We run our website the way we wished the whole internet worked: we provide high quality original content with no ads. We are funded solely by your direct support. Please consider supporting this project.

How can prayer change God’s mind?
Every week we get in all kinds of questions and comments from our readers. If you have a question, first check our ever-growing Q&A page, and then send it to us if it hasn’t already been answered. We can’t get to them all, but yours might be answered and featured like this one below.
READER: You’ve argued that since God is all-good, he’s always doing the most he can do in every situation to bring about good. But you have also argued that prayer can change God’s mind. How are these two beliefs compatible?
GREG: The beliefs aren’t incompatible if you believe, as I do, that God wants humans to have significant “say-so” in affecting what comes to pass. As such he created a world in which we have “say-so” on a physical level, making decisions that affect what comes to pass through our physical activity. We also have “say-so” on a spiritual level, affecting what comes to pass through prayer. By God’s own sovereign will, he bound himself to be affected by whether or not humans engage with him in prayer.
Hence, there are things that God would like to happen that won’t happen unless his people pray. In Scripture, there are times God plans on going in one direction, but hopes that his people will intercede to change that direction. For example, he told Ezekiel he planned on bringing judgment on Israel but tried to find someone to “stand in the gap on behalf of the land so [he] would not have to destroy it.” Unfortunately, he says, “I found no one” (Ezek. 22:30). Many other times, however, God allows his plans to change in response to his people talking to him (e.g. Ex. 32:14). I imagine it like a reservoir of divine power that won’t – can’t—be released unless his people agree with him about releasing it, or like a trust fund that requires a co-signer to be released. What God’s people do and don’t do really matters.
Image by OpenSource.com. Used in accordance with Creative Commons. Sourced via Flickr.
Category: Q&A
Tags: Christian Life, God, Open Theism, Prayer, Theology
Topics: Apologetics, Open Theism
Related Reading

Sermon Clip: Brain Reign
In this short clip, Greg Boyd discusses the 3 parts to who we are to help understand the brains role. What does role does the mind, body, and spirit play in who we are? In the full sermon we look at the New Testament teaching on reigning over the relational brain. Understanding how God wired…

Molinism and Open Theism – Part II
In the previous post on this topic I briefly outlined Molinism and then discussed “the grounding objection.” In this post I’ll first discuss another fundamental objection to Molinism and then discuss how it is overcome by the Open View of the Future. In the process it will be clear how the Open View differs from…

How To Talk about Theology
Social media is full of theological debate. Theological arguments that formerly took months or even years to get in print, now only takes the time to write a post or 140 characters and click “publish.” Social media is great in that it makes space for all of our voices. However, it also seems to elevate…

Election Benediction
On this election day, when so many Americans are experiencing high levels of anxiety, I thought it would be good to share an “Election Benediction” that was written and sent to me by Kenneth Tanner. Let it ground you in the love, peace and security of Christ and his Kingdom. An Election Benediction By Kenneth…

What’s the significance of Acts 17:26-27?
This passage is frequently cited by determinists, for Paul here states that God “marked out” the “appointed times in history and the boundaries” of nations (Ac. 17:26). This doesn’t entail omni-control on God’s part, however. It only entails that God is involved in setting temporal and geographical parameters around nations. Moreover, nothing suggests that God…

Some Questions a Year After Her Child’s Death
Jessica Kelley wrote a post for The Jesus Event that we wanted to share with you. You might remember that last year we were getting to know Jessica as she lost her four year old son Henry just before Christmas. In this post, she reflects on the theology of the people around her concerning her son’s death. She has…