Studies on Prayer: Vol. 2Smakprov

Can our prayers change God’s Mind? The woman who asked that question was a young, middle-aged woman who had suffered a stroke. The doctors had not given the family much to hope for. But her family and friends prayed, worshiped, and believed. The doctors called the woman’s recovery miraculous. Do our prayers, offered in faith, make a difference? The answer is always yes. Can our prayers change God’s Mind? Yes, but our prayers do not obligate God to change His Mind. He will always do the right thing, at the right time, for the right reasons. God’s Holiness means He is incapable of doing wrong. That is why His children can pray with faith.

1. How does Jesus respond physically and spiritually to the leper? Why are both significant to praying in faith?

2. How could faith in Jesus’ ability to heal physically be a distraction from spiritual healing? What cautions or encouragement should that knowledge give to our own prayer lives?

3. Once again, Jesus agrees to heal. Matthew is careful to point out that the request does not obligate Jesus to heal. Why is that an important Truth for ourselves and for others?

4. Jesus then alluded to the fact that the banquet table in the Kingdom of Heaven would be surrounded by the faithful, rather than those who simply expected their Jewish nationality to save them. Why is it important to seek God’s healing rather than expect it?

“Prayer is not overcoming God’s reluctance, but laying hold of His willingness.” —Martin Luther