Tuesday, January 29, 2013

When it's Better to Adopt an Inaccurate Theology

I recently started a Bible study/prayer group at my job (like at my previous job too).

Last week, we talked about several different things, but one of the guys (a Catholic) stated that he thinks prayer is absolutely necessary to get things done.  To put it another way, he believes that the things you are praying about would not otherwise happen without your prayer.

While I am a firm believer in the power of prayer and the importance of it in many regards, I think it's a bit ridiculous to think that God cannot accomplish anything without our prayer.  Some obvious examples of this being incorrect are the stories in the Bible.  In the overwhelming majority of these stories, no prayer is mentioned at all.  It's just God taking action based on His own will.  My wife mentioned a great point too, that good things also still happen to atheists too (who obviously don't pray) - they get jobs, they find love, they stay healthy, etc.

However, upon further consideration of his approach, I thought that if we are to err in our perspective on prayer, it is FAR and BEYOND better to err on the side of over-praying.  In fact, if all Christians adopted that same attitude - that without prayer nothing will happen - then how much more praying would they/we be doing?  If anything, I think it's quite accurate to say that although the Bible says to "pray continually", very few people take the time to pray even on a daily basis.

So while I may disagree theologically with my co-worker, I am going to try to adopt and promote his philosophy anyway.  Shouldn't we all?

3 comments:

Caryn Dahm said...

Great points Mike. I do agree with you and your position. Certainly God is "able to do more than we ask or imagine" (which implies he is able/willing to bless us without us asking) but I agree. We are told to pray continually and I for one am convinced that it works!

Unknown said...

I concur with your position Mike. Prayer helps us to align our will with what God has in mind for us and helps us make decisions inspired by the Holy Spirit. We are instructed to pray continually and I know when I am praying more often I do have greater confidence in the decisions I make though I am far from praying continually. Prayer also helps us to hear that still soft voice that God so often uses to provide the gentle rudder adjustments we need in my experience, the more I pray, the more I am tuned in to that still soft voice of the Lord. Good post Mike.

michael said...

Thanks for the comments guys.

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