Opposites Attract

You know how they say that opposites attract? Well, for Ian and me, that wasn't really the case. We're both pretty low-key people who like to do a lot of the same things. We both make decisions with our intellect, not our feelings, we both like to make quick decisions and don't need all the options, we both like to be home most of the time, etc. Of course, we have our differences. Ian likes to be indoors and I love the sun. He always tends toward grace and I tend toward truth. I think 5:45 is 5:30 and he thinks it's 6.

But the place where the old adage "opposites attract" is the most true for us is in prayer. Last night we had an epic conversation about the purpose and power of prayer and it was a classic case of a Calvinist verses an Arminean (in this case, the Armenian is the Arminean). It was a good conversation, but it made me very aware that we approach the subject quite differently. The questions of "Is God able to change this situation" verses "Does God desire to change this situation," went round and round, with the question "What role does the human will have in all this?" added on top. Ian believes God does all the pursuing and I believe free will is somehow involved. If God does all the pursuing, why do some situations not change? Did he not want to restore that area of brokenness or answer that prayer? But why would he not want to? Or was it that the people involved weren't willing to bend? But isn't he also the one who softens hearts?

Did we come to a solution? Of course not. How can we solve what 2,000 years of scholars have not resolved? But this we know - the Bible calls us to pray, and so we will. And we should pray with faith, even if we aren't sure God wants to or will change the situation.