Exodus 32:10 " Can our prayers change God's mind "

Exodus 32:10 NLT

10 Now leave me alone so my fierce anger can blaze against them, and I will destroy them. Then I will make you, Moses, into a great nation.”

“Can my prayers change God’s mind “

Note: Today we just want to answer this question “ Can our prayers change God’s mind “

In Exodus 32 after God had miraculously delivered

the Israelites from 400 years of Egyptian bondage

the bible says that these Israelites had a party all night long

that had sexual immorality and they erected a golden calf

and worship this golden calf and it angered God so much that God said this

Exodus 32:10 NLT

10 Now leave me alone so my fierce anger can blaze against them, and I will destroy them. Then I will make you, Moses, into a great nation.”

In the next few verses Moses intercede or prays for the people and there’s a very interest response from God.

Exodus 32:11–14 NLT

11 But Moses tried to pacify the Lord his God. “O Lord!” he said. “Why are you so angry with your own people whom you brought from the land of Egypt with such great power and such a strong hand? 12 Why let the Egyptians say, ‘Their God rescued them with the evil intention of slaughtering them in the mountains and wiping them from the face of the earth’? Turn away from your fierce anger. Change your mind about this terrible disaster you have threatened against your people! 13 Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. You bound yourself with an oath to them, saying, ‘I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars of heaven. And I will give them all of this land that I have promised to your descendants, and they will possess it forever.’ ” 14 So the Lord changed his mind about the terrible disaster he had threatened to bring on his people.

Note: So, the question here is “Can our prayers change God’s Mind?” If not, what’s the point of even praying if God has already determined everything that’s going to happen.

Note: This very lesson is WHY we need to understand PRAYER and that God NEVER design prayer to change things.

1st Prayer was designed to Communicate with God

2nd Prayer was designed to get Information from God

3rd Prayer was designed to be Encourage by God

Note: Let’s look at the bible to answer this question and ANY QUESTION.

Note: We have to STOP going by what we THINK, FEEL or HEAR and see what God says .

Note: Let me give you 5 Truths that should govern the way we think about how to answer this question.

Note: We will rightly divide the word of truth today

because there’s some passages that seem to suggest

that God change His mind,

responded to the prayers of His people,

He planned to do one thing and ended up doing something different

and there’s a couple of verses that said GOD REPENTED, so what do that mean.

Truth # 1

The Bible Commands us to Pray

The reason why I start with that.

Is because if you’re not careful.

You’re start to say if God has already

Pre-determined everything

And our prayers really don’t change God’s mind

WHY PRAY

1 Thessalonians 5:17 NLT

17 Never stop praying.

Colossians 4:2 NLT

2 Devote yourselves to prayer with an alert mind and a thankful heart.

Ephesians 6:18 NLT

18 Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.

Note: Whether our prayers can change God’s mind or not is irrelevant as Christians we need to be obedient to what the bible tells us to do whether we think it’s going to make a difference or not.

REASON ONE :

Jesus Modeled Prayer

Note: In John chapter 17 shortly before Jesus was getting ready to endure the suffering related to His crucifixion, He offers this beautiful prayer that we can break up into 3 parts.

Part # 1 – Verses 1-5 – He prayed for Himself.

Part # 2 – Verses 6-19 – He prayed for His Disciples

Part # 3 – Verses 20-26 – Jesus prayed for all Believers throughout Time

Note: So, if Jesus the Son of God

Felt the need to pray

We need to follow His example and pray as well

REASON TWO :

Prayer has Spiritual, Emotional, & Psychological benefits

Example: That’s so True because I go behind my house on the Track and pray EVERYDAY

How much better do you feel?

When you pray & move the burden

From yourself and put it in the hands of a Almighty God

Philippians 4:6–7 NLT

6 Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. 7 Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.

Truth # 1

The Bible Commands us to Pray

Truth # 2

The Character and Nature of God does not Change

This is why Theology is so important

For us as Christians because theology

Will guard & govern how you might approach

This particular question

What this means is that the

Nature, The essence, The character of God

Does not change

If God is just today

He won’t be unjust tomorrow

If God is all knowing today

He can’t be not all knowing tomorrow

God remains the same

Numbers 23:19 NLT

19 God is not a man, so he does not lie. He is not human, so he does not change his mind. Has he ever spoken and failed to act? Has he ever promised and not carried it through?

Note: This is interesting because in Exodus 32 it did say that God change His mind

To say that God change His mind would be a contradiction of scripture according to this verse, Malachi 3:6 NLT

Malachi 3:6 NLT

6 “I am the Lord, and I do not change. That is why you descendants of Jacob are not already destroyed.

Truth # 1

The Bible Commands us to Pray

Truth # 2

The Character and Nature of God does not Change

Truth #3

The Purposes of God Do not Change

In other words

If God has purposed something to happen

Then it’s going to happen

And if He has purposed something not to happen

It’s not going to happen

Isaiah 46:9–10 (NLT)

9 Remember the things I have done in the past. For I alone am God! I am God, and there is none like me.

10 Only I can tell you the future before it even happens. Everything I plan will come to pass, for I do whatever I wish.

In other words

It does not matter how many people you get to pray

If God has purpose or decreed something to happen

It’s not going to make a difference

Example: If you get 500,000 thousand Christians to come together and pray for Jesus not to return that’s not going to happen because Jesus will & coming back

Note: God’s Purpose Will Prevail so we have to pray according to His Will

Truth # 1

The Bible Commands us to Pray

Truth # 2

The Character and Nature of God does not Change

Truth #3

The Purposes of God Do not Change

Truth #4

God is All-Knowing [Omniscient]

If we understand this truth

It can help us better and get closer

To the answer to this question

That’s our subject “Can our prayers Change God’s mind”

To suggest that God would change His mind

Would suggest that God came into

Some new information that He may didn’t have access

To before

So He was planning on doing this

But because somebody prayed

Somebody interceded

Somebody brought some new information God’s way

So now God says “OH”

The first thing I was planning on doing

Is not the best thing

So let me improve upon that

And now go in a different direction

And change my mind

This is why Theology is so important

Because when you start with the premises of God

That God is all knowing

It will help you answer this question

“No God does not change His mind”

Note: To suggest this would suggest also that God is not All Knowing

Example: Let’s say I’m going to New Orleans

And I program my destination in the GPS

But halfway there my GPS says

I got a faster route

Do I want to accept that faster route

That will save me 13 minutes of my time

Do I want to accept it or stay on my original route

I accepted it

So what happen is that I changed my mind

To the direction I was going

Into a different direction

Why

Because I got some new information I didn’t have before

But if I’m All Knowing

I already knew that there was an accident on that particular interstate

Nothing Catches God off Guard

Example: That’s why there’s no such thing as NEW REVELATION

Note: So even when we pray, we’re not giving God new information

Truth # 1

The Bible Commands us to Pray

Truth # 2

The Character and Nature of God does not Change

Truth #3

The Purposes of God Do not Change

Truth #4

God is All-Knowing [Omniscient]

Truth #5

God does Responds to the prayers of His people

James 5:17–18 NLT

17 Elijah was as human as we are, and yet when he prayed earnestly that no rain would fall, none fell for three and a half years! 18 Then, when he prayed again, the sky sent down rain and the earth began to yield its crops.

Acts 16:25–26 NLT

25 Around midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening. 26 Suddenly, there was a massive earthquake, and the prison was shaken to its foundations. All the doors immediately flew open, and the chains of every prisoner fell off!

Isaiah 37:21 Hezekiah prayed about some attack from Assyria and basically responded to his prayer

Isaiah 37:21 NLT

21 Then Isaiah son of Amoz sent this message to Hezekiah: “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Because you prayed about King Sennacherib of Assyria,

2 Kings 20:1–7 NLT

1 About that time Hezekiah became deathly ill, and the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz went to visit him. He gave the king this message: “This is what the Lord says: Set your affairs in order, for you are going to die. You will not recover from this illness.” 2 When Hezekiah heard this, he turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord, 3 “Remember, O Lord, how I have always been faithful to you and have served you single-mindedly, always doing what pleases you.” Then he broke down and wept bitterly. 4 But before Isaiah had left the middle courtyard, this message came to him from the Lord: 5 “Go back to Hezekiah, the leader of my people. Tell him, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of your ancestor David, says: I have heard your prayer and seen your tears. I will heal you, and three days from now you will get out of bed and go to the Temple of the Lord. 6 I will add fifteen years to your life, and I will rescue you and this city from the king of Assyria. I will defend this city for my own honor and for the sake of my servant David.’ ” 7 Then Isaiah said, “Make an ointment from figs.” So Hezekiah’s servants spread the ointment over the boil, and Hezekiah recovered!