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Devotions and Prayers of John Calvin
Devotion and prayers of John Fifty-two one-page devotions.
- GenresTheology
Paperback
First published January 1, 1954
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About the author
John Calvin
1,707 books541 followersFrench-Swiss theologian John Calvin broke with the Roman Catholic Church in 1533 and as Protestant set forth his tenets, known today, in
Institutes of the Christian Religion
(1536).
The religious doctrines of John Calvin emphasize the omnipotence of God, whose grace alone saves the elect.
* Jehan Cauvin
* Iohannes Calvinus (Latin)
* Jean Calvin (French)
Originally trained as a humanist lawyer around 1530, he went on to serve as a principal figure in the Reformation. He developed the system later called Calvinism.
After tensions provoked a violent uprising, Calvin fled to Basel and published the first edition of his seminal work. In that year of 1536, William Farel invited Calvin to help reform in Geneva. The city council resisted the implementation of ideas of Calvin and Farel and expelled both men. At the invitation of Martin Bucer, Calvin proceeded to Strasbourg as the minister of refugees. He continued to support the reform movement in Geneva, and people eventually invited him back to lead. Following return, he introduced new forms of government and liturgy. Following an influx of supportive refugees, new elections to the city council forced out opponents of Calvin. Calvin spent his final years, promoting the Reformation in Geneva and throughout Europe.
Calvin tirelessly wrote polemics and apologia. He also exchanged cordial and supportive letters with many reformers, including Philipp Melanchthon and Heinrich Bullinger. In addition, he wrote commentaries on most books of the Bible as well as treatises and confessional documents and regularly gave sermons throughout the week in Geneva. The Augustinian tradition influenced and led Calvin to expound the doctrine of predestination and the absolute sovereignty of God in salvation.
Calvin's writing and preaching provided the seeds for the branch of Protestantism that bears his name. His views live on chiefly in Presbyterian and Reformed denominations, which have spread throughout the world. Calvin's thought exerted considerable influence over major figures and entire movements, such as Puritanism, and some scholars argue that his ideas contributed to the rise of capitalism, individualism, and representative democracy in the west.
The religious doctrines of John Calvin emphasize the omnipotence of God, whose grace alone saves the elect.
* Jehan Cauvin
* Iohannes Calvinus (Latin)
* Jean Calvin (French)
Originally trained as a humanist lawyer around 1530, he went on to serve as a principal figure in the Reformation. He developed the system later called Calvinism.
After tensions provoked a violent uprising, Calvin fled to Basel and published the first edition of his seminal work. In that year of 1536, William Farel invited Calvin to help reform in Geneva. The city council resisted the implementation of ideas of Calvin and Farel and expelled both men. At the invitation of Martin Bucer, Calvin proceeded to Strasbourg as the minister of refugees. He continued to support the reform movement in Geneva, and people eventually invited him back to lead. Following return, he introduced new forms of government and liturgy. Following an influx of supportive refugees, new elections to the city council forced out opponents of Calvin. Calvin spent his final years, promoting the Reformation in Geneva and throughout Europe.
Calvin tirelessly wrote polemics and apologia. He also exchanged cordial and supportive letters with many reformers, including Philipp Melanchthon and Heinrich Bullinger. In addition, he wrote commentaries on most books of the Bible as well as treatises and confessional documents and regularly gave sermons throughout the week in Geneva. The Augustinian tradition influenced and led Calvin to expound the doctrine of predestination and the absolute sovereignty of God in salvation.
Calvin's writing and preaching provided the seeds for the branch of Protestantism that bears his name. His views live on chiefly in Presbyterian and Reformed denominations, which have spread throughout the world. Calvin's thought exerted considerable influence over major figures and entire movements, such as Puritanism, and some scholars argue that his ideas contributed to the rise of capitalism, individualism, and representative democracy in the west.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
August 26, 2025
There are many wonderful works from Calvin to choose from—don’t start here! I found this as a free handout at a bookstore, and often you get what you pay for. This isn’t even truly his work, but rather someone piecing together excerpts from his commentaries and prayers into a devotional-style collection.
No fault to Calvin himself, but this was not a book I gleaned much from. I often struggle with “collections” turned into devotionals, as they can lose the greater context of the author’s original work—and I think that happened here. The editing and selections felt very fragmented.
Additionally, this volume is essentially a rough selection from his commentary on the Minor Prophets, and it felt narrow in scope without a wider biblical perspective. I would have appreciated if that focus had been noted in the title, as I didn’t realize it until I was well into the book.
There were a few nuggets of insight, but overall it’s not something I would revisit. The language was also a hurdle. I understand some value the preservation of the older style, but my goal is to meditate on the content—not to spend a large share of my reading energy deciphering the linguistic style of the time. For me, that ended up being too much mental gymnastics for the reward.
No fault to Calvin himself, but this was not a book I gleaned much from. I often struggle with “collections” turned into devotionals, as they can lose the greater context of the author’s original work—and I think that happened here. The editing and selections felt very fragmented.
Additionally, this volume is essentially a rough selection from his commentary on the Minor Prophets, and it felt narrow in scope without a wider biblical perspective. I would have appreciated if that focus had been noted in the title, as I didn’t realize it until I was well into the book.
There were a few nuggets of insight, but overall it’s not something I would revisit. The language was also a hurdle. I understand some value the preservation of the older style, but my goal is to meditate on the content—not to spend a large share of my reading energy deciphering the linguistic style of the time. For me, that ended up being too much mental gymnastics for the reward.
April 19, 2023
A timely devotional on the minor prophets from my Mom and Dad's bookshelf🙌
April 5, 2022
As a lifelong member of the Presbyterian Church (USA), I have found my theological roots in John Calvin, the 16th century Swiss reformer. But I haven't read a lot of Calvin since seminary. I came across this book, discarded by an theological seminary, which contains 52 daily devotions taken from Calvin's writings on on each of the Minor Prophets. The writing of the 16th century is somewhat stilted, and certain words and verbiage are no longer really a part of the English language. Equally difficult is a regular infusion of God's anger and wrath in relationship to humanity, even as God's love in Christ is overwhelmingly good and redemptive. Still, each of these daily devotions, and accompanying prayer, are insightful into Calvin's thinking, and worth continued reflection and consideration.
June 21, 2024
Calvin’s writings and prayers in this book are fantastic! However, the compiler of this devotional did a disservice. It was not compiled properly. Some of the devotions are not compiled in a way that brings out the heart of Calvin’s thoughts. I often found myself scrambling to find the original writings to find the context of what he was addressing.
February 12, 2025
Fine devotional, with a brief excerpt and prayer each day for 52 days, taken from Calvin's sermons on the minor prophets. A selection ranging across more of Calvin's work would be excellent, but this was quite good for what it is.
October 14, 2024
Theologically rich, short devotionals. Wonderful to meditate on as you prepare for sleep!
June 7, 2011
The prayers are very helpful as expected, but I'm not a fan of tiny snippets of material (from the minor prophets of all things) being extracted from context and set as a devotional. As a book of prayers, 5 stars.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews