The Theology of Prayer – By Katherine Schuessler
Theology of Prayer 101: The Meeting Place Between God and Us
While most Christians are familiar with the importance and need for prayer in their lives, it is common to encounter roadblocks to praying. If God already knows everything, why does he need me to ask for things? What good or what work does my praying do, in the face of an all-knowing and all-powerful God whose will is always better, smarter, and nicer than my own? Why do we pray, and how does prayer work? The purpose of this course is to engage these questions and those like it by exploring them through the lens of theology. Participants will find that who we pray to fundamentally affects how we pray and why we pray, and that God’s very being is what informs and shapes our prayers. When the personhood of God is considered, prayer is transformed for us, away from a rote human activity directed at a distant transcendent divinity to instead an enfolding of the human individual into the life of Creator God, revealed in Jesus Christ. It is this God who extends the invitation of prayer to us, allowing us to participate in his reconciling activity on earth through the redemptive power of the Father, Son, and Spirit. In this class we will unpack what this means, and also explore the implications that come from such a claim as this.
While most Christians are familiar with the importance and need for prayer in their lives, it is common to encounter roadblocks to praying. If God already knows everything, why does he need me to ask for things? What good or what work does my praying do, in the face of an all-knowing and all-powerful God whose will is always better, smarter, and nicer than my own? Why do we pray, and how does prayer work? The purpose of this course is to engage these questions and those like it by exploring them through the lens of theology. Participants will find that who we pray to fundamentally affects how we pray and why we pray, and that God’s very being is what informs and shapes our prayers. When the personhood of God is considered, prayer is transformed for us, away from a rote human activity directed at a distant transcendent divinity to instead an enfolding of the human individual into the life of Creator God, revealed in Jesus Christ. It is this God who extends the invitation of prayer to us, allowing us to participate in his reconciling activity on earth through the redemptive power of the Father, Son, and Spirit. In this class we will unpack what this means, and also explore the implications that come from such a claim as this.
Learn about your instructor. Meet Katherine Schuessler
September 28, 2025 to November 16, 2025
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