Does God Change His Mind?

Abraham stepped forward and said, “Will You really sweep away the righteous with the wicked? What if there are 50 righteous people in the city? Will You really sweep it away instead of sparing the place for the sake of the 50 righteous people who are in it? Genesis 18:23-24 HCSB

Recently I was diagnosed with prostate cancer. I am currently trying to make up my mind concerning the best course of treatment. I have done extensive research concerning my condition and treatment methods. When I read one report on a certain method, it seems to be the best way, but then I read another report on a different method of treatment and I change my mind to think that way is the better method. The more I read and research, the more confused I become and the more I change my mind.

Was Abraham trying to change the mind of God? There is a great debate between Biblical scholars questioning if God changes His mind or not. Some say that because God is all-knowing He does not change His mind, while others say that because God is all-powerful He can choose to do whatever He wants whenever He wants and may change His mind based on the prayers of righteous people.

Personally I believe that if God never changes His mind, then our prayers are meaningless because no matter what we pray, God has already determined what He is going to do. The Bible says we are to present our requests to God and that He even knows what we are going to ask before we ask. Just as a father may change His mind because of a request from his children, I prefer to think that God hears the prayers of His children and determines what is best and responds appropriately. Does God already know what we will ask and has He already determined how He will answer? Probably so, but we are to be faithful to pray. I do believe prayer changes things.

Challenge: Present your requests to God expecting Him to answer and change the situation you are experiencing right now.

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