John Calvin — The Definition and Effectiveness of Prayer

December 6, 2009

In the final edition of his Institutes, Calvin defines prayer as “the communion of men with God by which, having entered the heavenly sanctuary, they appeal to him in person concerning his promises in order to experience … that what they believed was not in vain.” Elsewhere, he writes that prayer is “a communication between God and us whereby we expound to him our desires, our joys, our sighs, in a word, all the thoughts of our hearts.”

Calvin considered prayer to be holy and familiar conversation with God, our heavenly Father; reverently speaking, it is family conversation, or even intimate covenantal conversation, in which the believer confides in God as a child confides in his father. Prayer is “an emotion of the heart within, which is poured out and laid open before God.” In prayer, we both communicate and commune with our Father in heaven, feeling our transparency in His presence. Like Christ in Gethsemane, we cast our “desires, sighs, anxieties, fears, hopes, and joys into the lap of God.” We are “permitted to pour into God’s bosom the difficulties which torment us, in order that He may loosen the knots which we cannot untie.” Prayer is the outpouring of the soul, the deepest root of piety, and the bedrock of assurance. It is the most important part of the Christian life, the lifeblood of every true believer.

The above comes from John Calvin: A Heart for Devotion, Doctrine, Doxology (Chapter 19 — The Communion of Men with God)

Posted in John Calvin, Prayer