Prayer

This was a post I made on the pub awhile back. Hope you enjoy!


I think that prayer is a topic that needs to be addressed most frequently, because of our ability to not do it. This is a thing that Christians struggle with, and I think it is because of our sinful hearts. Calvin said in the institutes that "even though we have converted hearts, we still have doubt because our hearts are still soaked in sin". This to me is one of the main reason we probably do not pray as we should, and when we pray, do we pray the way we ought to?

Calvin's largest section of the institutes was on prayer. Calvin starts off by quoting Romans 10;14 "but how are they to call on him in whom they have not believed-" Calvin uses this to illustrate how " true faith unaccompanied by prayer cannot be genuine". Calvin also says " It is like we have been told about some buried treasure, but allowed it to stay in the ground". Calvin says that with the words in Romans 10;14, Paul puts things in order, Calvin says "as faith springs from the Gospel, so by faith our hearts are influenced to call upon the name of God."

Calvin then goes on to illustrate how prayer is to be thought of, and in one of the most beautiful insights into understanding prayer Calvin says, "When we lay our burden before the Lord, we can rest in complete assurance that none of our problems is unknown to him, and he is able and willing to provide for us in the best way." I love that.

Calvin then lists the process in how we are told to pray:
1: "have our hearts and minds in the right mood with talking with God". He goes on in detail about how it isn't good to have wondering thoughts. He says that it is alright to have anxious thoughts, because these sometimes are the thoughts that bring forth are crying to the Lord. But wondering thoughts are the kind of thoughts that are irrelevant worries, which distract the mind
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2: "prayer is to confess your sins. Confession should always be the prelude to all true prayer." Calvin also says, "Even though it seems as if some prayers of the Saints in the Bible do not do this, with a closer look into every single prayer, one can see that they have all pleaded with God for his mercy first"

3: "Despite the necessary humbling , we should be spurred on to pray with real confidence or success" Calvin speaks around this scripture. Mark 11;24 "Therefore I tell you, Whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours."

Well with that said. I was wondering about two things about prayer. Do you believe it is wrong to pray in public? and two, do you believe that prayer should always be done on your knees? Calvin believed both, but I don't know if this is one of the areas we disagree with him on. Anyways......sorry it was so long.