ABSTRACT
This chapter explores a reinterpretation of God's power and knowledge in a way that leaves room for petitionary and intercessory prayer. On the other hand, the omnipotence, omniscience and goodness of God may likewise seem to call into question the need for petitionary and intercessory prayer. The reinterpretation of petitionary and intercessory prayer in terms of therapeutic meditation as a way of overcoming the problem of God not appearing to provide at least some of what we need without being asked for it is therefore an unsatisfactory solution for the religious believer. The first theologian whose thought we shall consider is John Oman, but before we come to his contribution to the discussion on prayer in relation to the divine attributes we shall need to give an account of his theological method. Oman believes that we have no 'vantage ground' for 'mapping out from above God's operations'.
