Spirit, Silence, and Prayer in the Reformed Tradition

We have earlier demonstrated that there is support for individual spirituality in the Reformed tradition as long as one's meditation is focused on scripture. But is there room for silence in which to listen to God and are the insights gained during such experiences the work of the Holy Spirit? Again, Robert Ramey, Jr. and Ben Campbell Johnson would answer in the affirmative. They quote Calvin on Romans, chapter 8, saying that it is not the Spirit that "actually prays or groans but arouses in us assurance, desires, and sighs, to conceive which our natural powers would scarcely suffice." Institutes 3.20.5. They take this passage of Calvin to mean that the Spirit directs our prayers and instructs us to pray in the manner that God desires.

But they go one step deeper, moving into areas of spirituality some of the reformed faith might not agree with fully, musing that "if the Spirit so directs our petitions and intercessions, can we not rely also on the Spirit to speak in our silence? When we listen the Spirit may flash new insight and guide our imagination as a form of God's speech to us." Living the Christian Life: a Guide to Reformed Spirituality (p. 50)

Careful fellows. If we go there we might have to believe that God still inspires people today--even Presbyterians! It may just be that there is a place for a contemplative spirituality in our private worship and prayer that complements and completes our emphasis on revelation of Word through preaching in the context of the Christian community.

But, to keep our prayers and silence properly grounded, Ramey and Johnson go on to say that "God provides scripture to ground and shape our prayer." (p.50) They quote Ronald Wallace's statement about the relationship of prayer to scripture: "In order to be a genuine exercise of faith, prayer must be founded upon the Word of God. The faith that gives rise to prayer is created by the Word and is ever aroused to fresh life and vigour by listening to the promises of the Word." Calvin's Doctrine (p. 276) Ramay and Johnson conclude the section with the strongest possible association between prayer and scripture: "Scripture should do more than precede and inspire our approach to prayer; it should also govern the direction and details of our prayer. When we pray according to God's Word, our prayers echo God's promises in our hearts.(p. 51)

So, if these authors are to be believed, the Spirit speaks to us and instructs us in prayer and our silence, even as our prayer is shaped by reflection on the Word of God. So prayer and silence can both be vehicles which God uses to communicate with us through the Spirit, so long as our thoughts are guided and directed by reflection on the Word of God. It seems that for folks of the Reformed ilk, inspiration is quite accessible--but only if we look to the Word of God to guide our hearts to God's promised desire to fill them.