Opening to God: Childlike Prayers for Adults

This volume presents a distinctive approach to prayer that synthesizes philosophical theology with practical spirituality. Marilyn McCord Adams, drawing on her extensive work in medieval philosophy and theodicy, develops a framework for adult prayer that embraces psychological simplicity while maintaining theological sophistication. The work emerges from Adams's broader project of addressing the problem of evil through a vision of divine intimacy that transcends conventional philosophical categories.

Adams argues that authentic prayer requires adults to cultivate what she terms "childlike" openness—not childishness, but rather an unguarded receptivity to divine presence that sophisticated theological discourse often obscures. This approach directly challenges both academic theology's tendency toward abstraction and popular spirituality's frequent anti-intellectualism. She contends that the most profound theological insights emerge not from systematic argumentation but from experiential encounter with God through contemplative practice.

The work's methodology combines autobiographical reflection, theological analysis, and practical instruction. Adams examines various prayer traditions, particularly drawing from Anglican spirituality and medieval mysticism, while critiquing contemporary prayer practices that either reduce prayer to psychological technique or burden it with doctrinal prerequisites. Her analysis reveals how conventional approaches to prayer often reinforce problematic conceptions of divine-human relations based on power dynamics rather than intimacy.

Central to Adams's argument is her claim that prayer constitutes a form of knowledge distinct from but complementary to philosophical reasoning about God. She positions this work against both fideistic approaches that dismiss rational inquiry and rationalistic frameworks that marginalize experiential knowledge. The text implicitly responds to critics who view prayer as mere wish-fulfillment or psychological projection by demonstrating how contemplative practice can generate genuine theological insight.

The significance of this contribution lies in its integration of rigorous philosophical theology with lived spiritual practice. Adams offers a middle path between academic theology's frequent disconnection from religious experience and popular spirituality's occasional theological naivete. Her work suggests that the question of God cannot be adequately addressed through purely theoretical means but requires engagement with contemplative practices that open practitioners to divine reality. This approach has influenced subsequent discussions about the epistemology of religious experience and the role of spiritual practices in theological method.