I’ve heard “prayer changes things” all my life. It’s quoted in times of joy and in seasons of sorrow. I’ve seen it printed on T-shirts, memes, and coffee mugs. For most of my life, I absorbed those three words without question, but in the darkest trial of my life, I began to examine the phrase and wonder how can we know for certain that prayer changes things? Tension surfaced between circumstances I faced and what I’d always believed.
The Bible records hundreds of prayers. Many of them God answered in miraculous ways. Daniel prayed for God to reveal Nebuchadnezzar’s dream and its meaning, and God did (Daniel 2:18-20). The Apostle Paul prayed for Publius’ father who was sick with a fever and God healed him (Acts 28:8). 1 Kings 18 records a sort of prayer dual as Elijah prays to God while worshipers of Baal prayed to their god. The Lord answered with fire from heaven in such a definite and powerful manner the identity of the One true God could not be mistaken.
Many of us have experienced answered prayer in our own lives. Yet, for most of us, there remain those times when our petitions seem to bounce off heaven’s ceiling with no response whatsoever. When our daughter lay in a hospital bed completely paralyzed, teetering between life and death, a million prayers didn’t seem to change the circumstances. Despite desperate petitions for healing, each day was worse than the day before.
Why do we pray? What does the Bible tell us about the purpose of prayer? We pray for all sorts of reasons, some valid and some not. Opening a window into prayer’s biblical origins gives us a glimpse of what God intended prayer should be.
Genesis 4:26 is considered the first recorded incident of spiritual communication stemming from humankind toward God. Written after the first murder, coming almost out of nowhere, the chapter ends with, “People began to call on the name of the Lord” (ESV, emphasis mine).
Prayer by its very nature acknowledges someone greater. This is an important purpose for calling on God.
The Hebrew word, qara, is translated called or named in English. God called the creation into existence in Genesis 1:5. Adam called or named the animals in Genesis 2:19. When “people began to qara on the name of the Lord,” they named Jehovah as the One true God. Throughout the Old Testament, one of the primary purposes of prayer is to set Him apart as the Sovereign recipient of petition, confession, and adoration.
In the New Testament, Jesus’ prayer in what we know as the Lord’s Prayer, began with, “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name…” Matt. 6:9 NIV. Jesus invoked the Father, giving us a model to follow.
Another purpose of prayer is intimate spiritual communion. Jesus, one with God, taught His followers to pray in His name. Through prayer, we communicate our requests, desires, and emotions. Scripture records prayers in both Old and New Testament which ask, thank, praise, confess, and worship.
Aligning our will to the will of the Father is a major purpose of prayer. Prayer elevates God to His just position as omnipotent, omniscient, holy, and Sovereign Ruler. This in turn places us in our rightful place of submission inviting Him to accomplish His will.
“If God is God, He’s going to do what He wants, so why pray?” I asked my husband one day in the middle of our daughter’s critical illness. We were at the foot of the hospital bed where I’d spent the night hovering over the deteriorating body of my 26-year-old daughter.
“We don’t NOT pray because He’s God,” my husband said, twisting my own logic, “but we DO pray because He is God.”
In his darkest hour of need, Jesus petitioned the Father for something that would be denied. Christ yielded to God’s will.
“Take this cup from me,” Jesus prayed in Mark 14:36. “Yet, not what I will, but what you will” NIV.
Prayer brings us alongside God’s desires and plans for us.
What if nothing alters? What happens when my situation doesn’t change? Although our prayers for our daughter centered on complete healing, God chose another path. We are grateful much of her health has returned, but she is confined to a power chair, certainly not what we had prayed for.
I don’t know why. I don’t understand God’s ways. Could He not be glorified in restoring full function to my daughter’s legs and arms? Of course, He could. Would it not show His power to bring back her ability to speak clearly with ease? Of course, it would. But can God also be glorified and demonstrate His power through the circumstances He has chosen for her? Without a doubt.
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts” Isaiah 55:8-9 ESV.
God’s thoughts and mine are far apart, His ways so completely different they can only be reconciled by submission and trust. God is good because He claims to be. He loves because He says so. There is absolute certainty He is wise in every answer because His Word confirms He is. When my emotions lean away from the truth, I must cling to His unchanging character.
There is never a circumstance in which we cannot worship because regardless of our situation, God remains the same. In the Old Testament example, Job, after losing all 10 of his children and all his possessions, bowed in worship (Job 1:20).
What seems like a difficult thing to grasp, is also a wonderful truth. Thank goodness God’s thoughts and ways are not lowered to my finite level. What a comfort to know He sees a vast picture while I see so little.
“Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?” Job asked in Job 2:10. Job never received all the answers to his questions of why, nor will we always understand God’s answers in our lives.
Perhaps the deeper question than does prayer change things, is does prayer change me? Prayer changes the way I look at things, react to situations and trust God for His right answers.
Here are five ways to know that prayer changes things even when answers are difficult to understand.
God is glorified. My posture exalts God as Sovereign over every circumstance, knowing His ways and thoughts are higher than mine.
My will submits to His. My attitude changes to put Who above why and His will above my own or what I feel I might deserve.
My prayers align with God’s Word. My thought processes and desires line up with what the Bible teaches, and I find want to be nurtured by the Bible.
Prayer edifies the body of Christ. Regardless of the answer to my prayers, I want the church of Christ to be strengthened by His work in my situation.
It testifies Jesus to the world. Whichever way God responds, my heart’s plea is for Jesus to be named by those who don’t know Him yet.
There will always remain some mystery in prayer because God’s ways and thoughts are so far above our own. But we know with certainty, God wants us to pray.
Jesus taught his disciples to pray and often went away alone to pray (Luke 5:16; Matthew 4:23; Mark 1:35).
The Apostle Paul instructs us to pray in every situation. “…in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God” Philippians 4:6 NIV.
James tells us “the prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective” James 5:16 NIV.
Prayer moves us into a closer relationship with the Father. We are changed by the humble act of bowing before Deity and within that context offering all to Him.
When our daughter was ill prayer became a vital lifeline to Jesus. He understood exactly what we were going through, He cared, and He knew what was best for a vast plan I couldn’t see. I didn’t always know how to pray or even what to pray for, but I discovered the God of my prayers in ways I would have never known otherwise.
Untethered from circumstance, worship soars, praise, thanksgiving, and adoration thrive when God changes things as only God alone can.
Further Reading
Do My Prayers Have the Power to Change Things?
Prayer Changes Things. Right? Or Does It?
Photo credit: ©GettyImages/fizkes
Her love for pasta and all things Italian stems from years of ministry abroad. She’d love to tell you about it over a steaming cup of cappuccino. Connect with Sylvia on her blog, When the House is Quiet, her Facebook page, or Twitter.
This article is part of our prayer resources meant to inspire and encourage your prayer life when you face uncertain times. Remember, the Holy Spirit intercedes for us, and God knows your heart even if you can't find the words to pray.
Prayers for Healing
Morning Prayers
Prayers for Family
Prayers for Surgery
Prayers for Strength
Night Prayers Before Bed
Prayers for Protection
The Lord's Prayer: Our Father