In Reply to: Thoughts on prayer and how to get close to God posted by Kathy on June 26, 2003 at 19:51:24:
Your theological view reminds me of the book by the Jewish rabbi, "When Bad Things Happen to Good People." I've never actually read the book, so can't say for sure, but I beleive his view was that we can't blame God for all the bad that happens to us, because God is limited in power, in other words, not really omnipotent, but is just doing the best He can.
Whereas your view (as I understand it) is that God IS omnipotent, but has chosen to limit himself and only be moved by our prayer. Actually, this is fairly standard Christian theology, nothing shocking here, except that you've maybe clarified it more than others have. I tend to agree with you.
I don't think God ONLY stirs himself when we pray, however. I notice that there are many things I don't even think to pray for, don't pray about, etc. but he provides miraculous solutions that needed to happen just because he knows it needs to happen. He could've left us in the lurch, but chose to act. I think there's a balance between these two views.