Prayer Is To Align Us With God’s Will

Spirit-led prayers carry the purpose, power, and faith that Christ promises His Church..

God’s Faith and Power Flow Through Praying His Will

John 14:12 – “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father.”

Ultimately, as we seek God’s will in place of our own, we learn we are to ask for Him to reveal His prayers and then pray them in place of our own. Under the Spirit’s guidance, these release His purpose, faith, and power. He transforms our prayer lives.

C. S. Lewis warned that we are to pray wisely. Individuals may ask for prayers to remove hardships. This may feel appropriate, but we may be praying against God’s plans. Their situations may have resulted from dogmatic resistance of God. It may have taken Him years to get them to this point of helplessness. They are almost ready to surrender. When we do not seek God’s prayers, we may find ourselves opposing God.

Also, God’s answers are uniquely designed. Acts 12 shares how Herod killed James and then proceeded to seize Peter, planning to bring him before the people. The Church offered constant prayer for Peter, and he was miraculously freed. Do you believe they prayed the same for James? What did they learn?

Do Our Prayers Change the Mind of God?

Some teaching insists that our prayers change the mind of God. Parables and Scripture examples have been used to support this position. God’s character, revealed through the entire Bible, provides us with a much more powerful alternative.

Bible Statements of God’s Identity:

God is Eternal

Rev 1:8 – “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”

God is All-knowing – 1 John 3:20 “… God is greater than our heart, and He knows all things.”

God is All-Powerful

Jer 32:17 – “Ah, Lord GOD! It is you who have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm! Nothing is too hard for you.”

God is Ever-Present

Ps 139:7-12 – “Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from your presence? If I ascend into heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there. If I take the wings of the morning, And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, Even there Your hand shall hold me …”

God Does Not Change His Mind

1 Sam 15:29 “And also the Glory of Israel will not lie or have regret, for he is not a man, that he should have regret.”

God does not change His mind. For Him to do so, He would either have to recognize He made a mistake or realize He learned something knew. Neither is possible for Him. Before time began, He knew what He was going to do, what we were going to do and ask, and how He would lovingly draw us to Him through our unique faith-journeys. Comprehensive evaluation of Scripture is to replace isolated interpretations.

Would you knowingly embrace the following unsound teaching? A preacher stated, “If God is all-knowing, all-powerful, un-changing, and ever-present, how is it possible for Him to change His mind? I don’t know, but He does.”

God’s Incredible Alternative

Consider this incredible alternative. It embraces God’s character. It honors God’s sovereignty and kingdom plans as greater than our own. It reveals how He utilizes all interactions to draw us into the ever-deepening personal relationships He desires. Accordingly, we are empowered and thrive as the masterpieces He designed.

Walk through the following interactions:

In Exodus 32:7-14, Moses asks God to withhold His hand and not consume Israel. He does.

Abraham, in Genesis 18:23-32, asks God six times to spare Sodom and Gomorrah if ever-fewer righteous individuals were found. Abraham approaches with Godly fear as he ultimately says, “Let not the Lord be angry, and I shall speak but once more.” God agrees, yet the cities are destroyed.

Hezekiah, in 2 Kings 20, asks God to extend His life. He does.

These biblical interactions, all of Scripture, teach and draw us into the reality of God’s incomprehensible fatherly love. Each one reveals His love and patience. We are being taught to boldly and confidently draw close to Him and communicate all things from our hearts, at all times – every thought, every desire, as many times as it takes in every instance – until we realize we can fully trust Him and permit our desires and prayers to align with His will and His sovereignty. He teaches us to ask Him for His will in all of our prayers. We learn to thrive in our trusting relationship with Him. Prayer is about aligning our will with His, not about changing His mind. He knew about these (all) interactions before time began.

Evaluate how the following parables teach the characteristics of persistent and trusting prayer, not that we change our Father’s mind.

The persistent friend in Luke 11

The woman seeking justice in Luke 18

Our Prayers Do Change Things

James 5:16b – “The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.”

Daniel 10:12 – “Then he (the angel) said to me, “Fear not, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand and humbled yourself before your God, your words have been heard, and I have come because of your words.”

Although our prayers do not change the mind of God, they do change things, as these Scriptures reveal. Spirit-led prayers carry the power of God, but why and how?

Just as God chooses to use Christ-followers as His hands and feet to impact the world, He also chooses to make our Spirit-led prayers crucial elements for the release of His power and accomplishment of His will. The Bible demonstrates that God utilizes them to impact both the spiritual and natural realms, in our lives and His kingdom plans. It is possible that He will not act, if His people do not pray. However, He will always find an obedient prayer warrior.

We Do Not Wrestle Against Flesh and Blood

Eph 6:11-13, 18 – “Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.…praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints.”

We are to remember this. Instead of identifying individuals as our enemies and the sources of evil, we must learn to pray as these Scriptures exhort. First, pray God’s prayers in the spirit realm.

Application:

Is God’s character accurately revealed by Scripture, or are we free to redefine Him?
What is God’s Spirit leading you to change in your prayer relationship?

Your comments and questions are welcomed at: curtp.martinauthor@gmail.com

Author’s Bio: Curt Martin is an author, speaker, seminar leader, and organization consultant. God has filled him with the passion to see every individual and organization become the unique and incredible masterpiece God designed. Little touches Him more than helping awaken all God placed within you, so you thrive in His freedom, purpose, and power as you learn to walk in God’s Spirit. Only those who commit to this journey experience the fullness of living God’s victorious life. Articles include excerpts from his award winning book, “Whose Life Are You Living.”

Here is some related reading for you: 10 Awesome Bible Verses About the Power of Prayer

Resource – Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version^® (ESV^®), Crossway Bibles. (2007). ESV: Study Bible: English standard version. Wheaton, Ill: Crossway Bibles. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Tagged as: faith, God's power, God's Will, Prayer