Click to read: Does Prayer Change God's Mind? Isaiah 37:21 via www.JeanWilund.com

“Because you have prayed to Me”

Have you ever had an incident where you felt led to pray for someone or something, and then when you did, God answered exactly as you prayed? 

Years ago, my youngest daughter needed 20 more points on her SAT score to win the top state scholarship. I prayed and asked God to give her what she needed.

To make it obvious that His power had given, I asked Him to give her exactly 20 more points. Or, if He preferred—because I preferred—He could give her 120 more points.

I prayed, and she took the test.

She got exactly 20 points!

What??!! 

I’m thankful God answered out of the abundance of His kindness rather than out of the weakness of my faith. 

“Because you have prayed to Me”

Isaiah 37:21

Because I prayed to God, did I successfully convince God to do something He hadn’t planned on doing?

Does prayer change God’s mind?

Let’s see what the Bible says. 


Hezekiah Prayed

In 2 Kings 18-19, Sennacherib, the king of Assyria sent his commander to threaten Hezekiah, the king of Judah. If Hezekiah didn’t surrender, Sennacherib would simply destroy Hezekiah and Jerusalem.

He boldly asserted that Hezekiah’s God was completely unable to rescue Judah (2 Kings 18:13 – 2 Kings 19:37).

Hezekiah prayed, and God asserted His power over Sennacherib and Assyria’s mighty army.

“Because you have prayed to Me” (2 Kings 19:20)

Then it happened that night that the angel of the Lord went out and struck 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians; and when men rose early in the morning, behold, all of them were dead. (2 Kings 19:35 NASB)

Hezekiah Prayed Again

Some time after that astounding victory, God sent the prophet Isaiah to Hezekiah with disturbing news: Hezekiah needed to set his house in order because he was going to die. (2 Kings 20:1-7)

Again Hezekiah prayed.

Again God did exactly what Hezekiah requested. God healed him.

Did Hezekiah’s prayer change God’s mind both times?

If he did, I’ve got some things I want to change God’s mind about, too.

Let’s think about this.


If We Can Change God’s Mind

If I can change God’s mind, then you can, too.

What if you and I want different things? I certainly don’t want you changing God’s mind.

In fact, do we really want a God who can be man-handled into changing His mind at all? 

Plus, if God changes His mind then:

  • He was either unsure about what He should do and our prayer nudged Him, OR
  • He’s waiting to see how life pans out and then adjusts His decisions accordingly, OR
  • He doesn’t really care one way or the other and simply waits for us to make a decision for Him, OR
  • He was about to make a mistake and fortunately man was there to correct Him.

Scripture tells us none of these are true.

He who is the Glory of Israel does not lie or change his mind; for he is not a human being, that he should change his mind.

I Samuel 15:29 NIV

But the plans of the LORD stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart through all generations.

Psalm 33:11 NIV

He is the Rock, his works are perfect, and all his ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is he.

Deuteronomy 32:4 NIV

God Works Out His Will in Prayer

Throughout Scripture we see that God asks questions and brings matters up to individuals for the purpose of working out His will, not because He needs help or more information. 

God presents situations to His people to give them the opportunity to line their hearts up with His heart—not the other way around.

“For the eyes of the LORD move to and fro throughout the earth that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His.”

2 Chronicles 16:9a NASB

King Asa’s Will vs God’s Will

In 2 Chronicles 16, God presented King Asa of Judah an opportunity to trust in Him to protect Judah when Israel came against them.

Asa didn’t go into the house of the Lord to pray and seek His will. He went in to bring out gold and silver to bribe the king of Syrian to turn against Israel instead. He trusted in gold and silver rather than prayers to his unfailing God.

God sent the prophet Hanani to Asa to remind him of His faithfulness in the past and to warn him of the consequences of his foolishness.

Asa had trusted in an earthly king rather than the sovereign God of all the earth.

“You have acted foolishly in this. Indeed, from now on you will surely have wars.”

2 Chronicles 16:9 NASB

Did Asa Hinder God’s Will?

Did God not get what He wanted in this situation because Asa didn’t pray?

God is fully able to get exactly what He wants every time.

He chooses to let man have his own way at times so that they—and we, thousands of years later—will understand the consequences of trusting in man instead of Him.

God fulfilled His will. He got what He wanted—to expose Asa’s heart. 

Asa’s heart was to trust in a self-centered, sinful king of limited strength rather than in the all-powerful, all-loving God who never fails. His heart refused to line up with God’s heart, and God exposed it.

When God sent Hanani to Asa to confront him and give him a chance to repent and trust, Asa threw Hanani into jail. 

Asa’s actions declared his independence from God. And he got it. God withdrew His protection, which brought Asa much suffering.

How tragic. Asa only needed to humble himself and pray, and then stand back and watch the power of God at work.

God looks for men and women to be pray-ers: vessels through which He’ll pour out His blessings and power onto the earth and accomplish His will—that which was already in His heart to do.

Now back to Hezekiah.

Did Hezekiah change God’s mind?

No, Hezekiah didn’t change God’s mind. God changed Hezekiah’s.

When God sent His prophet Isaiah to tell Hezekiah he’d soon die, God did so to elicit a response of faith from Hezekiah. 

God gave him the chance to trust Him for his future. (Or not.) And to expose his faith.

Unlike Asa, Hezekiah didn’t lash out in anger at God’s prophet when he brought bad news. He turned his face to the wall and prayed. (2 Kings 20:2)

He didn’t fire off at God, telling Him He didn’t have the right to let him die. He prayed from the depth of his soul to the One he knew could change his future. 

Hezekiah had shown himself to be a willing vessel for God to use to display His power. God did not disappoint. He left no doubt as to the expanse of His power in response to Hezekiah’s prayers.

“Because you have prayed to Me”

2 Kings 19:20

Unfortunately, later in Hezekiah’s life, he stopped being a willing vessel. Pride took over and ruled his heart instead.

Being a willing vessel is a day-by-day, moment-by-moment choice. 

So what’s the final answer to whether prayer changes God’s mind? 


The Final Answer: Four Truths & A Conclusion

I can’t begin to explain all the workings of God’s mind. My own mind is infinitesimally small compared to His and unable to comprehend all God does and thinks. But I have an opinion based on four powerful Truths we see in the Bible.

1. God is sovereign

If God isn’t sovereign over all, then He’s not sovereign at all. But He is.

He’s sovereign over all the affairs of the world from the beginning of time through forever.

No one has power over God. He never makes a mistake or changes his mind. 

Declaring the end from the beginning, And from ancient times things which have not been done, Saying, “My purpose will be established, And I will accomplish all My good pleasure”

Isaiah 46:10 NASB

2. God uses prayer to change events on earth

The spirit of man is limited in strength, but the Spirit of God is all-powerful.

God has chosen to use prayer as a powerful, primary means to release His power on earth. 

That’s not to say that God can only release His power through prayer. He’s never at our mercy. (See Isaiah 59:16 below.)

3. God raises up specific people to pray

Because God’s all-knowing, He knows who to alert about certain situations so they’ll pray. 

God knows who to raise up to pray.

He also knows who would rather throw someone in jail for suggesting we pray to and trust in God. 

Both glorify God:

The willing vessels glorify God by their faith and prayers, through which He works with power to accomplish His will.

The unwilling vessels (unwittingly) glorify God through the unfortunate and often tragic consequences that come from not trusting in Him. 

He saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no one to intercede; then his own arm brought him salvation, and his righteousness upheld him.

Isaiah 59:16, ESV

[“‘And wondered’ – This is language adapted to the mode of speaking among men. It cannot be taken literally, as if God was amazed by suddenly coming to the knowledge of this fact. It is designed to express, with great emphasis, the truth, that there was no one to intercede, and that the wicked world was lying in a helpless condition.” — Barnes Notes on the Bible.]

4. Prayer changes our hearts, not God’s

The prayer of faith changes our hearts from self-centered hearts to God-centered hearts. 

And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.

Romans 12:2 NASB

God can work through even a little faith — the faith of a mustard seed. (Luke 17:6)

He works in astounding ways through pure faith. 

God answered every prayer Jesus has prayed because His heart is always in perfect alignment with God’s heart. May we align our heart with God’s every day. Every minute.

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us.

Ephesians 3:20

What About Unanswered Prayers?

No one other than Jesus has had all their prayers answered as they prayed them, because no one else has ever had such a perfect alignment of hearts with God.

Jesus didn’t pray for John the Baptist to be saved from prison or death. Only God knows why it wasn’t His will, but I have my thoughts, and they come from John’s own words: He must increase, but I must decrease. (John 3:30)

But that’s another post for another day.


CONCLUSION: Prayer does not change God’s mind. It changes ours.

Prayer transforms our minds, and molds us into willing vessels of faith through whom God can do the powerful work on earth that was already in His mind to do.  

In view of all this, let’s humble ourselves before God and give Him our hearts.

Let’s ask Him to mold and shape our hearts and minds into shining reflections of His own Son.

And then let’s pray.

With our will in line with God’s, our prayers will move the mountains God desire to move in our world, nation, communities, families, and in our own hearts (Mark 11:23; Romans 8:29).