Thomas Aquinas's Understanding of Prayer in the Light of the Doctrine of Creatio Ex Nihilo

This article discusses T homas A quinas's view on the ‘utility’ of prayer in the light of the doctrine of creation ex nihilo . ‘Creatio ex nihilo’ means, among other things, that nothing can exist that is not caused by the universal power of G od. The universal causality of creation implies that G od cannot receive from the world or react to any activity on our part. This claim of divine immutability throws into question the intelligibility of prayer: does it make sense to pray to G od when his providence is certain and immutable? I argue that the G od Thomas conceives is not the G od of the ancient régime , the sovereign deity of absolute power who is in charge of everything; on the contrary, it is a G od who grants the secondary causes within the world their own power and operation. The human activity of prayer belongs to this sphere of ‘second causes’, through which G od realizes his providential plan. G od's providence provides good things to us, one of which is the fulfillment of our prayers.