I mentioned in my last installment of this blog that my goal is reportage, a faithful account of the content of each chapter of this author’s work. I am committed to that mission, though I have an observation from my other readings to relate to my readers before a review of chapter 27.
I am currently reading a large volume whose title suggests the author is commitment to a revival of prayer. The author is a self-described independent Baptist, as is my own background. I find his book on prayer to be well researched, while unsurprisingly reflecting his essentially Arminian theology. Interestingly, most of his footnotes source Puritan divines’ writings on prayer. That observed, I would not be surprised to find this Baptist author’s position on the Calvinism of those sources he cited to be antagonistic. In short, he will cite them as sources on matters of prayer while disagreeing with them about almost everything else. Am I the only one who notices such irony in the ranks?
I now turn to the Curt Daniel’s chapter titled Prayer and the Sovereignty of God, a chapter whose subject should be most intriguing to my readers.
“A case that illustrates the paradox of divine sovereignty and human responsibility is prayer. If God is sovereign, why pray? What good is prayer if God has already predestined what will happen? Is it presumptuous to pray? Or conversely, if we should pray, does this not imply that God has not foreordained everything or at least that he can change his plans?”
The chapter has seven subdivisions.
What is prayer? Two paragraphs. The first paragraph addresses The Westminster Shorter Catechism definition of prayer. The second paragraph addresses the four categories of prayer recognized by Reformed theology, confession of sin, supplication, intercession, adoration.
Is God Obligated to Answer Prayer? Four paragraphs discuss this question and provides answers.
Praying for Lost Sinners. Four paragraphs. The author quotes Augustine. The author contrasts Arminian versus Calvinist views of prayer. The author quotes Calvin. The author addresses Hyper-Calvinism’s unwillingness to evangelize or pray for everyone. My note: An Arminian is an Arminian if he holds to Arminian theology in all points but one (eternal security), despite his claims to be a "biblicist." What systematic theologies does such a fellow cite as a reference to others who hold such a view if it is well-reasoned and worth articulating for the benefit of the faith?
Does Prayer Change God’s Mind? Two paragraphs. The author speaks to the phrase “prayer changes things,” and quotes R. L. Dabney, “prayer is not intended to produce a change in God, but in us.” The second paragraph discusses Jonah and the Ninevites.
Prayer and the Secret Will of God. Three paragraphs. The first paragraph discusses prayer in the sovereignty of God. The second paragraph deals with prayer and the decrees of God. The third paragraph deals with prayer and Christ’s second coming.
Thy Will Be Done. Four paragraphs. “This phrase is found in the Lord’s Prayer … The Westminster Shorter Catechism explains: ‘We pray that God, by His grace, would make is able and willing to know, obey, and submit to His will in all things, as the angels do in heaven.”
Conclusion.
“Why pray? Because God has commanded us to pray. And because God uses our
prayers in a mysterious way to carry out what He foreordained. We must not wait
until we fully understand it, else we will never pray. It is sufficient that
God knows.”
