Prayer to a Divine Being

Two Presuppositions For Prayer

As Christians we accept two important presuppositions regarding our rationale for praying to a God we cannot perceive with our senses. And while some will object to the notion of presuppositions, I wish to remind you that every person you encounter lives by some set up presuppositions and Christians should not be expected to live contrary to that which is so common among others.

Now, as I stated earlier, as Christians we presuppose two important facts:

God exists.

God intervenes.

In the Bible there is a tremendous claim—which was passed down by tradition— that the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob is a real divine being existing in real time. However, it was also an accepted notion that other gods existed as well. You see, the peculiar message of the Bible is not the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob exists. Rather, it is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob intervenes into the affairs of man’s life. That is, He actively participates in the things that occur in the earth. He’s not like the other gods who seem to exist, but dare to act. Israel’s God actually cares and acts within His creation. To deny these two presuppositions is not to pray; it is simply to talk to one self.

So when we pray, we are approaching an active and living God.

The Three Activities of Prayer

Now, what is prayer? One definition defines prayers as communication and conversation with God. That’s a very concrete definition; one that I accept. However, I like to define prayer by using three activities. That is, prayer is:

my submission to God

my petition to God, and/or

my thanks to God

In Matthew 26:42, prayer is defined as submission to God when Jesus is approaching the moment of crucifixion. When we submit to God in prayer, we are accepting God’s alternative for our life. That is, we may have one agenda. However, we accept the God agenda over our own and trust Him with our lives. Jesus sets this example by saying, “…your will be done.”

Luke 18:1-8 expresses the importance of persistently petitioning God as would a wronged widow who demands justice from the judicial system. The teaching alludes to God, who is the chief justice carrier as one who hears and answers the elect. Now, we need not get carried away with the use of the word “elect” as to suggest a soteriological doctrine. This is not about who gets to be saved. Rather, it is simply saying that when God chooses you for His purpose, He also makes the conscience decision to hear you when you make your petition to Him.

Lastly, in 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, Paul gives three imperative commands in which he shows prayer is our thanks to God. The three imperative commands in these verses are: rejoice, pray, and give thanks. Giving thanks is a responsive action. It is what one does to acknowledge God’s kindness.

Each Tuesday, I travel to Kingstree, SC for bible study. The trip one-way takes about 1 hour and 45 minutes. Every week my family—my wife and three small children—travel with me and with a trip that long there is what seems to be a suitcase of snacks that are brought along. Each week about 5 minutes into our trip, one of our kids will ask for their snack. (Well if I am being honest, they often demand it rather than ask for it.) And each time my wife’s response is the same… “What do you say?” It is at this time our children proceed to politely ask for their snack. She demands that they ask, because she expects them to recognize what she has done for them in preparing their food.

You see, the request is not for access. My wife’s bringing of the snacks granted our kids access to the food. My wife’s demand for a petition is a way of acknowledging the action of preparing, carrying, and packing a wealth of food for the journey. She’s teaching our kids to be thankful.

Paul says, Christians are to be thankful in everything, because there’s always an opportunity to acknowledge the kindness of God in our lives.

So, prayer is three things:

Our submission to God

Our petition to God

Our thanks to God

Take some times to read over the Scriptures mentioned earlier and recognize these three activities of prayer. Then, intentionally incorporate to submission, petition, and thanksgiving into your daily prayer life.