Prayer

Western academic analyses of the notion of answered prayer fail repeatedly to be attentive to claims that, within a specifically Christian theology, should be normative. I propose a theological construction, centred on the thesis that human beings are created to pray. Given this, the prayers of Jesus are paradigmatic for understanding human prayer. I examine the ministry of Jesus under the rubric of the munus triplex, the threefold office, and on this basis I propose an exegetical account of the relationship of prayer and sacrifice, in which the transforming redemptive power of the sacrifice of Jesus makes possible the answering of prayer, even misdirected prayer. On this basis, I offer a new account of how we should understand prayer being answered, and I develop this into some modest reflections on the proper practice of prayer within Christian communities, paying specific attention to early English Baptist debates.