Prayer as dialogue between man and God

Abstract

The article discusses prayer as dialogue examining four major points: 1. First, the author raises the problem of the role played by faith in prayer. Many people define prayer as a dialogue with God but in fact they practice prayer as a monologue. The author attempts to answer the question why does this happen? 2. Secondly, he discusses the importance of the image of God in prayer. This issue is presented on two levels: the psychological and the theological. Psychology looks at natural mechanisms of a universal character, which allow the mind to draw an image of God. Theology, in contrast, is interested primarily in identification of the effects of grace and revelation and presents a personal God who enters a multidimensional relationship with man. 3. Thirdly, the author observes that dialogue with oneself constitutes the basis for dialogue with others including dialogue with God. He discuses this using references from the Bible and psychology. 4. Finally, the author outlines various forms of dialogue with God that correspond to the various forms of prayer. This are verbal and mental prayer, individual and communal prayer, prayer using certain texts and spontaneous prayer.