Biblical verses such as 1 Thessalonians 5:17 and Philippians 4:6 encourage us to pray continually; however, sometimes silent prayer may be the better option.
Jesus often read people’s thoughts and provided answers before they could voice them out loud (Luke 9:47 and 11:17 as examples of this phenomenon), an ability known as omniscience.
Table of Contents
Omniscience
“Omniscience” comes from Latin words omni (all) and scientia (knowledge), and refers to God’s knowledge of all things, past and future. Also called omnipresence, God is aware of what’s happening here on Earth as well as other universes – this key aspect of His nature plays an essential role.
Many biblical texts in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam suggest God is all-knowing. For instance, the Hebrew Bible asserts that He knows what’s going on inside people’s hearts and minds as well as any plans or schemes they have that they plan to carry out – including their sinful plans (Luke 9:47; 11:17; Matthew 9:25). Additionally, Jesus himself read people’s minds as He read their thoughts – both good and sinful (Luke 9:47; 11:17; Matthew 9:25).
Some theologians contend that God must possess omniscience as one of His attributes; however, this view seems in conflict with analyses (i) and (ii). For example, someone with knowledge of all true propositions cannot possibly believe any false ones; therefore if God knows about any person believing incorrect things – then He knows immediately they are believing falsehoods!
Further, for any being to have foreknowledge of all that will occur in our universe and other possible universes would imply they had foreknowledge of all possible events that will take place – this would seem to suggest God would know beforehand what would take place everywhere in time and space.
Some theologians have suggested that while God possesses omniscience, He does not always exercise it. This may be because in becoming human He relinquished his full power of omniscience but still retains knowledge necessary for being all-knowing.
An important issue in this debate is whether God can hear our silent prayers. According to the Bible, prayer is a conversation with Him, so keeping this in mind when considering His omniscience should help in your analysis of prayer as a means of communication with him. While most Christians think He hears their verbal prayers directly from them – there may be others with concerns over this claim.
Omnipotence
“Omnipotent” is a Latin prefix meaning all and the Latin root potens, or power, so that when used to refer to God it often refers to his power. Omnipotence is one of three main characteristics defining traditional Western theism’s one true God: Omniscience and Omnipresence are also hallmarks of his rule over universe.
But some philosophers have asked whether an omnipotent agent could ever create impossible states of affairs. Descartes appeared to believe it possible (Meditations 1, Section 1); Aquinas and Maimonides believed such states of affairs would be contradictory and thus an omnipotent agent cannot create shapeless cubes or stones too heavy for him to lift.
An omnipotent agent has the power to bring about any state of affairs that is actually possible, with the exception of states logically impossible or those which have already occurred. This “absolute” interpretation of divine omnipotence has been challenged by various writers such as Harold Kushner and Alfred North Whitehead (proponents of process theology).
An effective understanding of omnipotence involves making comparisons between an agent’s powers and the range of possible states of affairs that they can actualize, such as when discussing God. While this approach provides more satisfying descriptions of God’s omnipotence, it still may create paradoxes; one such paradox involves whether an omnipotent agent could bring about an evil world while being morally accountable for it.
Another downside of this version of omnipotence is its requirement that an agent have the power to bring about any state of affairs, even those which may be necessary. This imposes severe constraints on an agent claiming omnipotence and leads to the Logical Problem of Evil which has long been considered incompatible with Christian understandings of omnipotence; yet there exist analyses of omnipotence which appear to circumvent this obstacle.
Omnipresent
In the Bible, “omnipresent” is used to refer to God’s presence. This term comes from its root word omni, which means all. However, this does not imply that He exists simultaneously everywhere – rather, this concept illustrates that He exists beyond and within this physical realm simultaneously.
There are various interpretations of what it means for something to be omnipresent, including scholars arguing it refers to god being present everywhere at all times, while others believe it only refers to specific areas, like around human bodies. Still others consider omnipresence more like ubiquitousness – for instance when watching them even though not physically nearby – while another view it more as the presence of something like watching over your shoulder like when someone watches you with a remote monitor.
Omnipresence encompasses all of creation. Some theologians use this feature of omnipresence to justify why humans cannot escape from His presence, yet this argument assumes He is somehow limited in how He interacts with creation.
Most commonly, Christians define “omnipresence” to mean God’s presence in the universe. Charles Taliaferro and Paul Draper hold that this view is incorrect because it assumes omnipotence and omniscience are equivalent.
Some scholars argue that omnipresence should be understood in terms of spatial extension. Under this view, god is defined as being present within any region that contains material objects irrespective of subregions that don’t. Others such as Ross Inman argue this interpretation of omnipresence is too narrow.
God is not only present everywhere; He also knows our thoughts and intentions and can discern silenced prayers even if they’re not spoken aloud – especially when people are suffering or struggling.
Omnicognition
Omnicognition, or knowing all things, is a powerful state that allows us to find solutions and make better decisions more easily. Omnicognition also helps release feelings of doubt about yourself and trust your abilities more, which allows for the freedom to move forward without feeling bound by old paths of limitations and creates the conditions needed for emotional literacy and inner wisdom development.
Remind yourself that God knows your thoughts even when they remain unsaid; in fact, silent prayers can often be more effective. According to Scripture, Jesus was guided by his spirit all of the time and could understand people’s innermost thoughts even secrets; this was part of His omnipresence and omniscience.
God can also hear our thoughts through a potion known as “omnicognition.” This powerful potentiator provides users with superhuman hearing, smell, touch and taste abilities as well as ghost-like bodies capable of walking around within an area of scrying view. Made with an eagle feather, three scruples of lion blood and snake venom it provides superhuman abilities but requires special preparation costing 100,000 gold pieces to create.
God hears our prayers through many channels, such as Scripture and spiritual gifts from the Holy Spirit. God of Scripture and Spirit teach us through their words about how we should live our lives on this Earth in order to be saved, while simultaneously encouraging trusting in them with all our heart.