The sense of God’s presence in prayer
G. Immink
November 28, 2016 DOI: 10.4102/hts.v72i4.4122 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper |
|---|---|
| Key points | Argues that prayer can be understood as a conversation with God in which supplicants address God with heart and mind, convinced of God's presence and activity. Drawing on William James, John Calvin, and William Alston's defense of non-sensory mystical perception, the author proposes that the sense of God's presence and hearing God's voice are intelligible as experiences of a divine 'object' of religious consciousness, against critics who dismiss prayer as superstitious delusion. |
Abstract
The awareness of God’s presence and the experience of his works – key notions in practices of prayer – find reasonable doubt in our secular age. Meanwhile, there are, worldwide, many communities of faith where people enthusiastically pray and hold that they hear the voice of God. How can we understand this sense of God’s presence? In prayer, people express their hope and fear, and they do so with heart and mind. This subjective involvement is characteristic for prayer. At the same time, supplicants address God in the conviction that God is present and active. Critics of religion, however, criticise this ‘external’ realm of the divine and consider prayer a superstitious delusion. Passages of William James and John Calvin help us to get some insight in the ‘object’ of our religious consciousness. Furthermore, William Alston defends a non-sensory mystical perception of the divine. Using these insights, the author explores prayer as a conversation with God and reflects on the notion: hearing the voice of God.