John Knox: A Theologian of Prayer

I fear the prayer of John Knox more than the combined armies of Europe.
— Mary, Queen of Scots

John Knox, born about 1514 in or near Haddington, Scotland,[1] is pictured in various ways. W. Stanford Reid portrays him as the “trumpeter of God, an epithet that Knox used to describe himself.[2] David D. Murison calls him “the writer,” or “the pamphleteer.”[3] Lemuel B. Bissell refers to him as “the father of Presbyterianism in Scotland.”[4] However, the designation “theologian of prayer” can also be rightfully conferred on him. This chapter considers a variety of aspects of Knox’s theology of prayer and will conclude with a cursory look at his life of prayer.

To read my entire article, see Chapter 3 of Taking Hold of God: Reformed and Puritan Perspectives on Prayer (Grand Rapids: Reformation Heritage Books, 2011), 43-65.