Institutes of Christian religion - Calvin - XLIX - Chapter 20 of Book 3 commenced

Required reading
Institutes of Christian religion by John Calvin (Available from Amazon or free here) - Commence Chapter 20 of Book 3 by reading Chapters 1 to 16.

My summary
This week Calvin begins to teach us about a new subject: prayer.

Firstly Calvin tells us what prayer is and why we should pray when God is omniscient.

Then Calvin gives us four rules to be observed in prayer.  We should:
(i)  have our heart and mind framed as becomes those who are entering into converse with God;
(ii) always truly feel our wants, and seriously consider that we need all the things which we ask, accompany the prayer with a sincere, nay, ardent desire of obtaining them;
(iii) divest ourselves of all vainglorious thoughts, lay aside all idea of worth;
(iv) be animated to pray with the sure hope of succeeding.

What grabbed me
I liked Calvin's point about who benefits in prayer: ' But some one will say, Does he not know without a monitor both what our difficulties are, and what is meet for our interest, so that it seems in some measure superfluous to solicit him by our prayers, as if he were winking, or even sleeping, until aroused by the sound of our voice? Those who argue thus attend not to the end for which the Lord taught us to pray. It was not so much for his sake as for ours. He wills indeed, as is just, that due honour be paid him by acknowledging that all which men desire or feel to be useful, and pray to obtain, is derived from him. But even the benefit of the homage which we thus pay him redounds to ourselves.'

Prayer is not simply for God's sake, but for our sake.

Next week's reading
Continue Chapter 20 of Book 3 by reading Chapters 17 to 33.

Now it's your turn
Please post your own notes and thoughts in the comments section below.