11. 칼빈주의 신학-칼빈의 기도론 (Calvin’s Doctrine of Prayer)

[남인도_윤]

Title: Calvin’s Doctrine of Prayer

1. Introduction

The most important and essential things in a Christian's religious life are reading the Word of God and praying.

As the Creator, God can transcend the order of creation and at the same time be with us people.

The Bible teaches us and makes to believe in, and fellowships with such a God.

And the Bible teaches us that we must pray for deep fellowship with God.

Through prayer we can communicate with God, so prayer is a conversation between our soul and God.

Prayer is the most important training of faith, and through prayer, believers receive grace and benefits from God every day and grow as believers in the Word and prayer.

Calvin discusses his doctrine of prayer in Chapter 20 of Volume 3 of his "Institutes of Christian Religion".

For Calvin, prayer is very important.

So, the important thing that God's children must have is prayer, and this prayer is the evidence and root of true faith.

Prayer is an act of faith that understands God's will and expresses love and hope for God.

Prayer enables our total faith in Christ to look up to his beloved Son, turns our hopes toward heaven, and opens up heavenly treasures.

Prayer is a living expression‎ of faith and gives honor and glory to God through our confession of faith.

Calvin says that one of the important purposes of prayer is to ask God for whatever one needs in life.

Therefore, in his theory of prayer, Calvin explained at length that prayer must not only be alive and moving in the bodies of believers, but also have principles and forms.

Calvin bases his faith on the Word.

Therefore, he said, “Faith based on the Word becomes the mother of correct prayer.”

Through these explanations, he teaches us the close relationship between the Word and prayer.

Apostle Paul commanded us to have the shield of faith, that is, the Word of God, before telling us to pray in the Holy Spirit all the time and be alert to seek. (Ephesians 6:16-17)

Considering the contents of Calvin's doctrine of prayer, he explained prayer at length over 52 verses to teach believers knowing God and getting closer to God.

2. The need for prayer

Calvin defined prayer as “Prayer is communication between God and people.

Through this communication, people enter the sanctuary of God in heaven and request and appeal to God to keep what He has promised.”

At the same time, he said that prayer is for possessing the heavenly treasure promised by God.

He talked about the necessity of prayer like this and explained six reasons why prayer becomes our fortress.

First, prayer is meant to ignite our hearts with God’s love.

Second, when we pray, we must pour out all our shame and greed before God.

Third, we must pray to be truly thankful for the grace we have received from God.

Fourth, we must diligently meditate on God's kindness with the confidence that God has answered us by getting what we asked for.

Fifth, prayer is to enjoy and accept with greater joy what is gained through God's response.

Sixth, prayer is to confirm‎ God's providence and to know that God always takes care of us.

Calvin said, “Prayer means that God never abandons us, but listens to the prayers of those who seek God whenever necessary, makes promises, and protects us with help appropriate to reality.”

In this way, Calvin emphasizes the relationship between faith and prayer.

Therefore, all believers must pray through the Word of God, pray in accordance with God's will, and pray for answers.

3. The Principles of prayer

Calvin explains several principles that those who pray should adhere to.

First, he must pray with a heart that reveres God.

Calvin said, “The correct attitude of a person who prays is to have a heart and mind appropriate for conversation with God.”

Calvin says that prayer is a conversation with God, but we should not be profane, impulsive, or careless when praying to God.

He says that when we pray, we must abandon fleshly thoughts and concerns that distract us or prevent us from seeing God purely, and pour our hearts entirely into prayer.

Because the human mind has a natural tendency to wander, it is easy to fall into alien and external concerns.

So, there are many times when we cannot see the things of heaven and live tied to earthly things.

Therefore, a person who prays must have a pure and honest spirit to regard everything in the world as excrement and refine our spirit to go before the transcendent God.

Those who pray with a heart that fears God must look thoroughly to the Lord.

We must devote all one's ability and mind to prayer and not be distracted by distracting thoughts.

One of Calvin's principles of prayer is temperance.

God listens to prayers offered through self-control.

God wants what we ask for through self-control and honesty, but people commit serious sins while praying.

The sin is to cry out to God for wrongdoings in a careless, shameless, and rude manner, and to expose any delusions before God without shame.

These people need to hear the words of the Apostle John: “This is the confidence we have in him, that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.”

In other words, it is necessary to control one's desires and sins and have a prayerful attitude to seek God's will.

Second, you must pray with a heart that realizes your shortcomings and repent of your faults and sins.

Calvin emphasized that when praying, one must be conscious of one's shortcomings and pray with a repentant heart.

He said, “When we pray, we must always feel our own insufficiency, think sincerely how much we need all that we ask for, and pray with a sincere and intense desire to obtain all that we ask for.”

He says that the beginning and preparation of our proper prayer is humbly and sincerely confessing our sins to God and asking for forgiveness.

He says that no one, no matter how holy, should hope to receive anything from God until he has received God's generous forgiveness.

Therefore, he said that repentance is necessary to pray correctly.

Third, you must abandon all trust in yourself and humbly pray for forgiveness.

Calvin emphasizes that we must abandon trust in ourselves and humbly pray for God's forgiveness.

That is, in order to pray, a person before God must humbly give all glory to God alone, without thinking at all about his own glory, and without any thought that he is a being of value and worthy of being exalted.

The forefathers of faith were more and more humble when they approached God.

Because they thought of themselves as God's, they believed that God would take care of them, and they depended on nothing else.

Calvin says, “Confessing sin humbly and sincerely and asking for forgiveness is the beginning and preparation for prayer.”

God does not associate with people who are not reconciled to Him.

Therefore, we discover that asking for forgiveness of sins is the key that opens the door to prayer.

We must know that prayer without repentance is nothing more than prayer that has no relationship with God.

In 1 John 1:9, the Apostle John said, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

Therefore, those who want to go to God and pray must abandon their trust in themselves, humbly acknowledge their shortcomings and weaknesses, and pray for God's forgiveness.

Fourth, we must pray with confidence and hope.

Calvin emphasizes that we must pray with the sure hope that our prayers will be answered.

When we pray, hope and faith overcome fear and instead bring courage.

In other words, the assurance of faith comforts us with perfect peace.

On the other hand, if we pray with confused faith and doubt whether our prayers will be answered, without certainty, we cannot expect any help from God.

Therefore, Calvin said that faith is very important in prayer because everything obtained as an answer to prayer is due to faith.

In addition, Calvin presents the following Bible verses in rebuttal to those who deny the assurance of answered prayers.

“Let us therefore approach the throne of grace with confidence, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need” (Hebrews 4:6).

Calvin teaches this passage and says that Christians must approach God with confidence through faith.

Therefore, Calvin says that in order for our prayers to be effective, we must hold firmly with both hands the conviction that we will get what we ask for.

He says that only prayers that start from faith and prayers with unwavering and firm hope can receive answers from God, but on the other hand, prayers that do not have hope in God are like being thrown into the air.

4. Requirements for Christ-centered prayer

Calvin's teachings are generally Christ-centered, and his prayer doctrine is no exception in this regard.

It is not easy for humans to turn toward God because they are always strong in their self-ego and self-reliant beings.

Because it difficult to find anything good in human-self, so men must seek help and find what he needs outside of himself, that is, in Christ.

In Christ, God provides all happiness and riches in place of our misery and need.

He opens up heavenly treasures in Christ, allowing us to focus our expectations and hopes solely on Christ.

Therefore, the most important requirement for those who pray is whether Christ is their center.

Those who pray must receive something from Christ, seek something from Him, and the only way to seek what is in Him is through prayer.

The rule is to pray in the name of Jesus Christ.

You must pray in everyday language, with intelligent words and clear consciousness, and you must pray with all your heart and sincerity at a certain time.

And what we need to be careful about when praying is that we should not try to control God with our own control, but rather, we should be controlled according to His will.

To do so, we must continue to pray patiently through the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

So let us look at what the requirements are for Christ-centered prayer.

First, we must first pray faithfully with an honest spirit before God (Psalm 51:10).

Second, we must pray with a heart that fears God (Nehemiah 5:15).

Third, we must pray without fear with a fear of God. (Acts 4:24-30)

When we think of God’s greatness and majesty, we tremble with fear and do not dare to come before God.

However, through the Word of God and Jesus Christ, our mediator, we can come before God and pray, calling Him Father.

Fourth, we must pray with humility, patient faith, and obedience. All of these things are the path and direction by which we approach the throne of God.

5. Prayer training

Prayer is a concrete act of faith.

So we need to learn and train about prayer.

Since prayer has a wide impact on all areas of Christian life, it requires more thorough education, training, and practice.

Since our prayers can easily flow into a shamanistic and blessing-filled direction, we must keep the principles through prayer training.

Calvin emphasizes the most important things in prayer training. They are as follows:

First, you must set a time and pray at a certain time.

Although we have become people of prayer, we are still weak, so we need various auxiliary means and help for prayer.

Sometimes we become lazy and need to be stimulated to return to the place of prayer.

In order to overcome this laziness in prayer, all believers must set aside a certain time to pray to God.

We must devote our hearts and souls completely to prayer at designated times.

When is a certain time?

① You must pray early in the morning after spending a deep night in the blessings of God.

② You must pray before and after eating for God’s blessings.

③ You should pray when you finish your day’s work and are trying to sleep at night.

We should not be superstitious in keeping appointed times for prayer.

We must pray as if we were repaying a debt to God by keeping time in prayer, and with the feeling that we have no debt to repay for the remaining time.

Devoting time to prayer on a regular basis like this can be said to be a kind of training to overcome our weaknesses.

In the Bible, Daniel is a representative person who prayed to God at certain times (Daniel 6:10).

Jesus followed his custom and went to the Mount of Olives to pray (Luke 22:39).

Even after Jesus’ ascension, the disciples went up to the temple at set times to pray (Acts 3:1).

Paul, Silas, and Barnabas also prayed to God at set times.

Apostle Paul was a man who considered prayer very important.

While he preached the gospel, he prayed when he had time, and moved the throne of God through constant prayer.

He said in Colossians 1:9, “For this reason we have not ceased praying and asking for you since the day we heard about you.”

Therefore, like the faithful servants of God in the Bible, we must pray by preparing the most appropriate time, the most appropriate place, and the most appropriate heart for prayer.

We must be careful not to let our prayer time become a mere formality.

God does not want wrong or formal prayers.

God is the one who wants us to come before Him and pray with our whole heart and time.

Above all, we must pray with an obedient attitude that wants God's will to be done.

Second, we must have patience and continue to pray.

Calvin teaches us to pray at a certain time and place for prayer training, and says that we can pray without difficulty if we submit our hearts to be controlled by God.

He then insists on continuing to pray to God with patience.

In other words, if we give up our desires and wait patiently for the Lord and pray, we will become confident that God is always by our side.

We should not pray to God with a hasty heart, but should control our minds and pray with a peaceful heart.

When you feel like God is not answering your prayers quickly, do not be discouraged and look to God (Luke 18).

The Bible is full of practical examples of praying with patience.

Elijah prayed seven times on Mount Carmel (1 Kings 18:42-44).

Daniel prayed for 21 days for one incident (Daniel 10).

Jesus prayed three times in a row in the Garden of Gethsemane with the cross in front of him (Matthew 26).

The early church members prayed until the Holy Spirit promised by God the Father came (Acts 1).

The Jerusalem believers prayed hard when Peter was imprisoned (Acts 12:5).

The members of the Antioch church fasted and prayed to send out missionaries (Acts 13).

Apostle Paul advised the Thessalonians to “pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17).

He advised the believers in Rome to rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, and persevere in prayer (Romans 12:12).

The Colossian believers were told to always persevere in prayer and to stay awake with gratitude for prayer (Colossians 4:2).

Calvin said that before we ask for anything important, we must first pray for God's will to be done and for the Holy Spirit to guide us in our prayers.

This requires us to wait on God and involve making efforts to make our needs and requests known to God.

As we pray, we must not be discouraged, but look to God and praise His majesty.

Calvin says that if we do not continue to pray without ceasing, our prayers will be in vain and asks believers to pray patiently.

So how can we pray patiently?

Calvin clearly teaches us how to pray patiently as follows:

First, he must have the heart and attitude to obey and pray.

Second, we must pray and entrust God to rule over us according to the laws of providence.

Third, he is told to learn to patiently wait on the Lord, suppressing his desires and continuing his prayers.

Those who can continue to pray with patience are those who have the mindset to obey God and who allow God to rule over them.

In praying with patience, Calvin says that mindset and attitude are more important than the rules or form of prayer.

Submission to God is essential to the patient prayerful person.

This is something that all Christians today must follow to keep in mind.

In practicing prayer training, we must recognize that it is very important to set a certain time and pray consistently, as taught by Calvin, and to continue praying with patience, and must constantly communicate with God.

This is because prayer is the channel of our communication with God and the main activity of life for faith.

6. Conclusion

Prayer is a great privilege that God has given to his beloved children.

Therefore, only those who have received forgiveness of sins and become children of God can pray, and only those who believe in the assurance of resurrection and the second coming of Jesus can pray.

Because prayer is the life of a Christian, anyone who does not pray is not a Christian.

Through prayer, Christians can receive spiritual nourishment from God.

In other words, prayer is like a lifeline to receive God's grace and mercy.

Prayer is the only way to lead humans from anxiety to happiness.

Therefore, when we pray before God, we must pour out our souls in prayer.

Those who pray must acknowledge and be thankful that God has given them everything.

The core of Calvin's prayer lies in petition and God's response.

Those who pray must pray with confidence and have hope in God's response.

Without such faith, the prayer is not a true prayer.

Those who pray must have a sound mind and must have humility and confidence.

Human being becomes humble when he admits that he is weak.

And God never works without prayer.

Therefore, we must recognize that it is difficult to accomplish God's merciful will in the world without prayer.

The coming of the kingdom of God in the world is related to changing society through the transformation of individual Christians through prayer.

So, for Calvin, prayer is the most important exercise of faith.

He says that Christians should not fall into laziness but pray for the training of sanctification to take place.

Calvin emphasized the importance of prayer.

First, he tells us to pray to seek God and have a passion and desire to serve him.

Second, we must pray so that shameful desires or wishes that cannot be revealed to God do not invade our hearts.

Third, when God gives grace, we must pray so that we can receive it with sincerity and gratitude.

Fourth, we must be confident that we have what we seek and that God has answered our prayers.

Fifth, we must pray to receive answers to our prayers with greater joy.

For this reason, Calvin teaches all Christians to pray before God at a certain time and to pray patiently even if their prayers are not answered.

We must pray with the clear belief that God is pleased with our prayers and that He will answer them.