Prayer, Middle Knowledge, and Divine-Human Interaction

by Kyle D. DiRoberts, Glenn R. Kreider (Foreword by)

Overview

Christians generally believe that in prayer they are free in their act to petition God. Christians also believe that they pray to a God that is sovereign and omniscient. Kyle DiRoberts maintains that explanation as to how one affirms these two truths is dependent upon one's account of divine providence, which determines how motivated the person is to offer petitionary prayer in the divine-human relationship. The theories of providence and their understanding of petitionary prayer discussed in this book include: compatibilism, hard determinism, open theism, and middle knowledge. Each of the theories of divine providence discussed in this book share a desire to construct a view concerning petitionary prayer that would propel the Christian toward God in relationship and then lead the body of Christ to pray without ceasing. DiRoberts argues that middle knowledge is the preferred theory of providence as it relates to petitionary prayer, because for middle knowledge, God's sovereignty includes both his omniscience and libertarian human freedom.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781532653544
Publisher:	Wipf & Stock Publishers
Publication date:	07/27/2018
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	200
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Kyle D. DiRoberts (PhD, Dallas Theological Seminary) is Associate Professor of Biblical and Theological Studies at Arizona Christian University.

Table of Contents

Foreword xi

Preface xv

Acknowledgments xvii

Introduction xix

Introduction xix

Compatibilism and Libertariansim xix

Middle Knowledge xxi

Summary of Remaining Chapters xxii

1 Theories of Providence 1

Compatibilism 1

God's Providence 2

Preservation 3

Government 3

Biblical Evidence of Compatiblism 6

Hard Determinism 7

Human freedom and Hard Determinism 9

Theological Evidence of Hard Determinism 11

Compatibilism vs. Hard Determinism 14

Open Theism 26

Introduction 26

Open Theism Defined 27

Biblical Example for Open Theism 28

Theological Characteristics of Open Theism 29

Sovereignty of God 29

Dynamic Love, Knowledge, and Reactions 30

Middle Knowledge 33

Molina, Hubmaier, and Arminuis 33

Middle Knowledge Defined 35

Logical Priority 35

Logical Moments in God's Knowledge 37

Natural Knowledge 37

Free Knowledge 39

Middle Knowledge 40

Libertarian Freedom 43

Conclusion 45

2 Petitionary Prayer and Theology 46

Introduction 46

Petitionary Prayer Defined 47

Biblical Examples of Petitionary Prayer 48

Petitionary Prayer and Theology 55

Petitionary Prayer, Inspiration of Scripture, and Hypostatic Union 56

Petitionary Prayer and Systematic Theology 57

Pastoral Theology 59

"Ask and You Will Receive" 60

Petitionary Prayer as Genuine Worship 62

Repentance and Confession 64

Conclusion 66

3 Compatibilism, Hard Deteriminism, and Petitionary Prayer 67

Introduction 67

Sovereignty, Compatibilism, and Petitionary Prayer 68

John Calvin 68

Necessity of Petitionary Prayer 69

Humility and Prayer 69

Jonathan Edwards 71

Knowing God Correctly Is Paramount to Prayer 71

Petitionary Prayer and Worship 73

Edwards, Prayer, and the Omniscience of God 73

Edwards's Compatibilism 74

Compatibilism, Petitionary Prayer, and Theology 76

God's Sovereignty and Human Freedom Are Not Mutually Exclusive 77

Petitions Should Align with Gods Purposes 80

Compatibilism, Petitionary Prayer, and Systematic Theology 84

Compatibilism, Petitionary Prayer, and Pastoral Theology 86

Hard Determinism 88

Introduction 88

Petitionary Prayer and Cancer 89

Hard Determinism and Petitionary Prayer 90

Sovereignty and Petitionary Prayer Defined 92

God Does Not Need Our Petitionary Prayer 94

God Uses Prayer to Enlist Participation in His Work 96

Conclusion 99

4 Open Theism and Petitionary Prayer 100

Introduction 100

Sovereignty, Petitionary Prayer, and Open Theism 103

Petitionary Prayer and Spiritual "Say-So" 104

Open Theism, Compatibilism, and Petitionary Prayer 107

Open Theism, Petitionary Prayer, and Theology 109

Knowing God Correctly is Paramount to Prayer 109

Petitionary Prayer and the Logical Moments of God's Knowledge 110

Petitionary Prayers Toward an Open Future 113

Open Theism, Petitionary Prayer, and Systematic Theology 115

The Trinity and Petitionary Prayer 115

Jesus as Priest and the Priesthood of All Believers 118

Petitionary Prayer, Gods Immutability, and Two-Way Contingency 120

Open Theism, Petitionary Prayer, and Pastoral Theology 123

Conclusion 125

5 Middle Knowledge and Petitionary Prayer 128

Introduction 128

Sovereignty, Petitionary Prayer, Middle Knowledge 129

Omniscience 129

Libertarian Freedom as Expressed through Love 132

Compatibilism or Middle Knowledge? 136

Middle Knowledge, Petitionary Prayer, and Theology 139

Middle Knowledge, Humility, and Petitionary Prayer 139

Logical Moments of God's Knowledge and Petitionary Prayer 145

Petitionary Prayer Is Meant to Change Us 148

Divine-Human Friendship 152

Middle Knowledge, Petitionary Prayer, and Systematic 'Theology 154

Middle Knowledge, Petitionary Prayer, and Pastoral Theology 156

Petitionary Prayer as Confession and Repentance 156

Unanswered Petitionary Prayer 160

Conclusion 164

6 Conclusion 166

Bibliography 169

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

“The theory of middle knowledge and its usefulness for understanding divine providence is growing in popularity among evangelicals. Its critics have complained that it is too philosophical and theoretical, and neither biblical nor applicable. DiRoberts’ appropriation of middle knowledge in a biblical/theological understanding of petitionary prayer stands as an early installment in answer to that criticism."

—John D. Laing, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary

Editorial Reviews

The theory of middle knowledge and its usefulness for understanding divine providence is growing in popularity among evangelicals. Its critics have complained that it is too philosophical and theoretical, and neither biblical nor applicable. DiRoberts’ appropriation of middle knowledge in a biblical/theological understanding of petitionary prayer stands as an early installment in answer to that criticism."

—John D. Laing, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary

From the Publisher