Is Prayer Enough?

"Thoughts and prayers."

This phrase is often tossed around after a tragedy. Whether it's spouted from a politician or swamping social media, there are plenty of wishes for the survivors and the families of those lost. This phrase has drawn a lot of criticism, too. It is thrown back at Christians as empty words. What good are your prayers, people demand, when you do nothing to change the situation?

In this post, therefore, I want to talk about prayer.

I think most Christians agree that prayer is important for us personally. Prayer helps improve our spiritual health, change our perspective, and keep us right before God. Prayer is essential for our relationship with God. After all, you wouldn't expect to have a good relationship with your spouse or family member if you never spoke to them.

The question I want to explore here, however, deals with whether or not our prayers make a difference. Does God respond to our prayers? Does He do or not do things because of what we pray?

In the Bible, there are examples of people’s prayers changing God’s mind or influencing God’s actions. For example, in Exodus 32, Moses intercedes for the newly freed Israelites when God wants to destroy them for their worship of the golden calf. In 2 Samuel 24, we see David interceding for Israel and Judah when God's anger burned against them for their unfaithfulness. God lets David pick the punishment for the people, and then He makes it even lighter. In the book of Jonah, after Jonah goes and preaches a harsh message, the people repent, and God spares them. Amos twice prays for God to hold off the punishment of the people, and He does.

Clearly, there is a history of prayer making a difference in terms of God’s response and His judgment.

There are caveats, for sure. In the Old Testament, there are a few different passages with if-then statements, where God says, “if they pray/repent,” “then I will…” heal their land, forgive their sins, etc. Examples of this include 2 Chronicles 7:14 and Jeremiah 18:8. There were conditions required. In Matthew 13, Jesus was unable to do any miracles in His hometown because of their disbelief. James wrote in 4:2a-3, “…You do not have because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive because you ask wrongly, in order to spend what you get on your pleasures.” Motive and faith are clearly important to prayer.

It would be wrong to conclude that prayer is always required for God to move. It would be likewise wrong to conclude that we always get what we pray for if we simply pray hard enough. In 2 Samuel 12, David prays fervently for God to spare the life of the child he bore with Bathsheba, but the child still dies. In this case, his prayer was not answered, and God’s mind was not changed. God is able to answer all our prayers, but He doesn’t always. He respects our free will and that of others around us. Sometimes we need the consequences of our decisions. Sometimes what we are asking for may not be good for us. Sometimes there are other forces at work that we are unaware of. We don’t always know why God answers some prayers and not others.

Consider the parallel of parenthood. As a parent, sometimes you have to say no to your child. Sometimes you have to ignore their whining, even. You do this because you love them and know what is best for them. 

God knows even more than our parents do what is best for us. He sees a bigger picture than we do.

Still, this does not make me feel better when it comes to all the great suffering in the world. It doesn't make me feel better about the genocide in Gaza, the wars in Ukraine and Iran, the number of children caught in sex trafficking, the torture of asylum-seekers being sent to third-world countries... just to name a few. As a parent, I would do anything to spare my children such suffering. Do not the suffering ask, as David does in Psalm 22, why has God forsaken me?

What if, though, we are looking at it backwards?

There's an old cartoon I saw once, with two fishermen in a small rowboat in the middle of a lake. One says to the other, "When I get to Heaven, I'm going to ask God why He allowed so much suffering on earth." The other fisherman answers, "I'm afraid He'll ask me the same thing."

What if the amount of suffering in the world is our failure, not God's?

When Jesus taught His disciples how to pray, He told them to pray, "May Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven." 

What would it mean for God's will to be done on earth? To answer that, all we have to do is look at Jesus. Jesus, who walked with the broken, loved the outcasts, fed the hungry, healed the sick, mourned with those who mourned, and was the living water to those dying of thirst. Jesus, who always had time for interruptions. Jesus, who showed compassion and mercy. Jesus, who advocated for nonviolence, who refused political power, and who sacrificed it all for a people who largely didn't love Him back.

Prayer is a wonderful thing that should be key to every Christian's life. 

AND... that prayer should move us into action. It should move us to love our neighbors, care for the less fortunate, and be a blessing to those around us. It should move us to do God's will on earth. I truly believe God can intervene in our world and make miracles happen. I also believe that more often than not, He relies on us - waits on us even - to be the miracle someone else is waiting for.

The suffering in our world is great. It can seem overwhelming. Don't let it tear you down. Find your piece, your part, your calling. Lean into it. Lean into Him. 

Send your thoughts and prayers.

Then move into action. 

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