Prayer must be in faith. "But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways." {James 1:6-8} Let us examine some of the modern objections to prayer.
God Is Unchangeable. "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever." {Hebrews 13:8} While this is a true statement, we need to understand the realms in which -- He does not change.
His nature doesn't change. He will always tell the truth; He will always hate sin and love righteousness. "For the Lord is righteous. He loves righteousness. His countenance beholds the upright." {Psalm 11:7} He will always be willing to save the sinner who repents (2 Peter 3:9). His word will remain as it is -- it will never pass away (Matthew 24:36). But does the fact that God doesn't change mean the future cannot be changed? Is the future written in stone and unchangeable? Let's look at the Bible.
What about a nation's future? What did God tell Nineveh? "And Jonah began to enter the city on the first day's walk. Then he cried out and said, 'Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!' " {Jonah 3:4} But when Nineveh, from the least to the greatest, repented, He repented and did not destroy her. If the promised destruction was fixed, why did God bother to send Jonah to Nineveh?
In Jeremiah 18:6-11, God told the Jews "The instant I speak concerning a nation and concerning a kingdom, to pluck up, to pull down, and to destroy it, if that nation against whom I have spoken turns from its evil, I will relent of the disaster that I thought to bring upon it." God said that if Israel repented, He would spare her. If not -- why did He send the prophets?
What about individuals? Do you remember Hezekiah? "In those days Hezekiah was sick and near death. And Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, went to him and said to him, 'Thus says the LORD: Set your house in order, for you shall die, and not live.' " {2 Kings 20:1} Hezekiah did not prepare for death. He prayed to God earnestly, and God allowed him to live another 15 years (2 Kings 20:6).
We can repent of our transgressions, and if we do, God will forgive us (Acts 17:30). Paul changed from a persecutor of Christians to an evangelist for the very cause he had tried to destroy {Acts 26:19}. Peter denied the Lord three times (Matthew 26:69-75). He also changed (Acts 2 and 10).
Miracles have ceased -- so prayers will go unanswered. God does not have to overrule universal law (perform a miracle) in order to answer our prayers. We must not forget that His power is unlimited. There's also what we refer to as providence. God is able, through ordinary events, circumstances, and situations, to answer our prayers. When He taught His disciples about prayer, He said to "pray for our daily bread." (Matthew 6:11) Does this mean that God must rain down meat and potatoes to feed us? God answers this prayer through our choices and the everyday activities in our lives.
David prayed that the counsel of his enemy might become foolishness. "Then someone told David, saying, Ahithophel is among the conspirators with Absalom. And David said, O LORD, I pray, turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness." {2 Samuel 15:31} It didn't take a miracle to answer that prayer. Immediately, David was greeted by his loyal friend and advisor, Hushai, a man to whom his son, Absalom, might listen and who would be more persuasive than Ahithophel. Absalom listened to the advice of Hushai instead of the wise advice of Ahithophel. No miracle occurred, but God answered David's prayer.
In the book of Esther, where God's name is not once mentioned, Mordecai and Esther worked together to save God's people from being destroyed by Haman. "Go, gather all the Jews who are present in Shushan, and fast for me; neither eat nor drink for three days, night or day. My maids and I will fast likewise. And so I will go to the king, which is against the law; and if I perish, I perish." {Esther 4:16} Is this just a book full of well-timed coincidences? Think about the way things fell into place -- a drunken king made a foolish request of his wife -- the queen retained her dignity and refused to obey -- her removal set the stage for Esther to become queen -- Esther found favor with the king's eunuch and, listening to his advice, pleased the king. Mordecai overheard a plot against the king, informed him, and saved his life -- it was recorded in the king's chronicles. Haman became over-confident in his position and built gallows to destroy his hated enemy, Mordecai. The night before Haman planned to kill Mordecai, the king, unable to sleep, called for the chronicles, including Mordecai's previously unrewarded act, to be read to him. The next day, when Esther invited him to a feast, the self-centered Haman felt certain the feast was being given to honor him. You know the rest of the story -- Haman died on the gallows he prepared for Mordecai, and God's people were saved. Did God miraculously bring about these events? It is indeed a powerful God who removed, without a miracle, the second most powerful man in the Persian empire.
God already knows my needs. "Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him." {Matthew 6:8} Is there a contradiction between God's omniscience and our human prayers? Something else to consider along this line is the Lord's teaching regarding persistent praying. Please read Ephesians 6:18; Luke 18:1-8; Matthew 7:7-11. Remember the Canaanite woman who would not stop pleading with Jesus to heal her daughter (Matthew 15:22-28). Had the mother not persisted, would the daughter have been healed? God knows our needs, but if we are not concerned enough to ask Him -- why should He take them seriously, when we do not? God wants us to show our faith in Him by asking for what we need. Why should God present a congregation with favorable circumstances for evangelization if its members are not serious about their duties to spread His word? Why should God help me solve my marriage problems if I'm not serious enough to ask for His help? Yes, God knows the needs of His family members; but we must ask Him to help if we believe he can. If it seems as though He doesn't help, perhaps it's because we're not asking.
I prayed -- He did not answer my prayer. Could it be we fail to understand that God knows we don't really need some things for which we pray? Christians sometimes pray foolish prayers. Some years ago, Garth Brooks had a song called "Unanswered Prayer." There's much truth in the chorus -- "I thank God for unanswered prayer -- just because you don't answer don't mean you don't care." Be prepared to receive His answer to your prayer. Pray for God to open doors of opportunity to teach others the gospel -- and prepare yourself to handle the situation when He presents it to you. (Hebrews 5:12-14) When I become seriously committed, God will become serious about opening some proverbial teaching doors. If God says "no", as His servants, we must be willing to accept that answer. Paul prayed three times, and God turned him down (2 Corinthians 12:7-9).
The sum of these objections can be expressed in three words -- lack of faith. Do you believe God is able to answer prayer? If so, keep on praying. If not, work to develop a believing faith, and your prayer life will improve immensely.