What Does Genesis 1:28 Have to Do with Prayer?
Regarding a Creational Privilege
Prayer is challenging.
The very things we ought to bring to God in prayer often become the reasons we don’t pray. Ironic, isn’t it? Have you ever lacked—or even avoided—prayer because the day’s anxieties overtook you? What about anger over the day’s events? And I shouldn’t get you started on [fill in the space with just about any woe], right?
Maybe a categorical shift in your view of prayer could be helpful. Not life-altering but helpful nonetheless. Let’s consider something from the opening chapter of the Bible.
Genesis 1:28 describes part of the climax of creation: the creation of humanity. In Genesis 1:22–28, God blesses two groups: the animals and humanity. There is a content distinction in the blessings, but I want to draw your attention to one of the grammatical (and still important!) distinctions.
When God blesses the animals, Genesis 1:22 records:
“God blessed them, saying . . .”
When God blesses humanity, on the other hand, Genesis 1:28 records:
“And God blessed them. And God said to them . . .”
What is the difference? Is it really just the difference between a gerund (saying) and a prepositional phrase (to them)?
Genesis 1:28 reminds us that communication with God is a creational privilege we have as image-bearers.
While the beasts of the ground were blessed in a similar—albeit still different—fashion, God was speaking over them. The difference between “saying” and “And God said to them” is that while God spoke over the animals, God spoke to humanity. We can view prayer, then, as a creational privilege, an honor we have as image-bearers.
How we define things, especially within the Christian walk, transforms how we view God and the world around us.
If we ground prayer in our creaturely dependence upon God and our communication with Him, then all language spoken to God becomes prayer—before the fall of Adam and Eve as well as after the coming of the New Jerusalem.
Where we are in the history of salvation, we pray for redemption and for God’s will to be done. The gospel-directed and gospel-informed prayer is what we pray for not the root of why we can pray to begin with.
Our sin has muffled our communication with God, for our hearts do not even want to pursue Him.
I believe the grammatical distinction is important, but before we get ahead of ourselves, we must discuss the influence of our sinful nature within this context. The fall in the Garden of Eden has distorted our communication and distanced us far beyond our capabilities to restore it.
We have a fallen fixation, even in our prayer lives. Prior to the fall, the calling of God to humanity was one of blessing and was met with action (for example, see Gen. 2:19). Afterwards, simply the sound of God caused Adam and Even to seek a hiding place (Gen. 3:8).
Isn’t this similar to our own actions today? When anxieties, anger, and the like come up in our hearts and minds, we tend to flee from God.
In redemption, God draws us near to Him in greater communion and communication.
Our sin may muffle our communication and distance us from God, but let us thank God in our prayers for His redemption! It is only through God’s intervention—Christ’s redeeming work—that we can be in continual communication with God, even when we lack the words (Rom. 8:26–27).
Speaking directly to God with no taint from our sin will once again be what our lives are like in the New Jerusalem: untarnished communion and communication between creature and Creator.
Genesis 1:28 reminds us that our ability to pray is grounded (in one way or another) in God’s intentional creation of creatures for relationship with Him. We are image-bearers of our Creator, and we depend upon Him—pre-fall, post-fall, and post-restoration. Therefore, although the creationally good design of communication with God was distorted in the fall, we are redeemed on account of Christ’s sacrifice for our sins.
So, what does this mean for you today? Call upon the one true, triune God.
When life’s anxieties overwhelm you, pour them out at His feet. When your anger boils over throughout the day, ask for His forgiveness and praise Him for His merciful ways. Don’t let life’s circumstances be the reason you are deterred from praying. Let them be the content you pray to He who hears—the one who blessed humanity and spoke directly to them.
It may feel easier to avoid prayer in your life, but this is the Serpent’s twisting of something that was creationally good. Avoiding the privilege of pouring out to the King of kings is your sinful heart trying to pull you away from He who truly hears.
On the converse side, brothers and sisters, do not take your privilege to call upon the Lord in vain, nor use it to boast before others. Instead, cast your cares upon the Creator, for He alone justifies (for a powerful parable on this, see Luke 18:9–14).
Interested in helping fuel my writing but would rather not buy a subscription?
Great post and specifically liked your encouragement to seek God and Pray no matter the circumstances. Don’t let the difficulties in life keep you away from praying was my takeaway.
Good insights to that distinction, I had not considered that before. It reminds me that with Moses, the Lord spoke to him face to face. God indeed created us for relationship with Him. That is encouragement to pray!