Reviving Prayer: Jonathan Edwards and a Practical Theology of Prayer (Peter Beck)

In the recent issue of Credo Magazine, “How Then Shall We Pray? The Necessity of Prayer for the Christian Life,” Peter Beck contributed an article titled, “Reviving Prayer: Jonathan Edwards and a Practical Theology of Prayer.” Peter Beck (PhD, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary) is associate professor of Christian studies at Charleston Southern University, and pastor of Doorway Baptist Church. He is also the author of The Voice of Faith: Jonathan Edwards’s Theology of Prayer (Evangelical Heritage).

Here is the start of his article:

Prayer “is one of the greatest and most excellent means of nourishing the new nature, and of causing the soul to flourish and prosper.” Jonathan Edwards told his congregation this in the mid-1700s. “It is an excellent means of keeping up an acquaintance with God, and of growing in knowledge of God.”

That Edwards (1703-58) valued the importance of prayer is clear. From his earliest years he sought communion with God, first as a way to please God and then as a way to know God. As a child he would pray five times per day in secret. He and several childhood friends would steal away into the swamps near his colonial Connecticut home to a prayer booth they had constructed. Years later as a teen attending what would become known at Yale University, Edwards finally came to a saving faith in Jesus Christ. Immediately he turned to prayer that he might “enjoy” God. He could imagine Christianity in no other way. As he wrote in his autobiographical “Personal Narrative” years later,

And it was always my manner, at such times, to sing forth my contemplations. And was almost constantly in ejaculatory prayer, wherever I was. Prayer seemed to be natural to me; as the breath, by which the inward burnings of my heart had vent.

All of this betrays Edwards’ conviction that for the Christian prayer is a “great duty,” for he who does not pray refuses this means of communing with God, and is no Christian at all. …

A Theology of Prayer

Historian Stephen Nichols rightly argues that Jonathan Edwards based “his thoughts on prayer in good theology.” So, to better understand his intent we need to consider his ideas.

Edwards’ entire theology of prayer was theocentric—God-centered and Trinitarian. One prays to God the Father through God the Son with the aid of God the Holy Spirit. As he preached in one of his classic sermons on prayer, “The Most High a Prayer-Hearing God,” Edwards believed,

While they are praying, he gives them sweet views of his glorious grace, purity, sufficiency, and sovereignty; and enables them with great quietness, to rest in him, to leave themselves and their prayers with him, submitting to his will, and trusting in his grace and faithfulness.

As such, true prayer takes the believer to the foot of the throne and leaves him there basking in the glory of God.

Read the rest of this article today!

To view the Magazine as a PDF

We live in a world that screams to get our attention. From the moment you wake up to the second you hit your pillow at night, something or someone wants your time. Hosts of people are waiting for you to friend them on Facebook. The world awaits your next tweet and blog post. Your phone is buzzing because you have another email that needs your response. When you go home and turn on your TV there are innumerable “must see” shows, as well as breaking news you cannot afford to miss.  Let’s face it, the world we live in is quite loud, and it never sleeps.

In the midst of all this noise, where does extended time in prayer fit in? Or does it? Prayer seems to run contrary to the busyness of life in the twenty-first century. If you don’t believe me, ask yourself this question, “When was the last time I spent more than 15 minutes in uninterrupted prayer with the Lord?” Church history shows that for Christians who came before us, private and corporate prayer was essential, assumed to be a necessary staple for the Christian and the church. After all, it is the God-given means by which we have fellowship and communion with God himself.  Should we neglect prayer we actually neglect God, and the consequences are spiritually fatal. But should we set aside time to pray to God, we will benefit greatly, finding God to be a refuge and a shield in the midst of a chaotic, consuming, and demanding world.

In this issue of Credo Magazine we will focus on prayer, looking at how Christians in ages past have understood the importance of prayer, as well as Scripture’s own emphasis on the necessity of prayer. Not only will we recognize the importance of prayer, but in this issue we will look at how we pray as well. My guess is that most Christians have never even thought about how they should pray. Well here is a great opportunity to do so!

Contributors include: Gerald Bray, Aimee Byrd, Juan R. Sanchez, Peter Beck, Sandy Willson, Tim Keller, Sam Storms, Phil Johnson, Donald Whitney, Nancy Guthrie, among many others.