A reader writes:
If everything that happens to us is by God’s will or permission, then of what value are prayers that request things from God. For example, if a person is sick and you pray that they be healed, do our prayers really make a difference in the outcome of that person’s final health? Can we really "change God’s mind" about things?
I know that the Church, scripture, and the lives of the saints teach our prayers do make a difference, but I can’t seem to get any light on how this might be the case.
Do you have any thoughts on this or books I might consult?
I don’t have any books to recommend (though I’m sure there are some), but I can give you some thoughts.
The purpose of prayer is not to give God information or change his mind. He’s already got all the information he needs, has no need to change his mind, and couldn’t anyway since he’s outside of time.
The real reason for prayer, therefore, is not for God’s benefit but for ours.
How does this work?
Well, first off, when we pray for things we realize our dependence on God. It’s too easy to forget that in the hustle and bustle of life. But when we turn to him to ask for something, we realize that we need him, that he is the source of all the good things we have, and that’s important.
Second, we often pray for other people, and this builds up the Christian community–and the human family–in love. It fosters an attitude of mutual caring and concern. (This also extends to those in purgatory and heaven via prayer for the souls in purgatory and prayer to the saints in heaven.)
Third, by trying to figure out what to pray for, we exercise the intellects God gave us in a way that brings glory to God.
Fourth, when we succeed in figuring out what we should pray for then we in so doing align our intellects and wills with God’s.
Fifth, when we fail in figuring out what we should pray for we may simply ask God to do what is best, thus confessing our own limitations and dependency on him.
Sixth, we are taught as Christians to ultimately subject our prayers to whether or not they are God’s will (either by saying "If it is your will" or some equivalent or by leaving this condition unspoken), so even when we pray for the wrong thing we are conditioning our will to be subject to God’s.
We thus see that prayer has a whole host of benefits, as it schools us in a variety of virtues, including humility, love, thoughtfulness, and holiness. Because of all these benefits that prayer has, God has chosen to make prayer effective.
That is to say, he has chosen that if we pray for certain things then he will grant the request. This is not changing his mind. (He knows from all eternity whether we will pray, leading to us getting what we’re praying for.) It’s triggering the condition on which he will grant certain boons to us.
Hope this helps!
I’d like to offer another way of looking at the issue that doesn’t contradict what Mr. Akin writes.
God experiences all moments in time in the same instant. This is one way of describing God being “outside of time” that might be helpful. Since God is all knowing, He cannot learn. He cannot come to the knowledge that you prayed and then reward you. There is no “first this, then that” with God the Father.
However, because God experiences all moments in time at the same instant, and He created a world that exists “inside of time” where we have free wills, we can say that God created a world in which you freely decided to pray for something and that that something came to pass.
God does show favor on some of us and it can be due to our faithfulness, but it isn’t a reaction. It is part of God’s creative mission, vision and implementation all at the same instant to have a world where prayers are answered.
I hope that helps.
Some Christian philosphers write on prayer. Eleonore Stump of Saint Louis University, for instance, has a few articles on the matter. I’d suggest looking at her CV: http://pages.slu.edu/faculty/stumpep/ The best is simply called “Petitionary Prayer”.
Secondly, a point about why we pray. If agent A does something ‘because of’ agent B’s petition, it needn’t be that A acts AFTER B petitions. Consider: a parent makes lunch for her kids because she knows that in 5 minutes they will be off the bus and screaming for lunch. Here, the parent acts because of the petition, but not after the petition. It is the same with God. God can act because of my prayer without acting after my prayer.
Then, my praying needn’t be just for me. Suppose God eternally wills, “if Tim prays for x, then I will do x because Tim asked me to”. Furthermore, if I pray at any time, God knows that I pray and what I pray eternally. So, God eternally knows that he will do x. But, part of why he does X is because of my prayer. For an extended look at this reasoning, look at Eleonore Stump’s book, Aquinas. Specifically, the chapters on eternality and simplicity.
Thanks,
Tim
I’m reminded of something I’d heard before about St. Monica and her son, St. Augustine. When questioned about the fact that, “If 1 Mass is sufficient to save someone, why did Monica have so many Masses said for her son?”, the answer came back as follows:
“One Mass was sufficient to save Augustine, but it was the act of having all those Masses said that made Monica a saint.”
The Ash Wednesday lesson on prayer, fasting and almsgiving that our Lord gives in Matthew 6:1-6,16-18 teaches us the aim of these three disciplines: a “secret” (intimate) relationship with the Father. For each of these disciplines, Jesus says the Father will reward us.
What is that reward?
The answer is in the three verses that immediately follow the Ash Wednesday Gospel concludes with verse 18 of the chapter: treasure in heaven–the Father’s home, the Father himself.
The disciplines of prayer, fasting and almsgiving are forms of vulnerability.
When I go into my room to pray to the Father, I leave out social sources of support, satisfaction, succor; this heightens my vulnerability. Jesus tells me to do this for the sake of “secrecy”–intimacy–with the Father.
When I fast, I deny myself physical sources of support, satisfaction, succor; this heightens my vulnerability. Jesus tells me to do this for the sake of “secrecy”–intimacy–with the Father.
When I give alms, I give away others sources of support, satisfaction, succor; this heightens my vulnerability. Jesus tells me to do this for the sake of “secrecy”–intimacy–with the Father.
Without vulnerability, there can be no intimacy in any relationship.
For the sake of restoring and fulfilling (even consummating) intimacy between God and humanity, Christ embraced vulnerability absolutely and entirely: death. The “treasure in heaven” that this gained: the invincible intimacy of the Resurrection–in the person of Christ, humanity is included in the glory of God and sits at his right hand as a “treasure in heaven.”
In his Eucharist, Christ continues to offer himself to us in the form of vulnerability: food is living things that die for us that we may live.
Wow… I just wrote about this recently in my blog. I put it like this, I cannot have a relationship with my wife if I never talk to her. Sure she may know every thing about me… but what kind of a relationship would it be without conversation?
Where is the fun?
“the obligatory CS Lewis reference”:
In the Magician’s Nephew Aslan sends the children on a trip. 1/2 way there they realize they have no food. When they wonder why Aslan, who knew they would need food, didn’t voluteer any their unicorn answers, “I think He likes to be asked.”
If everything that happens to us is by God’s will or permission, then of what value are prayers that request things from God.
Here’s another CSL reference, I believe. Wasn’t it he who wrote, in answer to that kind of assertion, that if it were strictly true, then there would be no point in, for instance, saying “Please pass the salt” at the dinner table. That is, if we can cause certain outcomes by our actions, all in accord with God’s omniscient purposes, then what’s the difference in causing certain outcomes by prayer?
Unless it was GKC. 🙂
Also, God being outside of time, knows what we are going to pray for “before” we actually do it. So maybe he takes all of the prayers into consideration as part of a huge super plan that is already in effect in human history. God knows the entire context and his divine providence can make all crooked lines straight, etc.
Could prayer be a means for altering history? This might seem way out there, but ought we perhaps be praying more over the past, seeing as God is outside of time?
Unless I have it wrong or I’m not remembering correctly, in some post from the last year, Jimmy said something to the effect that prayers could help a person who we can know would have needed them. It’s possible he may have been talking about praying for suicide victims but I’m not entirely sure anymore what the post was about.
Some of the best resources on prayer are found among the Church Fathers. I especially like Gregory of Nyssa on the Our Father (newadvent.org). Bernard of Clairvaux (12th c.) is quite good on the humility required for prayer (On the Steps of Humility and Pride) and, of course, the ever informative Catechism of the Catholic Church (Part IV) written in large part by the Dominican, Fr. Jean Corbon. If you’re feeling VERY intellectually rugged you could tackle van Balthasar’s, “Prayer.” Eat your Wheaties first.
Probably the most profound insight into prayer for me a few years back is Aquinas’ view that pray is primarily about disposing the pray-er to receive the already given blessings of God with gratitude. Prayer is not negotiation with God or an attempt to control God or to change His mind. Prayer is about changing me.
Fr. Philip
Another C.S.Lewis line.. I dont have it memorized but its from The Screwtape letters, I took it as affirming that our prayers are heard and answered but as others have said “outside of time”, without affecting anyones free will or his plan.
“Just because he knows what your going to do doesnt mean hes controlling you” or something like that 🙂
Without vulnerability there can be no intimacy
Without vulnerability there can be no intimacy.What a great phrase. I stumbled onto it while reading a comment on Jimmy Akin’s blog and it has stuck with me ever since. It’s very concise, but illuminates much of what we see
Ballard office furniture desk.
Glass office furniture desk. Office furniture reception desk. Office furniture desk. Office desk furniture business com. Office desk office furniture review.