Promise and Prayer

“Intellectually sophisticated, biblically drenched, pastorally sensitive, but most of all wise, this book could hardly have been produced by any other theologian than Anthony Thiselton. The culmination of a lifetime of scholarship and of deep faith, Promise and Prayer is elegant, readable, and profound. Not only academic theologians, but also church people of all kinds, are well served by this account of prayer.”


—Tom Greggs, Marischal Chair and Head of Divinity, University of Aberdeen





“This short study shines new light on two of the most familiar forms of biblical discourse, precisely by presenting them together. Both divine promise and human prayer are deeply interpersonal speech acts related to the ‘institutional fact’ of God’s covenant. In asking what promises and prayers do, Thiselton once again shows his ability to integrate exegesis, theology, and philosophy in illuminating new ways. And it comes with a bonus appendix: a magisterial survey of the use of speech act theory in biblical studies in general.”


—Kevin J. Vanhoozer, Research Professor of Systematic Theology, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School