Does God change his mind in response to prayer?

A friend sent me the following question. “I read once that prayers change the mind of God sometimes. Do you think God’s will is altered at times with persistent prayers?”

My short answer is yes sometimes God changes his mind in response to our prayers. 

Still pointing eyes toward heaven

There are instances in the Bible that demonstrate that. When the people of Israel worshiped a golden calf, the Lord declared he planned to wipe them out. However, Moses prayed for them and God repented or changed his mind about the judgment. (Exodus 32:1-14) When King David prayed for the people of Israel, God changed his mind and stopped the angel of death as it approached Jerusalem. (2 Samuel 24) The Bible proclaims we often don’t have what we want simply because we did not ask for it. (James 4:1-2)

How to Marry Even If You’ve Been Divorced

Can we get married even though we’ve been divorced?

Master isolated images / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

A dear sister wrote me the following note last week. I’ve edited it some to hide personal details.  You too can ask questions by leaving them here.

“I’ve been divorced a long time.  I am dating a godly Christian man.  Unfortunately, he was  married and divorced twice before he became a Christian.  His third marriage ended after he started to follow Christ, because his wife divorced him.  We have been dating a while and want to be married.  Yet, we both want to please God in this relationship, and don’t want another mistake.  Are there any special things we should do or look for in our new relationship?  What would God say about the sin of divorce before he was a Christian?  Help!”

First, I want to deal with the easiest question you asked.

7 Great Ways to Refresh Your Spirit Today

1. Slow down and smell the roses.  Or if the roses are still hibernating, enjoy the brisk beauty of frost, ice and snow.
2. Pray the Lord’s Prayer several times.  Don’t simply recite it, pray the prayer Jesus taught us to pray.  Pray for your loved ones, for your enemies and for yourself.

Good News! You Can Experience the Power to Change

Good News! You Can Experience the Power to Change– A short Bible study and suggested prayer focus for the second day of Lent

jscreationzs / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Preparing to Hear God’s Voice

Contemplate your answer to this question.  ”When I wake up on Easter Sunday ready to celebrate Jesus’ resurrection, how will I be different?”

Reading the Bible and Listening for God’s Voice

Read Isaiah 9:1-7 aloud three or four times.  Read it with expression — as though you’re telling a group of people about your child’s birth.

A Quick Guide to Seeking God during Lent

I want to be closer to God by the end of Lent.  I’ve read in the Bible about seeking God’s face.  How can I “seek God’s face” in prayer?

imagerymajestic / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

 Psalm 27:8    My heart says of you, “Seek his face!”  Your face, LORD, I will seek.

Psalm 46:10  “Be still, and know that I am God….”

Four Results of Seeking God’s Face

• As you express your desire to be closer to God, he will give you a renewed sense of his love for you.

How to End Your Prayer Problems

Just in time for Lent: Here are a few suggestions on how to end your prayer problems

jscreationzs / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Prayer problems fall into two major categories:

(1) things that are wrong in your attitudes or actions; or
(2) things that can interfere with your concentration and hinder the effectiveness of your time alone with God.

Attitudes and Actions Which Hinder Prayer

• Wanting your own will and not God’s will. (1 John 5:14).
• Selfishness and wrong motives (James 4:2-3).
  

Pilgrimage of Lent

Pilgrimage of Lent.  Great thoughts from my friend, Pastor Marcel Lamb.

The Shocking Truth about Lent

The truth about Lent is not a secret.

You know it.  Your friends know it.  But I’m going to say the shocking truth about Lent out loud.

Giving up something for Lent that you look forward to starting up again on Easter Sunday afternoon will never change you.  When you give up coffee or chocolate for Lent, you start counting down to Easter when you will wash down that 2 pound chocolate bunny with a half-gallon of Starbucks coffee.  After you wake up from that sugar and caffeine buzz, you go right back to being and acting like you did before Lent began.

How to Prepare for Judgement Without Living in Fear

How can I prepare to meet God as my just judge without living in fear?

The only way to meet your divine judge without fear grows out of love and faith.  His grace is enough.  If you confess he is just and will forgive all your sins. (1 John 1:9)

Image: Salvatore Vuono / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Prepare to Hear God in the Bible

Write out a list of all your reasons for living in fear of God’s judgement.

10 Blessings You Can Receive Now

Here are ten blessing you can receive now as you declare that God makes them a reality in your life.

Spiritual Sight

God opens the eyes of my heart so that I may know the hope to which he has called me.

Glorious Riches and Matchless Power

He shows me the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his matchlessly great power for us who believe.  That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Jesus Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms.