We Pray Because God Is Sovereign

I had a very close friend in seminary, a Methodist guy. We were real good friends. And here I was, a vociferous, fighting Calvinist, and he was a passionately persuaded Methodist and Arminian. And he thought that Calvinism was the most repugnant theology he’d ever heard of in his life, and I thought Arminianism was the most ungodly thing I had ever encountered, and there we were, on and on all the time.

But both of us had a passion for evangelism, and we used to pray together. We’d get down on our knees, and I would say, “Dear God, I pray that You will bring to realization Your eternal decrees of election in the life of so-and-so.” And he would get mad and he would pray next to me, and he would say, “Oh God, please bring Bill so-and-so to a saving knowledge of Christ.” I said, “Time out. Stop the praying.” I said, “You can’t pray like that.” I said, “What are you asking God to do when you ask God to save that man and asking God to open his heart and asking God the Holy Spirit to change that human being sovereignly? What are you asking God to do except to manifest His sovereignty?” I said, “Under your theology, you have no right to ask God to do anything.”

It’s only because we recognize His sovereignty that we come to Him in prayer in the first place. Who wants to go ask requests of one who’s a heavenly impotent being who doesn’t have control of the affairs of this world? The very reason why we pray, in other words, is because we believe God does have it within His power to order things according to His purpose. And that’s what sovereignty is all about, to order according to His purpose.