Does Prayer Change Things? (Crucial Questions)

Reading any book from RC Sproul is like sitting down with a grandpa in the faith and gleaning wisdom, understanding, application of the scriptures.

This is a great, short book that I would recommend to anyone asking "Why do we pray? What's the point if God is omniscient? How do we pray?" Ligonier has made this and others free for Kindle, so I highly recommend adding it to your library today.Sproul writes (spoiler alert): "Things change, and they change according to His sovereign will, which He exercises through secondary means and secondary activities. The prayer of His people is one of the means He uses to bring things to pass in this world. So if you ask me whether prayer changes things, I answer with an unhesitating 'Yes!'" (Loc. 100) "Prayer, like everything else in the Christian life, is for God's glory and for our benefit, in that order" (Loc. 64). Prayer reminds us that God is in control, we are not, and He is sovereign over every circumstance of the universe as it unfolds. "If I thought even for one moment that a single molecule were running loose in the universe outside the control and domain of almighty God, I wouldn't sleep tonight" (Loc. 44)...God's sovereignty casts no shadow over the prayer of adoration. God's foreknowledge or determinate counsel does not negate the prayer of praise" (Loc. 73).Prayer intrinsically changes us and our attitudes. "What prayer most often changes is the wickedness and the hardness of our own hearts. That alone would be reason enough to pray, even if none of the other reasons were valid or true" (Loc. 119). "Prayer prompts and nurtures obedience, putting the heart into the proper 'frame of mind' to desire obedience" (Loc. 15). "Peter did not pray, and as a result he fell into temptation. What is true of Peter is true of all of us...we fall in private before we ever fall in public" (Loc. 37).When we pray we acknowledge that God gave us a way to Him through Jesus and that we are loved and accepted and forgiven because of Christ: "When God promises us that He will forgive us, we insult His integrity when we refuse to accept it. To forgive ourselves after God has forgiven us is a duty as well as a privilege" (Loc. 291).But if God is omniscient and knows what I need before I ask, why bother praying? Foremost, because God commands us to: "Regardless of whether prayer does any good, if God commands us to pray, we must pray" (Loc. 50). Prayer is about maintaining a relationship with someone who we are to love more than any other: "Spurgeon said that 'the proud sinner wants Christ, and his own parties; Christ, and his own lusts; Christ, and his own waywardness. The one who is truly poor in spirit wants only Christ'" (Loc. 519).(Perhaps my favorite quote:) "Yes, He knows what is in my mind, but I still have the privilege of articulating to Him what is there (Loc. 70)...If God knows what I'm going to say before I say it, His knowledge, rather than limiting my prayer, enhances the beauty of my praise (Loc. 75)...I may not understand the relationship between divine sovereignty and human responsibility, but I do realize that what stems from the wickedness of my own heart may not be assigned to the will of God...There will always be a conflict between divine sovereignty and human autonomy. There is never a conflict between divine sovereignty and human freedom (Loc. 110).Sproul recommends the ACTS acronym of prayer, Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, and Supplication, and unpacks each biblically. Ultimately, we become better at prayer only by praying: "To become accomplished in anything, we must practice. If we want to learn how to pray, then we must pray-and continue to pray" (Loc. 632).One seeming contradiction is Sproul's earlier mention that Jesus modeled for his disciples praying to God as "Daddy" in Aramaic, which would have been shocking and heretical. But that's the relationship we have now through Christ. However, Sproul returns later and scolds those who "would speak (to God) as if to a friend at a baseball game" (Loc. 369). "We should not come rushing into God's presence arrogantly, assaulting Him with our petty requests, forgetting whom we are addressing" (Loc. 235).Even with that minor point I would not hesitate to give this book to anyone; it'd be the first I'd recommend on the subject. I would like to read Tim Keller's recent book on prayer before the year is up. Unfortunately, my time reading is often time spent not praying, and that is something I have struggled with. Prayer is one of the hardest things for me to do. 4.5 stars out of 5.

This was a wonderful book. I liked it because it gave insight into what prayer is and how it should be approached. This is a good book for those that do not understand prayer or are frustrated about unanswered prayer.

I never thought of prayer as controversial until the last 10 to 15 years, when a transition began to be noticeable. When someone or a loved one was experiencing a serious crisis or illness, people used to say “Our prayers are with you” or “I’m praying for you.” As culture shifted in a decidedly more secular direction, the statement became “Our thoughts and prayers are with you.” Today it not uncommon to find prayers dropped altogether and people say “Our thoughts are with you.”I’ve wondered how long a thought lasts, as thoughts can range from deep to fleeting. Does a fleeting thought count in offering consolation?Perhaps wondering what might have happened to prayer, R.C. Sproul asks a basic question: does it matter?In “Does Prayer Change Things?,” Sproul takes a succinct but hard look at this endeavor called prayer. He doesn’t limit himself to explaining what prayer is, but instead expands his discussion rather alliteratively to six aspects: the place of prayer, its purpose, its pattern, the practice of prayer, the prohibition of prayer, and the power of prayer. Right up front he provides his overarching perspective: “Prayer to the Christian is what breath is to life, ye no duty is so neglected.” It’s a privilege and a duty, and “any duty can become laborious.” And prayer requires work.Sproul uses the Lord’s Prayer as both a guide and a suggested pattern to follow, suggesting the familiar “ACTS” acronym (Adoration-confession-thanksgiving-supplication). It is a discourse or deep conversation with God, and over time, as one becomes more practiced in it, it becomes far mre about God and far less about self and the needs of self.Sproul is the author of numerous books, articles, sermons, and speeches on Christianity, church history, theology, Calvinism, and related topics. He leads the teaching fellowship Ligonier Ministries, based in Sanford, Florida. “Does Prayer Change Things?,” originally published in 1998 and revised in 2009, is No. 3 in the Crucial Questions series, now including some 25 topics and free as eBooks.“Does Prayer Change Things?” is simple and straightforward, designed for a general audience. It’s filled with insight and wisdom, and can be useful for both new and experienced Christians.

A great little and very insightful book on the theme of prayer. The most interesting bit for me perhaps was the perspective on always aligning our prayer with God's will and timing. While this looks simple on the surface, most times prayer to us seems like an attempt at forcing God's hand to act in our favor, an attitude that leaves us frustrated when God 'fails to answer'. Learning to wait and trust God unconditionally while we pray allows him to work out his higher purpose in our lives which in the final analysis transcends the fleeting things that are often at the centre of our prayers. There is no doubt I will definitely be returning to this book again in future to keep these truths always in focus.

You will learn the WHY and HOW you should pray.You will understand the LORD'S prayer and why God doesn't answer certain prayers.A very good read. Highly recommended.

Sproul is lucid and clear as ever, however this book reveals little or nothing about prayer, either to newbies or seasoned Christians. Not much in the way of examples of answered prayer in this day and age, even Sola Scriptura has it's limitations!

What I picked up from this great little book was that prayer changes things, but - critically important - it does not change God.So this answered a big question I had about HOW prayer works, and what it does not do is to change God's mind.Instead, prayer enables me to be a channel of God's loving and healing grace, so that I in turn can change things, including myself.John Hardwick

Can’t put this down. I want to savour each page. Each page is fully highlighted in my book! It’s that good!