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Does Prayer Change God’s Mind?

Does Prayer Change God’s Mind?

The Bible tells us that God is sovereign and that nothing happens unless he decrees it (Lam. 3:37; Prov. 16:33; Amos 3:6), and yet we are told to pray (1 Thess.5:17; Lk. 18:1). How do we reconcile these two seemingly incongruous concepts? Pastor Mike takes a biblical look at prayer and does it change God's mind?

Devotionals

Distracted Prayer

Distracted Prayer

We live in a “noisy” world. It seems that every waking hour is filled with an onslaught of clamoring sights and sounds that relentlessly bombard our eyes and ears. Around the clock, something is always vying for our attention. New Testament times weren’t as different as you might think, particularly for Jesus. Luke records that he had to...
Persistent Prayer

Persistent Prayer

Most Christians are quickly stirred to guilt whenever the topic of prayer is raised. We all know we need to pray more often. And so we should. But as we increase our time in prayer, let us also remember to apply the words of Christ when he told us that we...
Prayer Requests

Prayer Requests

Be careful what you repeatedly ask of God. You can’t always judge a prayer by its answer. While it’s true that many times in his kindness God withholds granting what we foolishly or selfishly request...
Three Kinds of Prayer

Three Kinds of Prayer

There are three primary settings for biblical prayer which should have priority in our lives. The first is a focused type of scheduled prayer (Mt.6:6). This is the kind where, like Daniel’s three times a day or Jesus’ predawn appointments, we plan
Humble Prayer

Humble Prayer

The Bible tells us that the prayer of Solomon “pleased the Lord” (1 Kings 3:10). It’s a simple phrase that we can read without giving it a second thought. But we ought to. Consider what a big statement that is. The content of Solomon’s prayer evoked pleasure in God’s heart. To imagine that something we ask for can have an impact on the way the Almighty God feels is a remarkable
Selfish Prayers

Selfish Prayers

James 4:3 diagnoses one of the most insidious problems which always undermines, and often devastates our prayer lives. The problem we’re told, is...
Prayer Perspective

Prayer Perspective

We need to remember the greatness of the God to whom we pray. We often pray small prayers for small things because we’ve forgotten...
Prayer & Evangelism

Prayer & Evangelism

Prayer and evangelism go hand in hand. Many of us hope that our lives will be used by God to lead people to the place of repentance and faith in Christ. But if we learn anything from the example of the evangelists in the New Testament, we learn that this is not likely to ever happen unless
Prayer and Peace

Prayer and Peace

Prayer and peace – they go hand in hand. If we want to retain the peace that "transcends all understanding" then we need to pray. God's instructions are profoundly simple: if we want to be anxious for nothing, we must...
Trials and Prayer

Trials and Prayer

When you are on the fence about whether to share your trial, your hurt or your burden
Prayer Perspective

Prayer Perspective

When Jesus gave his disciples coaching on how we should pray (Mt.6:9ff.) his instructive template...
Time for Prayer

Time for Prayer

Few would disagree that life is busy and cluttered with activity. Even so, it is imperative that we follow the pattern set for us by Christ, regularly shutting out everything to quietly spend time in communion and fellowship with God. This was the habit...
Help Me

Help Me

As you read through the Psalms you will see the repeated, simple and effective prayer of a righteous man. It is a prayer I hope you pray regularly. It is a prayer that reveals your heart of dependence on God for your life, your protection and your future. I mentioned that this prayer is simple. Actually it is extremely simple...
Empty Phrases

Empty Phrases

Jesus said that when we pray we should “not heap up empty phrases” (Matthew 6:7). Later he lamented a hypocritical form of worship by quoting the indictment that first came through Isaiah: “These people draw near with their mouth and honor me with their lips, while their hearts are far from me” (Isaiah 29:13; Matthew15:8). We must be so careful
Praying

Praying

Reading through the Psalms can yield enlightening insights regarding what constitutes a godly prayer life. As we read these lines from God’s inspired Psalter we might expect lofty and refined theological ideas encased in polished and pietistic lyrics. Instead, we often encounter the raw emotions of...
Praying Well

Praying Well

We may imagine it an easy thing to pray a simple prayer. But it turns out to be an incredible challenge to pray often and pray well. Even so, God calls his people to a kind of continual and thoughtful communication that saturates every...
Precarious Paths

Precarious Paths

In the model prayer that Jesus provided to guide us into the kinds of prayer concerns we ought to habitually bring before the Father, he included the request: “lead us not into temptation” (Mt.6:13). I would hope this recurring appeal for God to direct us around sinfully enticing...
Proverbs and Parenting

Proverbs and Parenting

When we read through the Proverbs we often forget that much of the book is framed as a parental plea to children. The collection commences with the words, “Hear, my son, your father’s instruction and forsake not your mother’s teaching” (Proverbs 1:8). Of course we ought to go to the Proverbs for God’s wisdom regarding our own lives, but what an overlooked resource when we fail to prayerfully read this inspired book with our children in view. Solomon boldly warns...
God’s Dwelling

God’s Dwelling

When King Solomon had completed construction on the most magnificent, costly and beautiful edifice Israel had ever seen, he admitted during his dedicatory prayer that their new and expansive house of worship was far too...
Feeling It

Feeling It

Some rationalize their disregard for doing what is right because they say their “hearts are not in it” and they “don’t want to be hypocrites.” They may consider themselves to be off the hook in neglecting prayer, Bible study or church attendance because they don’t “feel it,” but of course they are not. God will not...
Let There Be Light

Let There Be Light

Sometimes the important analogies presented in the Bible are so frequently echoed in our worship, our prayers, and even our conversations, that God’s intended meaning gets lost in our minds somewhere along the way. Consider the frequent...
Suffering and Openness

Suffering and Openness

When we encounter tough times we tend to want to isolate ourselves. Because of the pain, fear of embarrassment, or doubts regarding others’ understanding, we often choose to...
Pain and Thanksgiving

Pain and Thanksgiving

Pain hurts, and few of us would choose it if we had a choice. But often God chooses it for us, so we can experience his strong deliverance and learn to praise him more perfectly. Consider Psalm 102 (a psalm with a preface that reads “the prayer of an afflicted man”) where we...
Mindful of God

Mindful of God

The Christian life is a life that is lived mindful of God. The crux and catalyst for sin is frequently described in the Bible as thoughtlessness or forgetfulness of God (Judges 8:34; 1 Samuel 12:9; Jeremiah 2:32; et al.). Godly living, on the other hand, is prompted and motivated by a chronic remembrance of the presence of God (Deuteronomy 8:18; Proverbs 5:21; Hebrews 4:13; 1 Peter 2:19; et al.). For us as Christians
Anxiety

Anxiety

When we are gripped with anxiety, we are good for nothing! The Greek word the New Testament uses for this vice paints the picture of a mind that is scattered and divided, having trouble concentrating...
Subtle Lies

Subtle Lies

It is not difficult for Christians to admit that deception is morally wrong, and that because he is a God of truth, “lying lips are an abomination to the Lord” (Proverbs 12:22). But unfortunately we are not always quick to recognize all the subtle forms lying takes in our everyday conversations. Consider the way we can toss around insincere compliments and words of praise, which, if pressed
Weightless Words

Weightless Words

The Bible states, “Do not take to heart all the things that people say [about you]” (Ecclesiastes 7:21). And these days, with everybody saying all kinds of things about everyone else on social media, this timeless principle may be more important than ever before. The biblical context of this verse clearly has in view the typical opinionated chitchat and conversational commentary that has gone on between...

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