Who introduced the phrase "the power of prayer" to the church? I have a real problem with that and have for some years. Just the other evening I began writing an article on Erwin McManus and the subject was brought up in his book, The Barbarian Way. So I got to thinking about it in more depth than before and came to a conclusion or two.
First, the idea of "the power of prayer" is a pagan idea, closer to sorcery and witchcraft than biblical prayer. What I mean is that in witchcraft the power is thought to be in the spell or the act of speaking to the unseen power. To the Christian--Bruce Wilkinson and Kenneth Copeland notwithstanding--there is no real power in prayer. Read the prayers of Moses, David, and Jesus. They were not formulaic and the speaker acted as though he was addressing a Deity Who held the power to protect them and provide for them. They did not exercise their own power by speaking to God. They were asking, not telling. They went to this God, not prayer, for answers. They reacted to the circumstances of life by going to the One they trusted. To the One they needed.
Second, the idea that the power is in prayer itself is arrogant. It places God at the bottom of a three-level pyramid. On top, making decisions and giving orders, is the human praying. The human has his hands on the levers of the great machine called prayer and if he moves the handles just right, the god will be induced or influenced to do this, that, and the next thing. The middle level is the prayer. It is, in effect, insturmentalized, personalized, or even deified. It is not just the act of getting an audience with God any more. It has powers of its own. We can use it to achieve certain ends. On the bottom is the god of prayer. It must act in certain ways or is induced or influenced to do so because of the prayer made by the human who decides to enlist the power of prayer. This is topsy-turvy. The Bible says God acts sovereignly. He brings circumstances into our lives to shape us, Romans 8:28-29. We then react according to His sovereign plan and He further enacts His will by responding to His loved one who prays to Him humbly. Read the account of Abraham's prayer in Genesis 20 to see this principle in action.
To attribute the power we experience in answered prayer to the prayer itself, and not God, is a blasphemy and might explain why God will not answer our prayers. Why should He work for another's glory? He wants the glory and it's rightfully His. It isn't ours and it doesn't belong to our words.
In Christ,
Phil Perkins.
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2 comments:
Phil,
I'm glad that you brought this up. My wife and I were talking about the times when God told Moses he was going to wipe out the Israelites but Moses prayed for them and God didn't destroy them. In the text it says, "But Moses prayed....." She asked me "Why didn't God destroy them?" I told her it was because of His promise that he would take them to the promise land, that it was His will and plan to get them there. She disagreed, and said that it was because Moses prayed.
But if your prayer isn't in line with His will, you can pray for someone all you like and it won't change God. Am I missing something?
Am I trying to be philisophical?
Eddie
Eddie,
You're getting into a hairy discussion there. It is both because God ordained and it is because of the prayer He ordained Moses to pray. They are not mutually exclusive. This is fairly heavy philosophy/theology. We can discuss it more on the phone this weekend. If you read the passage in Genesis 20, you will see that Abimelech was saved because 1. he didn't touch Sarah, 2. Abraham prayed, and 3. God ordained that Abimelech should not sin and so live. All three reasons are given in verses 6-7 and God didn't seem to feel obligated to choose between them.
In Christ,
Phil Perkins. PS--Good to hear from you. Having a rough week again. Oh well.
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