B.M Palmer, Theology of Prayer, ch. 7

The 3rd objection is that prayer is unwarranted from answers witheld.

This objection might be stated thus: ‘In the very instances where we might have antecedently anticipated the divine interposition we are often disappointed; leaving the alternative, either that God was unrighteous in his denial, or that his providence did not cover the case, and the prayer was unwarranted and gratuitous.’

1.  We may err in assuming the request to be right, and that God was under obligation to hear and grant the request.…

B.M Palmer, Theology of Prayer, ch. 5

Once the duty of prayer has been established in its own right, no number of objections can militate decisively against it.  B.M. Palmer writes:-

Truth is not to be weighed in a pair of scales balancing duty against difficulty, as though the one can be cancelled by the other; for no positive duty can be dislodged, until the evidence on which it rests shall be itself swept away.

Some time ago, I introduced B.M. Palmer’s book Theology of Prayer.  I now begin a series of posts summarising this ‘neglected masterpiece’ chapter by chapter.

Chapter 1 is entitled, Prayer: Its Nature.

Combining the wording of the Westminster Larger and Shorter Catechisms gives the following definition of prayer:-

Prayer is an offering up of our desires unto God for all things agreeable to his will, in the name of Christ, by the help of his Spirit, with confession of our sins and thankful acknowledgement of his mercies.