Does Prayer Change Events?

When we speak of the sovereignty of God, we say how He has ordained all things, and nothing can thwart or disrupt His plan. This immediately raises the question: is prayer worthless? I mean, if God is going to work out His plan, and nothing can change His mind, then why pray?


First, we must consider the fact that prayer is a commandment, not a suggestion. Consider some of the following verses:

"Pray without ceasing" - 1 Thessalonians 5:17

"I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men" -  1 Timothy 2:1

 "Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer" - Romans 12:2

 "men ought always to pray" - Luke 18:1

(Emphasis mine)

As you can see from the verses above, God commands that we do indeed pray. Though prayer does not change destinies or God's plan, it is still commanded by God. It is still profitable, for if it wasn't profitable, God would not command it.

Consider James 5:16, "the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much." Prayer is far from meaningless, in fact it is very important! God puts a high priority on prayer!

Another argument for why it is profitable is an argument by example. Christ was a man of prayer. If Christ is our example, shouldn't we follow His example in how he prayed? What was the subject of Christ's teaching in Matthew 6:5-18? The subject was prayer and fasting!

One of the disciples said to Jesus in Luke 11:1, "Lord, teach us to pray." Then from verses 2-13, Christ taught on the subject of prayer. So again, we see the emphasis Christ puts on prayer. It is not a useless exercise, it is profitable and commanded.

So not only does God command us to pray, but Christ himself was a man of prayer. But the question still remains: why should we pray even though it does not change anything? Well, first of all, I want to say that it is a good thing that the Lord does not change. In fact, He cannot change.

One of God's attributes is His immutability, meaning that He does not change. Malachi 3:6 says, "For I am the Lord, I change not." This is a clear statement on the fact that God does not change! Could you imagine what it would be like if God were to change His mind?

What kind of hope would we have in a God who is constantly changing His mind, and does not stick to His plan? We could be Christians and have the promise of heaven today, yet tomorrow we could be destined for Hell and eternal punishment! What kind of hope would we have?

The words of the hymn "How Firm a Foundation" say,

"How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord,                                                                         Is laid for your faith in His excellent Word." 

How firm is a foundation that is built on a God that is constantly changing His mind on things? We have a sure foundation that is, in the words of this hymn, "laid for your faith in His excellent Word." We lose that foundation when we affirm a God that is constantly changing His mind.

Some might think, "It shows God's love that He would change His plans after hearing our pleas." No it would not be good, in fact it would tarnish God if He were to change His plans after the pleas of man. I will give you two reasons why that would be a problem.

First, it makes man above God. Man is the one dictating the future, man is in control of this world; not God. That is a major problem, for man is not God! Man is not the Creator, but the creation. What right does the creation have to dictate the Creator? Romans 9:20 makes it clear: the clay has no right to ask the Potter why the Potter made him a certain way. The Potter has control over the clay, not the other way around. In other words, God has control over His creation.

Second, it would be saying that God is not all-knowing. It's like saying: God has a plan, but man is asking for something different, so God decides that it would be better if He did it this way and not the other way.

What does this mean for God? It means that He decided to do one thing, and then decides that there is another way that is better. Doesn't that make God imperfect in His decisions? Doesn't that mean that God did not choose the perfect way to accomplish His will?

By saying that God changes His will according to the pleadings of man is to say that He is not all-knowing. For if He knew that He would have to change His plans because of the pleadings of man, wouldn't He have decreed that from the start? Did He not know that they would plead for a particular alternative?

Again, remember Malachi 3:6, God does not change! He cannot change! That is one of His attributes: His immutability. He cannot change.

So the question still remains: Why do we pray? How does it all relate to God's sovereignty?

Well the first thing to note is that even though prayer does not influence God to change His plan, it is in some cases a means to an end. As the preaching of the Gospel is the means to salvation, meaning God not only elects certain people, but also decrees that they should be saved through the preaching of the Gospel; so is prayer to some acts of God.

God will hear us when we ask "according to His will" (1 John 5:14). When we communicate with God in true prayer, our thoughts will line up with God's. Our thoughts and desires will be the same as His, and they will be communicated right back to Him. Again, it is according to His will and not ours.

Prayer is a means by which God executes His works, but only when the prayer itself is decreed to be the means. God not only decrees the end of something, but He also decrees that prayer should be a means to that end. God works through the prayers of His people as part of His plan.

One of the problems with the modern conception of prayer is that it is more man-centered than God-centered. We focus more on man's needs, and what man can get from God through prayer, than focusing on submitting to the Lord's will in all of our requests. So what is prayer intended for?

First, prayer is an act of worship. We are to be honoring God and giving Him all the glory in our prayers. It humbles us, as all of worship should do. Worship is never intended to glorify man, rather it is meant for the glory of God.

Sadly, worship has become the opposite of what it was intended to be. It was intended to glorify God, but today we glorify man. Modern worship has made corporate worship a country club gathering. It has made prayer nothing more than coming before God and saying, "Lord, do this, and do it this way, at this time." It puts man at the top, as if God was his servant.

Second, when we truly pray, we will grow in our walk with God. Prayer makes us more dependent on God, and less dependent on ourselves. It humbles our hearts, and shows us just how much we need the Lord.

We also must remember that if we are truly God's children, He does hear our prayers (Ps. 116:1). Our prayers are not spoken in vain, as if they were unnoticeable among all the other prayer requests being cast up to God. Praise the Lord that He does indeed hear our prayers!

Thirdly, we are to be bringing our needs before God; not as if He has no idea what our problems are, but it is an acknowledgement that we need Him, since we are weak humans. A.W. Pink says this:

"Prayer is not so much an act as it is an attitude-an attitude of dependency, dependency on God. Prayer is a confession of creature weakness, yea, of helplessness. Prayer is the acknowledgement of our need and the spreading of it before God."

That statement makes the point so clearly. Again, we don't bring our needs before God because He doesn't know them, but because it is an acknowledgement that we are weak and in need of His help. This is why it humbles our hearts, because we cannot do it in and of ourselves, and we are calling on the Lord to help us.

We grow in our walk with God, because we begin to depend on Him more, and less on ourselves. We submit ourselves to His will and trust that He will work out all things according to His good pleasure. We rely more on God, and less on ourselves.

Read through the Psalms, and you will see the prayers of David being lifted up. His prayers are not, "Lord I want this, and I want it done this way." Rather they are prayers that call on the Lord, asking for His help, because he understands that he is a weak and helpless man. They are humbling prayers, glorifying God above all!

As an example, take a look at Psalm 3:

"(1) O LORD, how my adversaries have increased! Many are rising up against me. (2) Many are saying of my soul, "There is no deliverance for him in God." (3) But You, O LORD, are a shield about me, My glory and the One who lifts my head. (4) I was crying to the LORD with my voice, And He answered me from His holy mountain. (5) I lay down and slept; I awoke, for the LORD sustains me. (6) I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people Who have themselves against me round about. (7) Arise, O LORD; save me, O my God! For you have smitten all my enemies on the cheek; You have have shattered the teeth of the wicked. (8) Salvation belongs to the LORD; Your blessing be upon Your people! Selah.

Just look at this prayer of David! He is crying out to God to save him and to protect him from his enemies. He is acknowledging his weaknesses and helplessness; he is acknowledging that he is merely a creature, and that God is the Creator. He honors God and gives Him the glory!

Finally, whenever we pray, we must always submit to the Lord's will. When His children pray, God always answers. It may not be the answer we were desiring, but nevertheless it is an answer, and we must submit to the Lord's will. We are to submit ourselves to God, for we are His slaves, not the other way around.

So, does prayer change God's plan? No, it does not; nevertheless, it does change our hearts. It makes us more dependent on God and His will. We submit ourselves before God, confessing our needs and how weak we are as humans, and trust that the Lord will answer and will work out all things according to His good plan. True prayer, in the end, is God-glorifying.