Hezekiah was one of the great kings among God's people, and there is an incredible story in 2 Kings 20. Isaiah the prophet comes at God's command and informs Hezekiah that he needs to put his house in order because he is fixing to die. Hezekiah weeps and prays before God, and before Isaiah gets out of the palace, God stops him and says, "Go back and tell Hezekiah that I have seen his tears, and I have heard his prayers, and I am going to heal him." (v. 5)
It is truly an incredible story about the power of prayer. I read today that when we pray rightly, God answers our prayer before we finish praying. That is based on the promises of His word. Jesus told us that anything we ask in His name will be done. So when we pray God's will in faith, He answers before we finish our prayers. Wow.
But my question today, is "Does God change His mind?" We know the scripture teaches that God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. So does that mean there is no real need to pray because God has already decided what will happen? Is the outcome so pre-determined that our prayers are just mechanical recitations that have no impact? Of does God never changing have to do with His character, and in fact He does change what He is going to do in certain situations based on our prayers.
Offer your opinion. No matter how radical you are, let's seek the truth.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Yes, God changes His mind. Even before we're born God has a plan for us. But we are not His puppets. He gave us a mind to use. He gives us the freedom to make choices. He wants us to love and depend on Him to make our life plans, but we don't always do that because we are so self-absorbed and we think we can do things without Him. Sometimes, though, we come to our senses and realize that we NEED Him, and we REPENT. This is very pleasing to God, and he intervenes and shows/guides us in another direction then where we were headed and where He was going to let us go and destroy ourselves. There are instances in the Bible where He changed His mind as well. He was so upset at how the world had turned out after He created it, that He was going to destroy it, but instead He sent the flood and kept Noah and his family so a new world could begin. (This is only one instance, there are others).
ReplyDeleteAnd the question of prayers being answered..Oh, yes, I do believe in the power of prayer. My prayers have been answered so many times. I have had some very difficult times in my life, and through the tears and the prayers God answered me, always. He is my strength.
well , very good question--
ReplyDeleteall through scrpiture we have warnings , heeding and instruction of what to do & not do , we pray for help , guidance , strength , etc to shoot for a christ like life and a life pleasing to God--i believe are prayers are heard & answered in God's way.
now does god change his mind --i am a child of God by faith in his son --that cannot be changed , i can fall out of fellowship & not grow in christ , this can be changed by being led by the holy sprit and less by man's world --
Just a thought: Could it be that in those cases where God "changed" His mind that He had planned to do it that way all along? Since He knew what He was going to do, even though He had said He was going to do something different, how can that be changing His mind? Mason
ReplyDeleteIf He was going to do it anyway, then did prayer matter? And if prayer doesn't matter, why pray? Or, if prayer matters, then does it move God to a different position?
ReplyDeleteNo, I do not believe God changes His mind. God has already planned everything that will happen. We pray as part of our relationship with God. We MUST pray despite the fact that our future planned by God.
ReplyDeleteNot to be contentious, Becky, but there are many who would say if God already has everything planned that will happen, that means prayer doesn't accomplish anything other than align us with God's will. Why does God tell us to pray for workers for the harvest, for example, if He is going to send them anyway? And as someone pointed out on the facebook page, when you read about Moses' intercession for the people of Israel, it sure sounds like God changes His mind. And the example that I sight above is of Hezekiah whom God said was going to die. Was God just kidding? Or worse, was He not telling the truth. Yes, He knew that Hezekiah was going to pray, but what if he had not prayed. Are we just puppets?
ReplyDeleteWell, I have thought about this, since yesterday. I think that God does change His mind, when We Pray with a Humble Heart, asking Him for help, In Hezekiah's case, God knew that He was going to change His mind and gave Hezekiah the chance to Pray, which He did with a Heart for God's will to be done.
ReplyDeleteChange his mind? Not in the human sense or understanding of changing one's mind. It you
ReplyDeleteread the many prophecies given in the bible,
i.e. the LORD and Abraham at Mamre, Jeremiah and
the Potter and the Clay; you find that they start
with the Lord's declaration of purpose. Since the Lord relents of his purpose it would indicate
to me that the prophecies are conditional for in each case when the people turned to the Lord in
prayer and or repentance he relented of the purpose intended. I would conclude that God's purpose will be accomplshed in our lives. God is
never taken by surprise by what we do. Prayer can change circumstances. God never has to back
track on what he say's and "change his mind"; he is always faithful to himself and his purpose.
Jesus taught us to pray that God's will be done
here on earth as well as in heaven and we should
always do so to glorfy the Lord.
Does God change His mind?
ReplyDeleteTough question! We must first start with what we know about God; that is, we must look at this question from the perspective of God's sovereignty, omnipotence, omniscience, omnipresence, and providence.
Saying that God changes His mind directly contradicts belief in God's omniscience! If we are willing to say that God does not know what we are going to pray before we pray, then we can also conclude that God does not know the outcome of humanity (i.e., eschatology). What type of hope is this? This topic can be a very slippery slope - we must be cautious with our theology. We must be willing to step outside of our understanding and search the Bible for the deeper truths. In addition, we must keep in mind that any theology that is not theocentric or christocentric is more than likely pushing the realm of heresy!
For example, first reading the story of Hezekiah does give the impression that God changes his mind, but when we look deeper into the story, we can realize that Hezekiah did not have a son. If Hezekiah (the king of Judah) died before having a son, then the lineage of David would cease. This ceasing would negate God's covenant with David. The answered prayer did not have anything to do with benefitting Hezekiah - it had everything to do with God's faithfulness of keeping the covenant with David - which brought about the Messiah! Also, God already knew what was on Hezekiah's heart!
One last point in reference to God giving us whatever we ask. If you are using the verses in John 14 and 15, look deeper at the context of what Jesus is talking about! Jesus is not taking about prayers for the ultimate benefit of man!The context for John 14:14 - to do greater works to glorify the Father and to receive the Holy Spirit; John 15:7 - to bear fruit and to abide in Christ to glorify the Father; John 15:16 - to love one another, to lay down our lives for one another, and to bear fruit that remains all to glorify the Father! We cannot forget the in the beginning of John 15 God the Father is the vinedresser who cuts the unbeliever off and cuts the believer to bear more fruit. Also within this context, the only people who are friends of God are those who ABIDE in Christ, and friends die for each other - this means if you are a friend of Christ by adiding in Christ, you are to die for Christ!
The purpose of prayer is to change our hearts, so that we will reflect the image of Christ, to help people be reconciled back to the Father, to glorify the Father, and to enjoy and be satisfied in the only thing that can truly satisify humanity - the Father and His holiness.
Nothing worse than Scripture twisted for man's benefit instead of God's glory!!!!!!!!!