Prayer and Revelation - Online Christian Library

figures of speech; technically speaking, they are anthropopathisms – expressions whichexplain God in terms usually used to describe human emotions." 44God is sovereign, meaning that he determines and controls everything. Since this is true,it follows that everything about a person's prayer has also been determined by God. If itappears that God is responding to a prayer, it is because God has decided that he wouldact in history by means of this prayer, and this prayer has also been determined andcaused by him to occur in precisely the way that it occurs. Therefore, prayer does notchange things, and prayer does not change God. From God's perspective, prayer is aneffect caused by God, which may lead to other effects that are also caused by God. Prayeritself is not a cause that causes God to act; rather, the person who prays does so becauseGod is acting on him and causing him to pray.Many people's idea of prayer amounts to thinking that, "In prayer a human being seeks toassert self-will over the will of God." 45 Stanley Grenz observes, "Some Christians fail tosee this conflict as in any way problematic. They readily admit adhering to exactly thisunderstanding of prayer. Certain evangelical and charismatic circles describe prayer as atechnique for bending the divine will." 46 To the extent that one's idea of prayer resemblesthis description, he has altogether misunderstood the nature of God, Christianity, andprayer. We must completely abandon and clear away from our minds the idea that prayeris "for bending the divine will." The divine will cannot be bent, and it cannot be changed;our idea of prayer must correspond to this reality. Prayer is meaningful because "God hasdecided to include humans in the divine program for the world," 47 and not because heneeds our permission or request to act.Therefore, we must define prayer not as changing the will of God, but we must thinkabout it from another perspective. A more biblical view of prayer is to think of it as onepossible means in the process by which God gives us what he wants, or achieves someother purpose of his. This may include his plan to grant us some material goods, or it ispart of the process that effects our sanctification.Such a view of prayer is correct because it is what the Bible teaches, and it is consistentwith other biblical doctrines. A view of prayer may appear to be derived from severalisolated biblical passages, but if it contradicts the attributes of God or other biblicaldoctrines, then it must not be a biblical view of prayer, and those biblical passages musthave been mishandled.Failing to observe this, some have derived principles and definitions on prayer that theyfind meaningful, but by the time they are done, there is no room left for the Christian Godin their theology of prayer, so that they have the "prayer" that they like, but no God. Suchis the case with a view of prayer affirming that God changes his mind in response to our44 W. Bingham Hunter, The God Who Hears; InterVarsity Press, 1986; p. 52.45 Stanley J. Grenz, Prayer: The Cry for the Kingdom; Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., 1988; p. 32.46 Ibid., p. 32.47 Ibid., p. 44.33