Many people take issue with God’s sovereignty and prayer.  They say something like – if God is truly sovereign and His will, will always be done, then why pray?  In the Bible, however, we see many, many examples of God’s response to prayer.  We are even given a model of prayer by God Himself in Jesus Christ.  (Matt 6:9-13)  So then, there is a way in which our prayers are not seeking to change God’s will, but are compatible with it.  Our prayers are used by God to accomplish His will.

In James 5:16 we are told – “The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.”  Why is that?  What about non-righteous people?  Proverbs 15:29 – “The LORD is far from the wicked,but he hears the prayer of the righteous.”   Now we know that no one is righteous apart from being washed in the blood of Christ.  So God is speaking here of believers.

Here lies the power in the prayer of a Christian.  Just as you were chosen in Christ, apart from any good works, but through the grace and mercy of God by the will of the Father, so it is with prayer.  The very prayers you pray were ordained before the foundation of the world.  That is powerful if you feel the weight of it, isn’t it?

James 4:3 – “You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.”
John 15:7 – “If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.” 

It would not be loving of God to answer a prayer that ultimately would result in you having an idol before him.  This is why God didn’t answer my prayer for a Ferrari Testerrosa when I was 10, or for the girl who sat behind me in English class in 10th grade, Beth, to date me, or for a number of other things.  But the flip side of that is amazing.  If God is my treasure, and my prayers are for things that align with His will, such as greater holiness in my own life, a greater knowledge and affection for God from His Word, to love people more like Christ loves them, etc. I can know 100% that His answer will be yes, and it will be accomplished (the timing and pace is His of course).  Prayer is often discounted, even among Christians, but it is the mark of a Christian who truly understands himself or herself rightly before God.  We have nothing to offer, we all come to Him as children, asking for help.  These prayers are not merely going into the air, but are heard by a righteous, all-powerful, holy God, who loves us, and will work everything to be accomplished for our good.

How is your prayer life?  How often do you pray?  Are you praying for things that align with God’s will, or maybe would cause you to stray from it?  Know that you’re prayed for, and my confidence is not in my prayer, but in the One who hears it.  1 Thessoloians 5:16-18 – “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”

Grace and Peace,
Adam