{"id":57612,"date":"2020-09-24T12:20:06","date_gmt":"2020-09-24T16:20:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/blog\/?p=57612"},"modified":"2020-09-25T08:56:44","modified_gmt":"2020-09-25T12:56:44","slug":"how-prayer-really-works","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/blog\/2020\/09\/how-prayer-really-works\/","title":{"rendered":"How Prayer Really Works"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"AlliBy Alli Worthington<\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u2019s not easy to admit this to you, but I forget to pray. I\u2019ve always felt God loves me and known he was intimately involved in the details of my life, but I forget he wants me to talk to him. I know he knows my thoughts and the intent of my heart and has guided my future, so talking to him sometimes seems optional.<\/p>\n

What I discovered on those Wednesday nights in the upstairs classrooms at the end of a long hallway at Long Hollow Baptist Church was what I had been missing all these years. I discovered a God who wants to partner with us and invites us into an adventure with him but who also patiently waits for us to call down the resources of heaven and join him.<\/p>\n

Jesus prayed<\/a> continually and proactively, and heaven opened up because of it.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

When Jesus prayed, the blind could see<\/a>, the paralyzed walked<\/a>, the mentally ill were given a sound mind<\/a>, and even the sea became a path to walk on<\/a>. Prayer was Jesus\u2019s principal language.<\/p>\n

Jesus knew well what would happen to him. He knew he was on earth to bring heaven and earth together for a few short years. He knew his mission was to sacrifice himself on the cross for our sins. He defeated death, hell, and the grave to make a way to eternal life for all who live for him.<\/p>\n

[Read the Bible Gateway Blog post, How to Fight Fear, Wrestle Worry, and Allay Anxiety: An Interview with Alli Worthington<\/em><\/a>]<\/p>\n

He knew every second of his life, and he still prayed constantly. Why in the world had I lived so much of my life not talking to God daily?<\/p>\n

For too long I viewed God\u2019s will for my life as static and done\u2014my actions would ultimately have no effect on his will. If he wanted it, it would happen, and that was that. And my prayer life showed it.<\/p>\n

During a season of study, I discovered a God who responds to our prayers and has even changed his mind because of his people\u2019s prayers. Moses was able to change God\u2019s mind when God was going to destroy the people of Israel because of their sin (Exodus 32<\/a>). The Israelites were basically all of us, always doubting, forgetting, and complaining, and this time they really blew it. While Moses was spending time with God, the people melted all their gold and formed a cow to worship instead of worshiping God. God was ready to wipe them all out and start over, but Moses changed God\u2019s mind.<\/p>\n

Yes, you read that right. The prayers of Moses changed the mind of God.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have seen these people,\u201d the Lord said to Moses, \u201cand they<\/em>
\nare a stiff-necked people. Now leave me alone so that my anger<\/em>
\nmay burn against them and that I may destroy them. Then I will<\/em>
\nmake you into a great nation.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

But Moses sought the favor of the Lord his God. \u201cLord,\u201d<\/em>
\nhe said, \u201cwhy should your anger burn against your people, whom<\/em>
\nyou brought out of Egypt with great power and a mighty hand?<\/em>
\nWhy should the Egyptians say, \u2018It was with evil intent that he<\/em>
\nbrought them out, to kill them in the mountains and to wipe them<\/em>
\noff the face of the earth\u2019? Turn from your fierce anger;<\/em>
\nrelent and do not bring disaster on your people. Remember your<\/em>
\nservants Abraham, Isaac and Israel, to whom you swore by your<\/em>
\nown self: \u2018I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars<\/em>
\nin the sky and I will give your descendants all this land I promised<\/em>
\nthem, and it will be their inheritance forever.\u2019 \u201d Then the<\/em>
\nLord relented and did not bring on his people the disaster he<\/em>
\nhad threatened (Exodus 32:9\u201314<\/a>).<\/em><\/p>\n

God didn\u2019t change his mind because Moses knew better. God wasn\u2019t wrong and then saw the light. God is omniscient. He knows all. He changed his mind because he loved Moses and had compassion for people who deserved wrath.<\/p>\n

God moves based on our prayers. Yes, prayer changes us, and that is important, but prayer actually changes things. God\u2019s character will never change, but he can and does change his mind based on our interactions with him. His mind will never be changed to something that is opposed to his plan for our lives, and we may never understand why some prayers are not answered the way we hoped they would be. But what I do know is God is always listening, he cares about what we care about, and he moves on our behalf.<\/p>\n