Pastor Weedon, A quote from James or the catechism will not solve the problem. Proof texting with that verse makes God a cold, uncaring being, saying “I don’t know you, you don’t know me, get out of here” to someone in despair. Yuck.
Do you mean to say that one must have a Trinitarian, Lutheran confessional’s concept of God before true prayer is even possible?
Why is it proof texting to allow the Scriptures to answer the question you asked? That Scripture passage speaks directly to your question. And that is NOT to ignore the prior verse. Of course, He is most giving but that does not obliterate what St. James says there, and what our Symbols bind us as Lutheran pastors to teach and confess (again, fully in conformity with the Scriptures). Nor is it that God is thus pictured, I’d argue, in a cold and unloving way. He WANTS to hear and answer the prayers which come to Him from faith in His Son. That is most gracious and kind on His part, for there’s not the first reason why He should give attention to the prayer of a single one of us. This is His universal love: It is given entirely in His Son. It is for all, but it is ONLY in His Son. In Him there is access to the Father; apart from Him there is no access. “No man cometh unto the Father but by me.”
