17
did the LORD consult to enlighten him, and who taught him the right way? Who was it
that taught him knowledge or showed him the path of understanding? (Isa 40:13-14)
The clearly implied answer to these rhetorical questions is "no one."
34
These verses are so
important to Paul that he quotes them in Rom 11:34 and 1 Cor 2:16.
John Sanders recognizes the force of this objection. He acknowledges that some
might object to his view,
claiming that we have no business advising God, who possesses vastly superior wisdom.
Is it not the epitome of hubris to think that we can counsel an omniscient God who
already knows all the data? Such remarks may arise out of a sense of humility and a
desire to be still before God. But the biblical record is more than a call to silence. It also
calls us to make our requests known to God (Phil 4:6; 1 John 5:14-15) and to ask what we
will in Jesus' name (John 14:13-14). . . . God wants this sort of conversation not because
we have anything stupendous about which to advise him but simply because God decides
to make our concerns his concerns. God wants us to be his partners not because he needs
our wisdom but because he wants our fellowship.
35
In my opinion, Sanders is helpful here. But his vision of the relationship of God's decisions to
the content of our prayers is very different from the kind of relationship most open theists argue
is presented in texts like Exodus 32 and Isaiah 39 in which God changes his mind in response to
prayer.
36
And if Sanders is right and God desires our prayers not for the sake of our wisdom but
34
If as the next verse declares "the nations are like a drop in a bucket" in comparison to
the infinite greatness of God (Isa 40:15), clearly we humans can contribute no wisdom or
knowledge to God to guide him in his running of the universe. See Ware, God's Lesser
Glory, 169. This same truth is taught in Job 15:8; 21:22; and 36:22.
35
Sanders, The God Who Risks, 272.
36
See for example, Boyd, God of the Possible, 63, 82-83. Sanders' view of these texts is