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)
The longer answer is that God is under no obligation to change his mind simply because we ask him to do so.
In fact, there are times when God will not change his mind no matter how we pray. He told the prophet Jeremiah that “even if Moses and Samuel were to stand before me, my heart would not go out to this people.” (Jeremiah 15:1) He will not give us what we ask for when we ask with the wrong motives. (James 4:3) He will not hear our prayers if we harbor sin in our hearts. (Psalm 66:17-19)
The ultimate answer is that prayer is not a magic wand to control God.
He is the King of kings and Lord of lords. There is no higher power or authority. Prayer is a means of building our relationship with the Lord. It reminds us that God is holy, loving, wise and powerful. I think the greatest thing prayer can do is to change our minds and bring them in line with God’s will. Now that’s a huge miracle!
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On my website I have posed a question about whether or not prayer actually works.
There is actually plenty of evidence we can look at but some of it doesnt give quite the answer many of us might like. If you are feeling brave and dont mind facing genuine hard questions honestly you might like to check out this and some related questions on my site at http://billpeddie.wordpress.com
I just read your article on Francis Galton and the Testing of Prayer. I appreciate your research and thoughtful presentation. I also found myself nodding in agreement with your closing paragraphs and sample prayers. You hit the proverbial nail on the head by pointing out that prayer should be about relationships — with God and each other. I’m afraid many times we call our self-centered wish lists prayers only because we make them sound religious and address them to God. As a human father, I have never appreciated my children’s ocassional attempts at manipulation. It seems disrespectful. I believe trying to manipulate God to do our wills is even more disrespectful.