Will God Change His Mind Based On Our Choices?(Part 4)

This is now the fourth article exploring whether God changes his mind. What we think about God’s willingness to change things based on how and why we pray makes all the difference in the world as to if we are motivated to pray as we are challenged by scripture to pray. If you have not read articles 1-3 please do so before reading this one.

Christian theology has often gotten concepts wrong over the centuries.  The question, “Does God Change His Mind?” has been one of the big stumbling blocks for many believers. Our minds were built for reason and logic but when our doctrines contradict the scripture in order to support the concept of the sovereignty of God we do God and scripture a huge disservice and Satan loves nothing more than to keep believers from trusting God to move on their behalf.

When we read the scripture that talks about God changing his mind about blessing someone because of what they did or did not do, it should cause us to ponder the reality that God has given us all power to change history for good or for bad.  If Adam and Eve had pondered the significance of their choices in the garden, then history would have been something very different than what we think of today.

Take, for instance, the story of God choosing the first king in Israel. God calls a man called Saul and even goes so far as to change his heart when he called him and yet Saul squandered God’s calling and empowerment to the point that God said he regretted making him king.

1 Samuel 15:10-11

Then the word of the LORD came to Samuel, saying,“I regret that I have made Saul king, for he has turned back from following Me and has not carried out My commands.” And Samuel was distressed and cried out to the LORD all night.

Just a few verses later the prophet Samuel makes a statement that many theologians and pastors have twisted to come up with the false idea that God does not change his mind. The purpose of Samuel’s words were that God had decided to reject Saul because of his rebellion against the will of God, not that he “NEVER” changes his mind but in some instances he stands firm on his decisions.

1 Samuel 15:28-29

So Samuel said to him, “The LORD has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today and has given it to your neighbor, who is better than you. “Also the Glory of Israel will not lie or change His mind; for He is not a man that He should change His mind.”

The prophet Ezekiel also makes it clear that God often decided what he will do based in part on what we determine in our own area of choices. When we refuse to submit to his will we pay the price of God not showing mercy on us even when we want it desperately.

Ezekiel 24:14

“I, the LORD, have spoken; it is coming and I will act. I will not relent, and I will not pity and I will not be sorry; according to your ways and according to your deeds I will judge you,” declares the Lord GOD.’”

Finally, consider the prophet Jonah. He ran from his calling because he didn’t like what God wanted him to do and he ran from God’s presence as if he could do so. He paid for it by being swallowed by a whale and in agony cried out to God and repented. So, what did God do? He set Jonah free and Jonah preached to the city of Nineveh, hoping God would judge them.  Instead, God forgave them all and showed mercy because they repented.  This caused Jonah to be angry and frustrated with God. A simple act of repentance changed God’s mind in this case and it can do the same for all of us if we surrender to the will of God.

The scripture constantly points to the idea that God often acts according to our choices and actions. He extends kindness, mercy and blessing when we choose according to his will and also acts in discipline and judgment with us when we don’t. To think that God is static in his choices concerning our lives is to intentionally not read the word of God as he has written it and as he hopes we should understand it.

Lastly, I want to look at what Jesus taught about God changing his mind. Why? Because what he taught should motivate us to choose wisely and not live our lives as if our choices don’t matter.  There are nearly 600 verses of scripture that confirm how much our prayers can make a difference if we exercise them.  Much of this truth is spelled out in the history of Israel.

Jesus not only taught his disciples to pray but he taught them why our prayers either work or don’t work. Changing God’s mind is no small thing and yet prayer, done in the right way and with the right motive, makes all the difference in the world. The outcomes of our prayers are often in our grasp yet few seem to understand that.

In Matthew 6, Jesus talked about how not to pray. He said we should not pray like hypocrites. He said we should not brag about our prayer life by praying on the street corner or to be heard by others but instead we should seek God personally because God will reward us if we do.

Matthew 6:6

“But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.

The whole reason the disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray is because they saw that Jesus had results from his prayer life and they wanted to have the same experience from their prayers. The disciples knew that praying without results is a waste of time but praying the way Jesus was doing it seemed to be fruitful and life changing. In the Lord’s prayer, Jesus mapped out how to order our priorities by being kingdom minded, by seeking God for our daily needs and by forgiving those who had offended us. The Lord’s prayer was never meant to be recited as if we were giving a public speech but for praying with structure and focus on the priorities that God desires.  It is strange how we took meaningful instruction on how to pray effectively and made it into a ritual instead.

Matthew 6:9-12

“Pray, then, in this way: ‘Our Father who is in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. [10] ‘Your kingdom come. Your will be done, On earth as it is in heaven.[11] ‘Give us this day our daily bread. [12] ‘And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.

Jesus taught his disciples to expect God to act on their behalf if they prayed with conviction and sincere faith, not some wishful, half hearted shopping list. Jesus taught that we can alter the outcome of different events in our lives and the lives of others if only we prayed as God desires. I believe we have often learned more about how not to pray, than how to pray, to move the heart of God.

Mark 11:24

“Therefore I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they will be granted you.

The parable Jesus used to teach about persistent prayer in the book of Luke is exactly the heart of Jesus about how prayer works. Prayer is not some religious function that we impress others with but rather a privilege of asking and receiving from God. In this parable about the widow and judge, Jesus illustrates that persistent prayer is in fact how prayer works. It is constantly seeking God and his willingness to change circumstances that we often can not change on our own. It illustrates God’s willingness to help us if we don’t give up on him.

Luke 18:1

One day Jesus told his disciples a story to illustrate their need for constant prayer and to show them that they must never give up.

According to Jesus, prayer is about relying on God to change things in our lives. It is about laboring in our conversations with God until we discover how he wants to change things.  We often pray for God to do things our way when we should be praying to change things the way he wants them changed.  Many times, God limits his actions and involvement to us and that is mind blowing to say the least.

Finally, consider the famous passage in 2 Chronicles 7:14. This is God speaking about what we have to do in order to get approval and blessing. It is about four things we must do if God is to move on our behalf and these are requirements for God to be free to act on our behalf. Unfortunately, we only pray God will move on our behalf but fail to move on his behalf and on behalf of his word.

2 Chronicles 7:14

Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and heal their land.

Believing that God does not act according to our behavior is to deny the history of Israel and the ministry of Jesus.  Seeing that we can change God’s mind if we meet his conditions should give us hope and encouragement to press into prayer and the character of God.  He longs for us to be blessed and to not suffer as we so often do.

Questions:

1) Are you aware of just how much God wants you to succeed? His word is speaking time and time again about that very fact.

2) Have you believed what God says about your ability to pray and see breakthroughs? (Mt 7:7)

Asking, Seeking, Knocking …. so that God might move mightily!

Pastor Dale