What Happens When We Pray?

There is a great deal that can be said about the relationship between God's sovereign plan and how my prayers are a part of that. Here are two simple things.

We know that for God to be God, He must never change. My prayers therefore do not change God. Amazingly and mysteriously, He invites me to be the means whereby His will is accomplished.

We know that for God to be God, he doesn’t need me to explain to Him what is happening in my world. He knows my needs, and He is willing and able and committed to meeting them. Luke 12:32 “Fear not little flock, it is the Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” Matthew 6:32,8 Your Heavenly Father knows that you need all this. He knows what you need before you ask.

God has called me to pray and something happens when I do.

When I pour out my heart to the Lord I am reminded of who God is. He is creator, sustainer, savior and king. He is wise and loving and just. Full of grace and truth. He is the one who decrees what is to pass and establishes the steps of our lives. Only He can change the hearts and minds of those I love and direct the outcomes of their lives.

When I pour out my heart to the Lord, I am changed. In praying, I am given rest. God lifts the burdens of my heart onto His back.

“Believers do not pray with the view of informing God about things unknown to Him, or of exciting Him to do His duty; or of urging Him as though He were reluctant. On the contrary, they pray in order that they may arouse themselves to seek Him, that they many exercise their faith in meditation on His promises, that they may relieve themselves from their anxieties by pouring them into His bosom; in a word, that they may declare that from Him alone they hope and expect, both for themselves and for others, all good things.” John Calvin

And so I pray. I come dependent, submissive and expectant. I pour out my heart to the Lord and find I am welcomed into His presence with grace and peace. 

I pray. God answers. I am helped. He is glorified. 

Psalm 50:14

“Call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you and you shall glorify me.”

Photo from friend, Cyndy Smith