top of page

Prayer, Predestination, & Free Will? A Molinist Perspective

Should Christians Pray for the Salvation of the Lost? What Difference Does It Make?

Introduction

Have you ever asked God in prayer to save your friend or family member? I certainly have many times. Such a prayer is biblical, but seems to be at odds with the two dominant views on the doctrine of salvation (i.e. Calvinism and Arminianism). You’ll see by the end of this post, that Molinism actually offers the best account of why prayer for the salvation of the lost can actually change things.

Prayer for the Lost to be Saved is Biblical

Here are 3 quick reasons based on scripture that you should be praying for non-Christians to be saved.

  1. Paul prayed for non-Christians to be saved (Romans 10:1). This verse alone is sufficient to make my point.

  2. Jesus commands us to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us (Matthew 5:44) which in many if not most cases will be unbelievers.

  3. We are commanded to pray for all people everywhere (1 Timothy 2:1-6) and as ambassadors for God our desire is for all people to be reconciled to Him (2 Corinthians 5:20), which is God’s desire as well (2 Peter 3:9). Therefore, we should pray for all people to be saved.

Such Prayer Is Pointless on Calvinism & Arminianism

Though such a prayer is biblical, it seems pointless on Calvinism and Arminianism. Think about it. On Calvinism, God gives irresistible grace to the unsaved individual, simply meaning they cannot resist his call to be saved. He doesn’t need them to first have faith in order to save them. Rather he first regenerates them (saves them), and then they have faith as a result. So, on first blush, it seems like Calvinism can make good sense of praying that God save so-and-so. However, Calvinists also believe that God has predestined the elect to salvation before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:4-6). So, let’s say I have an unbelieving friend named Jane. On Calvinism, it’s not like God hears my prayer for Jane to be saved, and then responds by irresistibly calling her to salvation. Rather, Jane is either on the list of predestined or not. My prayer can’t change that. So then, why pray for Jane on Calvinism?

Unfortunately, prayer for the salvation of the lost seems pointless as well on Arminianism. When I pray that God would save Jane, it is not as if he can simply override her free will. On Arminianism, grace can be resisted. So, despite God calling her to faith, she retains the freedom to resist. She must first freely place her faith in Christ, and then God can save her. If an Arminian prays “God please save Jane,” then he is praying like a Calvinist! For this very reason, a highly respected Arminian like Roger Olson, thinks that Arminians should not pray that way.[1]

Molinism Can Solve the Dilemma

So why does God command us to pray that the lost be saved? I think Molinism provides the best answer.[2] The Molinist view on prayer would simply say that God knew via his middle knowledge how each possible individual *would* freely pray in any set of circumstances. He takes these requests into account before actualizing one of the possible worlds available to him. “God decides to respond to some of our prayers in such a way that prayers change the course of the future.”[3] It is important to realize that on the Molinist view, “God’s foreknowledge is chronologically prior to the prayers we offer, but the prayers are logically prior to what God foreknows.”[4] Let me first give an example of how prayer in general works on Molinism, and then I will specifically discuss prayer for the salvation of the lost.

In his biography on Luis de Molina, Dr. Kirk MacGregor provides the following example:

“Suppose God middle-knew that Ben, if created, would pray for certain things. God can then decree to actualize a feasible world where Ben exists and where the future course of events includes some of the things Ben prays for, which come about either through the course of free creaturely decision or through direct supernatural intervention. But suppose God middle-knew that Ben, if created, would want but not pray for the things in question. God could then decree to actualize another feasible world where Ben exists (say, a world with the same history as the first up to the moment of Ben’s decision not to pray) and where none of these things Ben wanted would occur, namely, a world with a different future course of free creaturely decisions not leading to the things Ben wanted and lacking any direct supernatural intervention to accomplish the things Ben wanted. Since our prayers or lack thereof are already factored into the equation of God’s providential planning, they prove to be the deciding factor in whether God actualizes a future where some of the things we desire either do or do not happen.”[5]

MacGregor then gives biblical examples which I list here:[6]

  • Had it not been for the prayer of Isaac, Rebecca would have remained barren (Gen 25:21).

  • Had it not been for the prayer of Hannah, Samuel never would have been born (1 Sam. 1:10-20)

  • Had it not been for the prayer of Zechariah, John the Baptist would never have been born (Luke 1:13).

  • Had it not been for Hezekiah’s prayer for deliverance from a fatal illness, he would have died rather than live for 15 additional years (2 Kings 20:1-7; Isa 38:1-21).[7]

Just think how different history would have been had these people not prayed! MacGregor’s point is that, “God providentially arranges the natural order in a different way than how he would have ordered it apart from their prayers or supernaturally intervenes in a way that he would not have done apart from their prayers.”

Now let’s apply that model to our question at hand; what difference does it make when we pray for the lost to be saved? When we pray for the lost we are interceding on their behalf. God knows if we would or would not intercede in prayer under any possible circumstance. He takes our intercessory prayers into account prior to creating the world, and then arranges the world sothat as many of our prayers for the lost can be answered as possible. Below I have listed at least three different types of intercessory prayers for the lost, and I will briefly explain how each can influence/change God’s providential ordering of the world prior the creative decree.

  1. Interceding for the lost in spiritual warfare

  • When we pray for a non-Christian to be saved, we are actually engaging in spiritual warfare. We are warring on their behalf for the salvation of their soul. Satan seeks to devour them (1 Pet 5:8), tempt them, and influence them to sin and rejection of God (1 Thess 3:5; Acts 5:3; 1 Cor 7:5; 2 Cor 11:3). Satan blinds the minds of unbelievers (2 Cor 4:4; 10:3-5). Satan is even able to hinder preaching (1 Thess 2:18). Now, God has given us authority in Christ over these powers of darkness, but we must engage in spiritual warfare to overcome them, the primary way of which is prayer. So, God could middle-know that if I fail to pray for Jane to be saved and guarded from spiritual deception, then Jane would succumb to temptation from Satan, her mind would remain blinded, and she would ultimately resist and reject God. However, he could also middle-know that if I pray for Jane’s salvation, events would transpire in the spiritual and natural realm such that Jane would be freely saved. Perhaps praying for Jane’s salvation stops Satan from hindering her hearing the gospel preached one Sunday morning at church, during which time she is saved. God could then actualize the feasible world in which I pray for Jane’s salvation, and she be freely saved. The point is that God has responded to what He middle-knew we would ask for in our prayers for the lost by placing the specific lost individual in a set of circumstances that they *would* not resist his offer of salvation, and therefore be saved.

  1. Interceding for the lost so that God’s judgment be postponed.

  • God would have wiped out the Israelites as punishment for the golden-calf incident, causing them to be lost, had Moses not interceded on their behalf, requesting that God spare them (Exodus 32:9-14). Because Moses did pray, some of the Israelites were spared, and received eternal life such as Aaron who actually made the golden calf.[8] God middle-knew that Moses would intercede, and in response God actualized a world where he relented from his judgment. Another example of prayer for the lost to be saved being answered would be in the case of Stephen. Many New Testament scholars believe Paul incited the martyrdom of Stephen, and was likely present at his stoning. Stephen’s dying prayer for those participating in his murder (active or passive) was that the Lord would not hold this sin against them (Acts 7:60). God actually answered this prayer through the conversion of the chief persecutor Saul of Tarsus (Acts 9:1-19).[9] So here Stephen prayed for the lost, and God answered by converting Saul to Paul. This type of response of God through his middle knowledge could be true of us today when we intercede on behalf of the lost. God could middle-know that if I failed to intercede for Jane, he would judge her at time t, but if I do intercede for Jane, he would judge sometime later than t, and during that additional time Jane would be freely saved. Therefore God actualizes the world in which I intercede for Jane and she will be saved.

  1. Interceding for the lost so that God gives them excessive measures of graces

  • MacGregor notes the possibility that God may do all he can, and in response to prayer do even more that he would have done in the absence of prayer, yet these efforts do not change the fact that the individual still freely resists Him.[10]

On scenario 3, God gave excessive grace, knowing it would not result in the salvation of the lost individual, but simply out of love for his child. But what happens to Jane on scenario 1 and 2 if I fail to pray? There are many possibilities. Perhaps, God would not create her. He would rather her not exist than have to suffer the fate of hell. Or he might create someone other than me who would pray for Jane. Or he might still create me, and allow Jane to reject him if creating Jane would cause a ripple effect in which more people would be freely saved. Or if there are a different set of circumstances Jane can be freely saved under, then God may place her in those circumstances instead… for instance God placing Jane in 16th century Europe.

Conclusion

Hopefully you can see that Calvinism and Arminianism do not make very good sense of the biblical command to pray for the salvation of the lost. On Calvinism, the saved and lost have already been decided so you cannot change that. On Arminianism, God cannot overpower someones free will. However, on Molinism we can have an effect! God knew all of the prayers you would freely pray and took them into account when providentially ordering the world. So we can pray knowing that our prayers are very significant. In an upcoming blog post, I will discuss how Molinism helps provide us great confidence to pray, and great comfort when our requests go unanswered.

Suggested Further Reading

Articles

Books

Footnotes

[1]Olson, Roger. “More About Prayer For Unsaved Loved Ones and Friends” (2012). http://www.patheos.com/blogs/rogereolson/2012/06/more-about-prayer-for-unsaved-loved-ones-and-friends/

[2] I am assuming in this blog post that you already have a decent understanding of Molinism. If not, check out this link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y-193fhP3mg

[3] MacGregor, Kirk. Luis de Molina: The Life and Theology of the Founder of Middle Knowledge. (Zondervan). 2015. Pg. 123.

[4] Craig, William Lane. Question of the Week #287. https://www.reasonablefaith.org/writings/question-answer/middle-knowledge-and-prayer

[5] MacGregor, Luis de Molina. Pg 123-124.

[6] MacGregor, Luis de Molina. Pg 124.

[7] MacGregor, Luis de Molina. Pg 125 fn. 50.

[8] MacGregor. Luis de Molina. Pg. 125.

[9] MacGregor. Luis de Molina. Pg. 125.

[10] MacGregor. Luis de Molina. Pg. 129.


Single Post: Blog_Single_Post_Widget
bottom of page