Can you change God's mind?

“Then Jesus said to them, ‘Suppose you have a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread; a friend of mine on a journey has come to me and I have no food to offer him.’ And suppose the one inside answers, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is already locked, and my children and I are in bed. I can’t get up and give you anything.’ I tell you, even though he will not get up and give you the bread because of friendship, yet because of your shameless audacity he will surely get up and give you as much as you need.” Luke 11:5-8 NIV

This passage has always perplexed me. Chapter 11 of Luke starts with the disciples asking Jesus to teach them to pray. Jesus proceeds to tell them the Lords prayer, which pretty much everyone is familiar with. He taught that as a model of how to shape your prayer. It is often recited verbatim, but it can also be used as a model of how to frame a conversation with God. But then Jesus breaks out “shameless audacity.” Some versions say, “not ashamed to keep on asking”. The old King James says, “because of your importunity” which, according to Oxford languages means “persistence, especially to the point of annoyance”.

Say huh? So, if I annoy God enough, He will change His mind? My prayer life is not perfect, no one’s is. There are times when I am dialed in and ready to listen. There are times when I cannot concentrate for more than a minute without having to bring my attention back. I have had times when my prayer life has been a pretty long list of requests and I have had times when it is a pretty long list of thank you’s, seriously some blessings are just humbling. Without question, the best times are when I shut up. I may not hear from Him but giving Him my attention is the best way to start the day.

The most authentic prayer to ever explode out of my heart was the night Jordyn died. I remember it. I begged. I knew He could bring her back and I asked Him to do so. I heard from Him immediately and it was “no”. Not in His plan. I remember apologizing to Him for questioning Him. But if I read chapter 11 in Luke, if I had stayed persistent, would He have changed His mind? Worse, if I had been persistent enough prior to that day, would His protection have kept her here?

Thinking so would in some way mean that if my prayer is good enough or if my motivation kept me asking, the results of that night – or any night would be different. In the end that would mean the results of my life are based on me. If there is no gap between my persistence and God’s delivery, there is no room for faith. The gap is faith and without faith, it is impossible to please God.

Have you ever had a disagreement with God about the direction of your life?

Has God ever had a disagreement with you about the direction of your life?

Challenge: To me? Alignment. Moving my will to His aligns me with His position, He is God. He may want me to work on some things and persistence may be one of those things. Jesus wanted to teach about it, but persistence should move me toward the will of God, not the other way around.

To you? Maybe I am thinking too small. Maybe if you talk to God enough you can change His mind. To find out, you are going to have to spend time talking to Him.

Rick Claiborn