IF GOD IS SOVEREIGN, WHY PRAY?

Sunday, at the Collegium, we discussed the question,

"If God is sovereign, what is the point of prayer?"

Our discussion traveled through three preliminary questions:
1. How do you pray?

• speaking out loud
• thinking/mental-before-bed
• writing
• things I need
• "you are"
• "why"
• cursings

2. Why do you pray?

• because I'm supposed to
• some catastrophe has occurred or is about to occur
• nothing else is working
• God likes to hear my cheerful, negative voice
• hope
• the request of another

3. What reasons do Matthew 7:7-11; James 4:1-10; Genesis 18:22-33; and Matthew 26:36-46 contribute to the discussion?

• to make us realize we are powerful
• we need/want something
• to stop from sinning
• to declare our trust
• to participate in divine-human cooperation
• in response to catastrophe

My summary of our final answer (however tentative):

If we really believe God is sovereign, doesn't prayer seem silly? Maybe, if you think prayer is a sanctified wish list. But what if prayer is more about relationship and working together with God than it is about getting stuff? What if prayer is more about declaring trust and cooperating with God in his work that it is about feeling better about doing our duty? What then?

Anything to add? Question?

Tag(s): prayer theology

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“Unless otherwise noted Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.” http://www.esv.org/