Troublesome Topic: THREE WAYS PRAYER CAN CHANGE THE ACTIONS OF GOD

Its purpose is to teach us to be more like God and to think like God thinks. Therefore, prayer is not an attempt to get God to do what want Him to do, rather it is a small but disciplined step closer to God’s heart. In prayer we do not change God; He changes us.

God is God and He will do whatever He wants to do. Our praying does cannot change God’s purpose. We cannot convince Him to do something that He was not already planning to do.

THERE ARE ONLY THREE WAYS IN WHICH PRAYER CHANGES GOD’S ACTIONS

We have always heard that prayer is effective, and that God responds to our prayers. That is true, but only in a few, limited ways. The only things that prayer changes are: The time and place in which God acts, and the means by which He acts. By learning to carry a burden for others that is similar to God’s burden for them, just on a smaller scale, and by learning to feel the pain God feels for the lost, it becomes more likely that God will do what He planned on doing in a place and time that will allow us to see Him act and give Him praise for it. He may also choose to make us a part of the means by which our prayers are answered. He wants to work in and through someone who feels a burden and has a partial understanding of His heart; in contrast someone who is clueless about those things is not likely to be used by God to meet that need. Or, if God does not use us to fill the need, He is likely to choose a means in which we can recognize His hand at work and give Him glory. Those who have not been praying burdened prayers, but only asking for things for themselves, will not recognize God’s hand at work even when it is acting close to them.

Therefore, since true prayer is coming along side God in His great work and asking Him do what He has already said He wants to do in a way that we can see it and give Him praise, it is effective at changing the way God does what He was planning on doing so we can be drawn into it. A faith-filled prayer that seeks to give God glory can cause God to decide to do something in an obvious way (a miracle), instead of working imperceptibly over time. God has a great number of tools in His toolbox; our praying does not change what God does, but it can influence His decision about which tool He grabs to do the job.

Praying for God’s will and God’s glory can also change our perspective. It can allow us to accept a solution that we otherwise would not accept, or see solutions that we did not know existed. When we pray for God’s glory, it doesn’t matter what happens to us. Do you remember the time recorded in Acts chapter 12 when Peter was in jail and the believers, including a girl named Rhoda, were praying for him to be released? God could have chosen to leave Peter in prison for a long time in order to be a witness to the other prisoners and even the guards. That would have brought Him glory. But because they were praying for his release, God chose to miraculously bring him out of that jail and back to them. This strengthened their faith and allowed Peter to minister to the general public, instead of to those inside the prison. Either way would have brought God glory and provided ministry to others, so God’s purpose did not change, only the when, where and how of God’s purpose were affected by the believers’ prayers.

When our needs are met according to God’s design and Purpose for us, they will be met in the way that is truly best for us; but if He were to meet our needs in the ways that we want them met, the results would not be the best ones for us, not even close.

True prayer is one of the most sublime aspects of following God, it causes us to grow closer to God in unique ways and spurs us to faith and obedience on a whole new level. God is calling us to something bigger, higher, greater and more wonderful that we ever imagined. Let’s not turn this opportunity into a “gimme, gimme” begging session. Let’s think about other people instead of ourselves; let’s connect with God in His way and for His glory and see how close someone can actually get to the Creator of the universe.

We should repent for having turned something that should be about God’s will and His glory, into something we want. We should ask Him to help us train our thoughts and desires to put Him first in our praying. We should choose to learn the heart of God through burdened, God-glorifying prayer for others.

IS PRAYER REALLY THE MOST IMPORTANT THING WE CAN DO?

When I said earlier that prayer only changes things in three limited ways, it may have sounded to you like I was making prayer sound less important.

You may have heard that “Prayer is the single most important thing we can be engaged in.” Is that true if the effectiveness of prayer is limited, not limitless? I am convinced that yes, it is true, but we need to be clear about how it is true.

When we engage in true prayer, we become more like God, and it is more likely that God will open an opportunity for us to see Him at work and give glory for it. God has always desired that His creation give Him glory.

George Meuller is a good example of this principle. He did not start the orphanage in order to meet the needs of the children, but because he thought that it would be a good way for God to receive glory – and he was right. He saw God move in many ways which enabled him and everyone around him to give God the glory. We still talk about it today.

I hope the definition and description of true prayer that I have been sharing with you has not caused you to think less of prayer, but to think more highly of prayer, to lift it up, to appreciate it more. If we use prayer correctly, it should be ever-increasing in its level of sublimeness. In our practice of prayer, as in other aspects of our lives, God is calling us to something bigger and higher than we had ever realized was possible.

Prayer is sublime because it can bring about two of the three most important things in the universe, and in some cases all three of them.

Prayer is what we need because it draws us closer to God, and prayer brings about what God deserves, more glory for His name. Whatever can accomplish both of those things should be at the top of our priority list. There is a very short list of other things which deserve to be given this level of importance because they accomplish two of the three most important things. That list includes praise and a life of obedience.

The other most important thing in the universe is redemption from the guilt of sin and the resulting reconciliation with God. Prayer is involved with that as well. Repentance should also be mentioned here because it is what we need, it gives God glory, and it produces atonement and reconciliation.  

Since true prayer can accomplish all three of the most important things in the universe, it rightly belongs on the top rung of our list of important things.