Prayer is a paradox. God is sovereign and knows what we need before we ask Him but He has told us to humble ourselves and pray.
First, I believe in the sovereignty of God. Without that believe God would not be God. He is in control of everything and nothing happens without his knowledge or permission.
But, second, I believe in prayer and the power of prayer. I believe what Jesus said that this can only happen by prayer.
This is the paradox of prayer. If we believe in prayer without the sovereignty of God we are falling into the trap of the open theists. We have demoted God and promoted man thus making man God. This is heresy.
However, if I believe in the sovereignty of God so that prayer does not matter I fall into the heresy of the hyper Calvanists. Man is just a puppet and God is the puppet master.
I believe that both the sovereignty of God and the power of prayer have to be believed and held in tension. We cannot find a middle ground. To look for a compromise between the two only demotes God and weakens prayer.
1 comment:
Good thoughts. I find it helpful to remember that God uses means to accomplish his purposes. We pray for God to provide our daily bread. And while he could give it miraculously (like he did to Israel with manna), he uses the farmer to sow and harvest, the truck driver to ship it to the processing plant, the marketer, the store clerk and stock boy, the baker and the financer all so you can enjoy your morning bagel.
Same with prayer. God purposes to use prayer to accomplish his will. We pray according to his purposes, which he works out, and brings things to pass. With prayer, it's hard to understand. But I think it helps to remember that God uses means, and his provision of our daily bread is a physical example of what he does through prayer.
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