Thus says the LORD, the God of David your father: I have heard your prayer; I have seen your tears. Behold, I will heal you. 2 Kings 20:5
Occasionally, I’ll hear someone say that our prayer doesn’t change God, it changes us. Behind this statement is the idea that God is immutable – that he doesn’t change – and so, prayer can’t have any effect on God because he can’t change. While Christians do believe that God is unchangeable, that’s not exactly what this means for prayer.
Christians can and should believe that their prayer has some impact on God, as illustrated in today’s passage. In the story, King Hezekiah, who was a good king, became ill. In his illness, Isaiah the prophet spoke with the voice of God when he told Hezekiah that he was going to die. Hezekiah prayed for healing and that prayer was answered – Hezekiah was healed. You could say that God knew beforehand that Hezekiah was going to pray and so that God’s plan never actually changed, but at least from Hezekiah’s experience, his prayer changed God’s plan.
We know from experience that God doesn’t answer every prayer. When I prayed to be a professional football player and to win a million dollars, I didn’t get what I wanted. In the book of James, the brother of Jesus explains that we often don’t get what we pray for because we pray from selfish motives. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions (James 4:3). Clearly, not every prayer is answered. This doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t pray though. We can and should take our requests to God, who knows and wants what is eternally best for us.
So, when I pray, I try to take my will to God, asking for it, but then also deferring to his will. This is what Jesus did in the garden on the night before his death. Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done (Luke 22:42). Jesus prayed, but then bent his will to God’s, asking ultimately for God’s plan to be done. That is the hardest prayer, but it’s also the healthiest – Going to God, believing that he can do as we ask, but also submitting our will to his.