ABSTRACT
If God were eventually to realize his kingdom on earth then petitionary prayer for the coming of the kingdom cannot be a necessary condition for it to come. But then praying for the kingdom cannot in any straightforward sense be taken to be an impetratory request for the kingdom to be realized. If intercession on behalf of other people is to be interpreted as a request to God to provide for their needs, then they seem to be faced with a dilemma. On the one hand, a God who is perfectly good cannot make his benevolence to someone dependent on the intercession of others. On the other hand, if people were to deny that God makes his benevolence to someone dependent on the intercession of others, what is the point of intercessionary prayer? This chapter tries to show how the traditional conceptual problems concerning petitionary prayer addressed to a God all presuppose a mistaken dichotomy.
