind must be displeasing to God.
- An exposition of the Lord’s Prayer, which is divided into six petitions. Subdivision into two principal parts, the former referring to the glory of God, the latter to our salvation.
There is much wisdom from Calvin about the subject of prayer in these pages. Highly recommended. Continue reading