Say what?? Okay, so if you read the title of this post and you're already looking for the comments section so you can correct me by giving example after example of all the answered prayers in your life... breath, and give me a moment. And said, I beseech thee, O LORD God of heaven, the great and terrible God, that keepeth covenant and mercy for them that love him and observe his commandments: Let thine ear now be attentive, and thine eyes open, that thou mayest hear the prayer of thy servant, which I pray before thee now, day and night...
(Nehemiah 1:5-6)
First of all, our prayers are spoken into the wind if we are not first recognizing that God has sovereign power and authority... the King of Kings... and we are here as His servants. When praying a prayer that is genuine and heartfelt, we are recognizing Him on his throne, and our place before Him, humbly at His feet.
It must be acknowledged that when we pray, whether knelt beside a bed or couch, driving along in our vehicle, or in the pew at church... our prayers are not us having our way with God. Quite the opposite, it is God who is having His way with us!
Subconsciously at times, we tend to take to prayer as though we are manipulating and convincing God to give us our way, grant us a request, or hear our babbling. We're not in charge at that moment... rather, it's God doing a work in us... influencing, controlling, and putting the pressure on us to surrender completely to Him! Quite simply... If you're not willing to change, have an attitude adjustment, submit to His will, and apply some serious elbow grease to our own situation, then don't bother praying. It's OUR place to change, not God's.
We need to think about God's position. Seriously, picture it. Do we honestly think this great and mighty being, who created all things, and has every hair on your head numbered, could ever be caught by surprise, or let things get out of control according to HIS will? We have no room to try convincing God to change His mind. His plan will always overpower, outweigh, and over-shine ours.
Ah, but what about moments in God's word where God changed His mind?? Keep reading the content, because even then, God was unchanging. In the above referenced scripture, Nehemiah called out for favor on his people, and the situation changed... but it wasn't God that changed His mind deciding to grant Nehemiah his request. Something did change... but it certainly wasn't God's will... it was Nehemiah's heart.
So to clarify the statement made in the post title, prayer changes nothing about the situation or circumstance. It doesn't change God's mind, or make you a head haunch-o that has this miraculous ability to move the earth and change the world. Quite the opposite, prayer moves US... it changes everything about US! How we view a moment, how we handle a situation, how our attitudes approach a moment, how we let go, and submit wholeheartedly without resistance to the Lord, and His plan for us. The change isn't in God, the change is our perception, reaction, and faith in an enormous God that already has it all under control.
