In the Christian faith, it is believed that when one prays, God hears and acts.
How Should We Pray?
Instructions on prayer include quiet reflections, meditations, formulaic style, memorized prayers, and as author Beth Moore puts it- Praying God’s Word.
Moore says, "God has handed us two sticks of dynamite with which to demolish our strongholds: His Word and prayer. What is more powerful than two sticks of dynamite placed in separate locations? Two strapped together…taking our two primary sticks of dynamite—prayer and the Word—strapping them together and igniting them with faith in what God says He can do. ”
The concept of praying God’s word is that He has already spoken and inspired the Bible for us, it is already His spoken will. To pray scripture means to pray back to God His own words, which are inspired. In other words, asking God to fulfill His own promises is the fulfillment of 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.” The caveat here is that we actually pray God’s will and not our own.
The Christian Broadcast Network has an article on the Basics of Prayer. They identify prayer and speak about the elements of it and how to have effective prayers . They refer to the Lord’s prayer, or rather the way that Jesus taught His disciples to pray, from the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 6. The basic understanding from this passage of scripture is that we humble ourselves and first worship God for who He is- the Creator and Sustainer of the entire universe. Second, agree with God that His will be done- not ours. Third, ask for our daily provision, then spend time in confession, repentance, and intercession for others. Finally, we ask for protection and once again acknowledge His sovereignty. (Matt. 6:9-13 NKJV)
The interesting portion of this article from CBN is the section on “How can I know that God will answer my prayers?” It reiterates Beth Moore’s views on praying God’s will and His Word. That would necessitate engagement in reading and understanding the Bible, in order to know how to pray what it says. This article suggests “God's will is best understood through a combination of different sources. Our chief source is the Bible. If you read the Bible daily and understand it clearly, you will know the will of God, because it contains His will for our lives .”
This article ends with a section on unanswered prayer, or the perception of unanswered prayers. Referring to Psalm 27:14 that says “Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart be courageous. Wait for the Lord”, they remind the reader that our ideas of God’s timing are not His, nor are our ways His (Isa. 55:9).
of how things ought to be done onto God,
as if He is made in our image,
rather than us being made in His.
To sum up the basics of prayer, the point is to humbly communicate with God, praying in His will and surrendering to His sovereignty in the timing and method of the answer.
Prayer Examples Then
There are many interesting examples of prayer throughout the Bible. One of which is Jesus praying in John 17. He prays for Himself, for His disciples and for all believers. One thing that is repeated is statements of unity. Verses 9 and 10 says “I pray for them. I do not pray for the world but for those whom You have given Me, for they are Yours. And all Mine are Yours, and Yours are Mine, and I am glorified in them.” (CSB) Jesus is acknowledging that all humanity is created by God, and that He has given Jesus to us and given us to Jesus.
A conclusion could be drawn that since God loves us and desires the same unity within the Trinity to be with His created humans, that God’s ear would then be tuned to listening to His beloved’s prayers.
When we consider this, we can find some comfort that Revelation tells us that God keeps our prayers near His Throne. Revelation 5:8 says that there are bowls of incense that are the prayers of the saints. Chapter 8:3-4 says “Another angel, with a golden incense burner, came and stood at the altar. He was given a large amount of incense to offer with the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar in front of the throne. The smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, went up in the presence of God from the angel’s hand.” (CSB)
Make no mistake, that is our prayers being breathed in by God Himself.
We have established how to pray, that we are valuable to God, and that He certainly hears our prayers, in fact keeps them before His throne. Psalms 65:2 confirms that “All humanity will come to you, the One who hears prayer.” (CSB)
It’s no coincidence this is in the Armour of God passage. After listing what our armour is, and admonishing us to stand firm, we are exhorted to pray. Always.
We are not God, nor can we understand His ways.
The answer to our prayers may come within the same 24 hours we pray it or after our lifetime. The point is, it is not for us to grapple with and to think we can manipulate God’s timeliness as we prefer it. Nor should we waste our time wringing our hands in worry. Our confidence is to be placed in Him who is the beginning and ending, and exists outside of time, orchestrating His sovereign will while somehow still allowing us free will.
Biblical examples of God listening and reacting to prayer can be found with God and Abraham in Genesis 18:16-33 and God with Moses in Deuteronomy 9:13-14. In both instances, these men were, in a way, speaking “face to face” with God, which in our form we call prayer. Abraham and Moses were interceding on behalf of others caught in sin, petitioning God for a merciful outcome. They each had compassion on the people they were praying for, and also sought God’s glory to be displayed through it. God heard them and moved. They were righteous men interceding on behalf others who were fallen.
Biblical accounts of Elijah praying for unusual things and God answering are awe inspiring.
1 Kings 17 and 18 tell an incredible story of Elijah first asking God for a 3-year drought, God providing for Elijah through it, then a truly miraculous display of God’s power on a mountain top, where Elijah asks God to prove Himself by sending fire to burn up an offering on an altar. Afterwards, God answers Elijah’s prayer for rain to return. These are faith builder stories in the bible to help us realize God’s desire toward us, to hear us, and to answer us.
Prayer Now
Adele Calhoun describes beautifully how we surrender to pray in God’s will.
“God tells us to ask him for what we need, regardless of our own intuitive responses to requests. He wants us to know that he’s invested in us and concerned about our lives and world. The almighty One wants our prayers. In fact, God will change this world through them. But it is important to realize that we don’t always know what we or others need most. So, listening in our spirit to God’s desires for us and this world is an important part of intercession. God’s Spirit is always concerned with his glory and his kingdom. And his Spirit can lead us to pray in a different manner than we would pray on our own. ”
So as my title asks- Does Prayer Move God?
It’s a complicated yes and no.
As it’s been established, God confirms His own Sovereignty in scripture over and over. This is to say, He is almighty, and He alone knows the entire timeline of history through future.
However, an example of the complicated piece in this can be found in 2 Chronicles 7:14 “If my people who are called by my name humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” (ESV) Also, in Psalm 91:15 “When he calls to me, I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will rescue him and honor him.” (ESV)
Prayer matters to God. We matter to God.
He desires to communicate with us. He desires to bless us. He desires to help us.
So we pray.
And God moves.
