Arguing with God

 PRAYING THROUGH TOUGH PROBLEMS:
Eight Biblical Models for Arguing with God

pdf

Dr. Paul Manuel—2005

Because of the length of "Arguing With God" (50 pages, not including the Bibliography and Endnotes) only the Contents and Introduction are below. The entire paper is available as a pdf here.

Contents

	Introduction	2
I.	Abraham and God's Righteousness (Gen 18:16-33)	3
II.	Job and God's Sovereignty (Job 26-31; 38-41)	8
	Excursus: On mediate and immediate causation
III.	Moses and God's Forbearance (Exod 32:1-14)	18
	Excursus: On the immutability of God
IV.	Elijah and God’s Providence (1 Kgs 19:9b-18)	25
V.	Jonah and God’s Compassion (Jonah 4)	31
VI.	Habakkuk and God’s Equity (Hab 1-3)	37
	Excursus: On the fairness of God
VII.	Jesus and God’s Purpose (Matt 26:36-46)	43
VIII.	Paul and God’s Provision (2 Cor 12:1-10)	47
	Conclusion	50
	Bibliography	51
	Endnotes	53

Introduction

Why do we pray? ...Most prayers fall in two general categories: We pray either to praise God (e.g., to thank Him for some favor) or to petition God (i.e., to ask Him for some favor). What do we expect prayer to accomplish, especially the second kind—petitionary prayer? ... We hope to influence the course of events, to move God to take some action either on our behalf or for someone else. While this is all true, there is another benefit, perhaps even the primary purpose of prayer: Prayer is a window that enables us to view life from God's perspective. It offers an objective vantage point from which we can evaluate what is happening around us or to us. As such, prayer shapes our thinking by correcting and broadening our understanding about what filters through our physical senses and our emotions.

Sometimes what we see or hear makes us question God, especially when it is bad and affects us or someone close to us: "How could God be actively involved in this incident or passively silent in that one?"¹ At such times we may be reluctant to voice our doubts or complaints, either because we think it would be improper to question God or because we fear that it might anger God and make matters worse. Quite the contrary, He wants us to pray through difficult issues—to discuss them until we reach some understanding. To help us, He has preserved Eight Biblical Models for Arguing with God.² As we examine them, we will consider what they can teach us about Praying through Tough Problems.

By the way, when I use the word "argue" in this study, it is not in the pejorative sense we often associate with the term. I simply mean discussion or interaction, not necessarily heated debate. Fervency is a potential and frequent correlate to arguing, but not a necessary one. You can be passionate without being impertinent.

For the entire paper including the Bibliography and Endnotes, see the pdf here.