The text and comments below are Dr. Carl Trueman's of Westminster Seminary, Philadelpia. The picture to the right is affixed to the "Daily Order for Morning Prayer" from the goodly, godly and Biblical Book of Common Prayer.
Blog 149: 3.20.37 - 3.20.42
Posted by Carl Trueman
Posted by Carl Trueman
In this section, Calvin addresses the first two petition sin the Lord's Prayer. First, he reflects upon the importance of saying that God is our Father. This allows us to approach him with confidence, knowing the our relationship to him is one of love, but also with reverence and fear, as we would approach our earthly fathers. It also points us to the Trinitarian nature of the Christian life and of prayer in particular. We are God's children by adoption through Christ, his only begotten Son; and we are united to Christ by the Spirit of adoption.
In addition, by calling on God as our Father, we express the filial relationship that exists between all believers. We are all children of the Most High God. This shapes the way we relate to each other, and also encourages us to commend them to our heavenly Father as his beloved children and our beloved siblings. In this, prayer is a little like almsgiving: Christians are called to relieve the poor in their midst; and yet prayer is more liberal, because we can even pray for those who are not near to us and of whom we may not know specific details.
Calvin also reflects on God being our Father in heaven, which designation he takes as emphasizing God's uniqueness and his absolute sovereignty: beside him, there are no other Gods; he is in complete control of everything; and so the stage is set for us to approach his throne in prayer with full confidence that he will hear us and can answer.
Calvin then deals with the first two petitions. The first requires that we honour and reverence him as we should, and never speak lightly of him or his great works. The second is, for Calvin, a virtual repetition of the first, but this time in the form almost of a reminder to us that God will finally and definitively crush his enemies and reign in glory.
Again, the comparisons with much prayer today, public and private, is painful. Here is Calvin whose doctrine of God drives him to his knees in reverence and awe, for whom every petition in the Lord's Prayer is shot through with God's glory and focused on the manifestation of that glory. Those who do not see Christian doctrine as practical, who wonder why seminaries still teach courses on the doctrine of God because `it doesn't connect with my ministry' have never understood God at all. Only by knowing who God is can the believer do that most practical of things - pray - in a manner which is at all appropriate and informed.
Blog 148: 3.20.31 - 3.20.36
Posted by Carl Trueman
In these paragraphs, Calvin addresses the rudiments of public worship. He sees speaking and singing in prayer to be highly commendable when they are connected to the heart's longing for God, as they help to exercise the mind and keep it attentive in its devotions. Indeed, he notes that public singing in church dates back to the time of the apostles, though evidence from Augustine indicates it was not universally practiced in the fourth century.
Posted by Carl Trueman
In these paragraphs, Calvin addresses the rudiments of public worship. He sees speaking and singing in prayer to be highly commendable when they are connected to the heart's longing for God, as they help to exercise the mind and keep it attentive in its devotions. Indeed, he notes that public singing in church dates back to the time of the apostles, though evidence from Augustine indicates it was not universally practiced in the fourth century.
The engagement of heart and mind in prayer inevitably means that public prayer should be offered in the vernacular. Greek for the Greeks, French for the French; English for the English. This is a typical Reformation rallying cry, and reflects the shift from a medieval, sacramentally oriented piety to one focused on faith in God', which consists of six petitions word. As an aid to our prayers, God has provided us with the Lord's Prayer, the whole of which is designed for God's glory, and which contains six petitions, the first three referring to God, the second three to us and our needs. The order is significant, for God always has priority, and it is through God's being and action that we become who we are intended to be. Further, that the prayer begins by addressing God as `our Father' reveals to us much of the sweetness and tenderness of his attitude towards us as we come in to his presence.
What is so striking to us today, is surely the God focus of prayer as Calvin sees it. In world full of books masquerading as Christian yet which consistently place human needs (self-image, prosperity, a happy life) at the centre, Calvin's words stand as a warning and a judgment: Christianity is not about us; it is not designed ultimately for our benefit and well-being; rather, it is designed for God's glory, and this fact should shape our prayer life, from the way in which we approach him, to the order of priorities, to the kind of things for which we plead. This is why cognitive knowledge of who God is critical: without this, we cannot know ourselves and we cannot approach him as we should.
In these paragraphs, Calvin moves on from his criticism of the contemporary practice of prayer to the saints to the nature of true prayer itself. Underlying the discussion of private prayer is the understanding that God, as sovereign, is the one who gives all good things; thus; the believer's prayer is always to be directed to God whether in petition or in thanksgiving. This is a beautiful example of Calvin's understanding of piety and how both cognitive knowledge of who God is and practical Christian behaviour are inextricably connected: one cannot pray correctly unless one knows who God is; and the sign of knowing God is that one then prays correctly.
While private prayer is to be constant, there is also a time for public prayer. After all, the church is a corporate body, not just a collection of individuals. Nevertheless, there are peculiar temptations associated with public prayer: vain repetition, a desire to show off, and an appetite for gathering an audience of admirers. These are to be avoided at all costs; but public prayer is still something noble and great for God has honored it throughout history. And it must not be forgotten that the church is the people of God, not some building or area marked out for `holy' purposes.
While private prayer is to be constant, there is also a time for public prayer. After all, the church is a corporate body, not just a collection of individuals. Nevertheless, there are peculiar temptations associated with public prayer: vain repetition, a desire to show off, and an appetite for gathering an audience of admirers. These are to be avoided at all costs; but public prayer is still something noble and great for God has honored it throughout history. And it must not be forgotten that the church is the people of God, not some building or area marked out for `holy' purposes.
What Calvin says here is brief but brilliant. In a day when many in evangelicalism are moving in directions that owe more to eastern mysticism than Christian teaching and historic practice, it is important to remember that true prayer rests upon a true doctrinal content. Prayer is not emptying ourselves and entering some zen-like state; rather, it is crying out to God for his grace, depending on him for all things, acknowledging him as sovereign, and thanking him for all he has given us.
There is also a distinction between public prayer and private prayer. In public prayer, the one praying leads the thoughts of the congregation as they enter the presence of God. This is an awesome responsibility and should be reflected in the language we use. For me, no sentence in such a prayer should ever begin, `Oh Lord, we just want to......' Prayer is not about us, it is about God; nor should it be clichéd; it should be shot through with awe and wonder.
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Here endeth Carl Truman.
Now beginneth the Order for Morning Prayer for this scribe and recommended to all readers.
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