II. His Piety and Practice of Prayer
Knox is not only a theologian of prayer, but a practitioner as well. He puts doctrine into application. He performs what he believes. Thus, as mentioned earlier, his very own Treatise on Prayer includes prayer at the end which is characteristic of his piety—that, contrary to what other people think, he is a lover of peace. He desires tranquility and not anarchy. He prays for the Queen as well as for her kingdom. He prays for her salvation, and not for her destruction:
Illuminate the heart of our sovereign lady Queen Mary, with pregnant gifts of thy Holy Ghost; and inflame the hearts of her council with thy true and love. Repress thou the pride of those that would rebel [against her kingdom]….[1]
On one occasion, he prayed, ‘“Give me Scotland or I die;’ and the queen said: ‘I fear the prayer of John Knox more than the combined armies.”’[2] Bissell comments on this prayer: “Such prayer goeth not out but from faith and such faith cometh not but by prayer.”[3]
As a pastor, Knox prays for his congregation; and as a father, for his family. He is truly a man of ‘perfect prayer,’ which he also calls “godly prayer.”[4] As prayer is an indication of true faith, so is prayer a sign of true godliness. For Knox a truly pious person is one who prays aright. He further maintains that “godly prayer requires the perfect [complete] knowledge of” Christ.[5] Pious prayer is rooted in right Christology.
Indeed, piety and prayer are inseparable in Knox’s mind. This truth is also evident in the Book of Common Prayer, which is comprised of two prayers dubbed as A Godlie Prayer to be Said at All Times and A Godlie Prayer,[6] showing that people behind this Book are very much concerned with piety in prayer. In fact, one purpose for the composition of the prayers in The Form of Prayers and Ministration of the Sacraments is to promote piety among the people: “use prayers and other orders…to the increase of Godes glorye, and edification of his holye people.”[7]
Knox remained prayerful even to death. While on his dying hours, “he was much engaged in meditation and prayer. These words were often in his mouth:”[8]
Come, Lord Jesus. Sweet Jesus into Thy hand I commend my spirit. Be merciful, Lord, to Thy Church, which Thou hast redeemed. Give peace to this afflicted commonwealth. Raise up faithful pastors who will take charge of Thy Church. Grant us, Lord, the perfect hatred of sin, both by evidences of Thy wrath and mercy.[9]
“Grant us, Lord, the perfect hatred of sin.” What a pious prayer of Knox! Indeed, after he had died on the 24th of November 1572, one of his contemporaries, Principal Smeaton said of him: ‘“I know not if ever God placed a more godly and great spirit in a body so little and frail.”’[10]
[1] Ibid., 100. Yes, it is true that Knox later became indifferent to the queen, refusing to pray for her. However, he did this to show that even in his prayer he could not tolerate the wickedness of the queen. In 1571, Knox was accused “of sedition, of railing against the Queen, etc.—from his pulpit in St. Giles’s.” Knox “admitted that he had boldly called wickedness by its own terms, as he called a spade a spade. As to not praying for the Queen, he answered, ‘I am not bound to pray in this place, for sovereign to me she is not; and I let them understand that I am not a man of law that has my tongue to sell for silver or favour of the world.’” G. Barnett Smith, John Knox: The Scottish Reformation (Edinburgh: The Religious Tract & Book Society of Scotland, 1905), 143.
