Does Prayer Change Things? (Crucial Questions, #3)

by R.C. Sproul

Prayer prompts and nurtures obedience, putting the heart into the proper "frame of mind" to desire obedience.

One might pray and not be a Christian, but one cannot be a Christian and not pray.

Romans 8:26- 27 says: "The Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God." When we don't know how to pray or what to pray for in a given situation, the Holy Spirit assists us.

John Wesley once remarked that he didn't think much of ministers who didn't spend at least four hours per day in prayer. Luther said that he prayed regularly for an hour every day except when he experienced a particularly busy day. Then he prayed for two hours.

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If God is sovereign over the actions and intents of men, why pray at all? A secondary concern revolves around the question, "Does prayer really change anything?"

My wife and I are as close as two people can be. Often I know what she's going to say almost before she says it. The reverse is also true. But I still like to hear her say what is on her mind. If that is true of man, how much more true is it of God?

"Does prayer change God's mind?" My answer brought storms of protest. I said simply, "No." Now, if the person had asked me, "Does prayer change things?" I would have answered, "Of course!"

Things change, and they change according to His sovereign will, which He exercises through secondary means and secondary activities.

The prayer of His people is one of the means He uses to bring things to pass in this world. So if you ask me whether prayer changes things, I answer with an unhesitating "Yes!"

The Bible says that man is free, but he is not an autonomous law unto himself.

Even in Gethsemane, He requested an option, a different way. When the request was denied, He bowed to the Father's will.

The very reason we pray is because of God's sovereignty, because we believe that God has it within His power to order things according to His purpose.