HEARING FROM GOD
Does Prayer Change God’s Mind? #1
Exodus 32:9-14 7/18/04
I would like to begin a “New” series entitled, “Hearing From God”. Over the years as a minister I have witnessed some pretty “dramatic” answers to prayer. Yet "personally" I feel very Inadequate to talk about prayer. I Pray daily, and I believe I under stand what Paul meant when he said, “We should pray without ceasing”. But I still don’t consider myself to be an expert Pray…er! During the coming weeks it is my Goal that, we can learn something NEW about prayer as we study God’s Word together.
The 1st thing I want us to look at in this study is, “Does Prayer Change God’s Mind?” There is a passage in the Bible that speaks about this in Exodus 32. Turn in your Bibles, or look up on the screen.
God was really, really mad! He was so angry that He was ready to “destroy” His “chosen” people! Verses 9 &10 read like this: “The Lord said to Moses: “They are stiff-necked people,” Now leave me alone so that my anger may burn against them and that I may destroy them. Then I will make you into a great nation.”
Who could blame Him! They deserved it! They had built a golden calf, an idol like that of their Egyptian captors. How could they mock the Holy name of God by daring to worship an idol after all He had done for them? How “ungrateful” they were! God’s “anger” Boiled!
Moses was frustrated to say the least! He didn’t want to see all the people of Israel destroyed, but - what could he do? God had spoken!
In an act of unprecented faith, Moses prayed a “risky” prayer on behalf of the Israelite people, hoping that he might change the mind of God! Listen to it in Verses 11-13, “O Lord,” he said, “why should your anger burn against your people, whom you brought out of Egypt with great power & a mighty hand? Why should the Egyptians say, ‘It was evil intent that he brought them out, to kill them in the mountains and to wipe them off the face of the earth’? Turn from your fierce anger; relent and do not bring disaster on your people. Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, to whom you swore by your own self: ‘I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and I will give your descendants all this land has promised them, & it will be their inheritance forever.” (Exodus 32:11-13)
Wow…who did Moses think he was that he could change the mind of God? But the Bible reports an Amazing thing: Because of the Prayer of Moses, God Changed His mind. The next Verse says simply: “The LORD relented and did not bring on his people the disaster he had threatened.” (Ex. 32:14)
The children of Israel still suffered Severe consequences for their actions! 3,000 people died for their disobedience against God! But tens of thousands escaped certain annihilation, and the children of Israel continued as a Nation because Moses prayed that God would change His mind,...And God answered!!
This is an “Amazing” event that challenges you & me to Prayer with power & substance! James tells us in Chapter 5 Vs 16, that the “prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective”! Prayer is not just a mirage, prayer has "REAL" power!!
God doesn’t always change His mind just because we pray. God is Sovereign! He knows and controls the future! But the Bible says that somehow (We don’t know how) God sometimes allows our prayers to affect future events! In trying to understand these things, it’s helpful to realize that God not only knows the future, but He knows ALL the possibilities!!
28 year old Vladimir Kramnik from Russia is the greatest Chess player in the world. He recently beat a computer named “Deep Frits” that was programmed to consider all possible moves, up to more than 20 moves out. Can you fathom how many possible moves and counter moves that is? But Kramnik beat the computer! That means he was able to picture each possible response the computer would give to his move, then each possible move he might make to each of those, then each possible move the computer would make to each of those possibilities, and so on, even better than the computer could!
Kramnik was impressed at least once, however, by the computer’s genius! “I never imagined [the 27th move] and the tactics that followed,” he said. “Only a computer would find and play something like that. I was completely shocked.” Kramnik was shocked by the 27th move. That’s amazing to me, because when I play chess, I’m never able to plan past the 26th move! Truthfully, I usually can’t even picture all my opponent’s possibilities on the next move!
Now, if Vladimir Kramnik can consider every possibility in a game of Chess, up to 26 moves away, don’t you think the infinite, all-powerful, all-knowing God can consider all possible “Moves” in this finite World He has created? What’s more, God knows which move will be the actual one every time; and He moves accordingly, to make sure His will is accomplished. He allows us the freedom in this World to make moves and countermoves, and those decisions really matter to God. But, God is never "Shocked", and He always wins!!
The Bible says plainly that God “changed” His mind because of Moses’ prayer. Moses’ simple, heart-felt prayer, that you can read aloud on 30 seconds “dramatically” changed the course of Jewish history!
As we continue I want to give you Three things about Prayer: 1st - “Prayer Is Not Dictation To God”:
Some people who accept that God can answer our prayers get the “mistaken” idea that prayer is some kind of dictation to God. When they pray, they act as if they’re “telling” God what to do, & He is suppose to do it.
My Friends, God is not a genie, we can go to for some hocus-pocus solutions to our problems! John Stott, author and former Chaplain to the queen of England said, “Prayer would place an Impossible strain on every sensitive Christian, if he knew he was certain to get everything he asked for.” Imagine the ridiculous nature of our World if God granted “every” request! You would Hate such a World! For our own good, we need to live in a World governed by certain basic Scientific Laws that are only interrupted on rare occasions, and then by a God who sees all, knows all, and cares about His children!!
Yogi Berra was once catching in an important game for the Yankees. The score was tied in the bottom of the ninth inning. The pitcher crossed himself, then the batter stepped into the batters box and crossed himself. Both were obviously seeking divine intervention for the next pitch to go their way. Yogi Berra said to the batter, “How about we just let God watch this one?”
It’s Impossible for God to give us everything we ask for. The pitcher might pray, “Lord, help me strike him out, “while the batter is praying, “Lord, let me get a hit.” -or- a Farmer might pray,… “Lord, We need rain for the crops!” While the peacher says, “Lord, we need good weather for the Church picnic!”
If God is All-Powerful and All-Knowing, and if God is a God of love, He’s not going to give us every thing we ask Him for! He will take into account our immaturity & limitations. No matter how much we think we know what’s good for us, God sees the BIGGER picture and is interested in what is BEST for us! The Bible says, “In all things God works for the good of those who love him.” (Rom. 8:28)
There is a 2nd thing about prayer we need to check out today that is, -“Prayer Is Not Simply Submission Onto God.”
Some people go to the complete opposite side & believe that God already has everything mapped out in advance, so prayer is simply meant to be submission of your personal will to His “Predetermined Plan”. In other words, you can pray ALL you want to, but - God has already made up His mind, so there is nothing you can do about it! So, you might as well be “submissive” to His will!
Members of some denominations take this so far that if their child gets injured or sick, they’ll pray for the healing but, refuse to go to the doctor out of an effort to be submissive to God’s “Predetermined” will!! These people might say, “Who are we to tell God how His world is to be run? It’s already Predetermined! Prayer is just getting in tune with God’s will.”
God does see & control the future, but we’re not “puppets” on a string! The Bible assures us that prayer “changes” things! God is Sovereign, but that doesn’t mean that we are helpless! Some things are Predetermined! The Bible makes it clear that God Predetermined the time and place where you would live (see Acts 17:26), the plan for your Redemption (see 1 Corinthians 2:7), the time of Christ’s return (see Thessalonians 2:6), & many other "significant" events!
But - prayer can dramatically “change” a multitude of “daily” events & circumstances!!
There is one last thing about “Prayer” I want you to see today that is, “Prayer Is Cooperation With God”:
God operates this world by certain physical and spiritual laws. One of His spiritual laws is that His power is “released” through prayer! When we pray, we make is possible for His power to be released for our benefit!! When we fail to pray, we limit God’s blessing by our own weaknesses.
The Bible puts it this way in James 4:2, “You do not have, because you do not ask God”. Tim Timmons once said, “One of the deepest truths in life is that everything works better plugged in!” That doesn’t mean God’s power will be directed in exactly the way we want but, that His power will flow through us to accomplish His “Will” in the greatest way possible!!
In his book, ‘The Prayer of the Jabez’ Bruce Wilkinson tells about taking his pre-school age son - David, to the park. David watched some of the older children slide down a huge slide. They seemed to be having a great time. Though the slide was for bigger kids David thought he would try it for himself! But about a third of the way up, he froze! One of the bigger kids behind him yelled, “get going!” but David was frozen with fear and couldn’t go up or down! Wilkinson said he rushed over and hollered at his, “David, are you OK?” David, shaking and clinging to that ladder! But then little David asked his Dad a surprising question: “Dad, will you go down the slide with me?” Wilkinson called up to David, “why son?”
“I can’t do it without you, Dad!” he called back, still trembling! “It’s too BIG for me!”
Wilkinson says, “We climbed that tall ladder all the way to the top. Then, I put my son on my lap, wrapped my arms around him. And we went zipping down the slide together, laughing all the way!” Prayer is saying, “Father, will you do this for me? I can’t do it alone, it’s too BIG for me!” Then, when you step out in faith, you discover that with your Heavenly Father beside you, the sky’s the limit!
Prayer “changes” God’s mind because He Loves us! God did not create us solely to be His servants! He created us to be His children! He wants a “fatherly” relationship with us, and He communicates as much when He allows us the power to “change” His mind!!
NOTE TO ALL WHO READ THIS MESSAGE:
I hope this sermon is one that can be used in sharing God’s Word with others! For many years I have drawn from a wealth of resources including this Web Site. In my rush to prepare for the weekend I have failed to recognize and identify many of my sources. It has never been my intention steal ideas, etc. If this material sounds familiar, it just might be. I’m sorry for not giving credit where credit is due. I hope you will encourage that your material was good enough to be used. Please feel free to use whatever you can to assist in your preparation! May Christ continue to be preacher!