In every culture throughout human history, people have prayed. But the manner in which they pray depends upon the deity they address. Old Testament scholar Walter Brueggemann reminds readers that people in the Hebrew Scriptures specifically prayed to the God of the exodus, whom they knew as Creator of all and as the One who made covenant with Israel. He spotlights a dozen Old Testament prayers, examining both the meaning of the prayers and the lives of the prayers.
Brueggemann rightly makes the point that the people of Israel felt no constraints of theological categories. Rather than worrying about questions of open or closed theism, they prayed with the simple expectation that their prayers could make an impact on God. They prayed anticipating — sometimes even demanding — an answer. Their prayers were an ongoing, interactive dialogue with God, and they fully expected God to keep up his end of the conversation. And they prayed with refreshing honesty and candor, sometimes in ways that seems almost scandalous to 21st century Christians.
While the book is slim, at fewer than 150 pages, it is thick and rich with thought-provoking insights.
Ken Camp