In this article, we will consider the following matters:

·       Is it necessary for Christians to pray regularly?

·       If we have sufficient faith, will God give us anything for which we ask?

·       Is it alright to bargain with God?

·       Can prayers change God’s mind?

·       Should we always pray privately?

Is It Necessary for Christians to Pray?

Several scripture passages instruct us to pray.  [Note:  When we quote Scripture in this article, we use the wording in the New King James Version of the Bible, except when we quote a non-biblical source that is using Scripture from a different version of the Bible.]

In Luke 21:36, Jesus Christ told His disciples to “pray always.”  Matthew Henry’s Commentary says in this regard, “be always in an habitual disposition to that duty [i.e., prayer].”

Likewise, 1 Thessalonians 5:17 instructs Christians to “pray without ceasing.”  According to Matthew Henry’s Commentary, “The meaning is not that men should do nothing but pray, but that nothing else we do should hinder prayer in its proper season.”

And James 5:16b teaches Christians to “pray for one another. . . .”  This clearly indicates that Christians should pray for each other.

In fact, we should pray for even our enemies, according to Matthew 5:44b.  In this passage, Jesus Christ told a multitude of people to “pray for those who despitefully use you and persecute you.” 

In addition to the biblical teachings that we should pray, we ought to do so because, if we don’t, we will lose opportunities to be blessed spiritually – and perhaps otherwise – as a result of God answering our prayers.  Billy Graham, in his book entitled Till Armageddon, says on page 153, “Heaven is full of answers to prayer for which no one ever bothered to ask.”

With regard to the necessity of prayer, Graham says in a publication entitled “Day by Day,” “If [Jesus] felt that He had to pray, how much more do we need to pray?”  In another issue of “Day by Day,” Graham states,

We are to pray in times of adversity, lest we become faithless and unbelieving.  We are to pray in times of prosperity, lest we become boastful and proud.  We are to pray in times of danger, lest we become fearful and doubting.  We need two pray in times of security, lest we become self-sufficient.

In his book entitled Hope for the Troubled Heart, Graham declares on page 159, “True prayer is a way of life, not just for use in cases of emergency.  Make it a habit, and when the need arises you will be in practice.”

And, on page 149 of the same book, Graham asserts, “Prayer should not be merely an act, but an attitude of life.”

If We Have Sufficient Faith, Will God Give Us Anything for Which We Ask?

There are a number of scripture passages that seem to indicate that God will give Christians anything they ask for in prayer, if their faith is strong enough. 

The Bible records the following statements by Jesus Christ regarding prayer:

Assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will . . . say to this mountain, “Be removed and be cast into the sea,” and it will be done.  And all things, whatever you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive. (Matthew 21:21-22)

For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will come to pass, he will have whatever he asks.  Therefore, I say to you, whatever things you ask for when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.  (Mark 11:23-24)

[W]hatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.  If you ask anything in My name, I will do it.  (John 14:13-14)

If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.  (John 15:7)

Most assuredly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in My name He   will give you.  (John 16:23-24)

The problem is that, despite what these verses say, the prayer requests of many Christians are not granted.  The question is, why?

With regard to the scripture passages cited above, it can be argued that Jesus Christ was speaking to only His 12 Disciples.  In other words, what Jesus said may have been applicable to them alone, not to all of His followers.  In fact, the Bible contains no scripture passages in which Jesus makes similar promises regarding prayer that are clearly directed to anyone other than His 12 Disciples.

However, the following are similar promises about prayer that are clearly directed to Christians other than the 12 Disciples of Jesus Christ:

[W]hatever we ask we receive from Him [God], because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight.  And this is His commandment: that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ and love one another, as He gave us commandment.  (1 John 3:22-23)

Now this is the confidence that we have in Him [Jesus Christ, the Son of God], that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.  And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.  (1 John 5:14-15)

Therefore, the promises the Bible makes regarding prayer seem to be applicable to all Christians.  If this is true, then the question of why the prayer requests of many Christians are not granted still needs to be answered.

Norman Geisler, Ph.D., and Thomas Howe, M.A., provide some insights about this matter.  On page 373 of their book entitled When Critics Ask, they state,

[A]ll difficult passages should be interpreted in harmony with other clear statements of Scripture.  And it is clear that God does not promise, for example, to heal everyone for whom we pray in faith.  Paul wasn’t healed, though he prayed earnestly and faithfully (2 Cor. 12:8-9).

[W]hen the rest of Scripture is taken into consideration there are many conditions placed on God’s promise to answer prayer in addition to faith.  We must “abide in Him” and let His Word “abide in us” (John 15:7).  We cannot “ask amiss” out of our own selfishness (James 4:3).  Furthermore, we must ask “according to His will” (1 John 5:14). 

Therefore, it is important to fulfill the conditions, in addition to faith, that are necessary for our prayers to be answered.  These conditions are basically two types:  (1) having a right relationship with God, and (2) having a right relationship with other people. 

Having a right relationship with God necessitates being willing to submit to Jesus Christ and to live according to what He taught.  Let’s look again at John 15:7, in which Jesus Christ declares, “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.”  Bill Bright, a well-know Christian leader, in his publication entitled How to Pray, explains the meaning of abiding as, “simply walking in the Spirit, with no sin unconfessed and with a spirit of total availability to God.” 

Having a right relationship with other people also necessitates loving them, which includes forgiving them.  In Mark 11:25, Jesus asserts, “[I]f you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses.”  This verse suggests that, unless we are willing to forgive other people, we won’t be able to have a right relationship with God, and therefore our prayers are not likely to be answered.

Regardless of the foregoing considerations, all of our prayers won’t be answered as we would like them to be answered.  Graham says on page 89 of Till Armageddon, “Our prayers must be in accordance with the will of God for the simple reason that God knows better what is good for us than we know ourselves.” 

If a request we make through prayer is not being granted, we should trust God to have a definite reason for not answering our prayer request as we want, or at least not when we want it answered.  God is not only sovereign and omniscient; He is also the essence of agape love.  Therefore, we can trust Him to do what is ultimately best. 

On page 6 of Unto the Hills, Graham says, “Whether prayer changes our situation or not, one thing is certain:  Prayer will change us.”

Is It Alright to Bargain with God?

Sometimes when people are praying, they offer to do something for God if He will do something that they want Him to do for them.  This is what can be characterized as bargaining with God.

Webster’s Dictionary defines the verb bargain as “to discuss the details of a transaction, contract, treaty, etc. trying to get the best possible terms.”  The noun bargain is defined as “a mutual agreement or contract in which the parties settle on what should be given or done by each.”

On several occasions, God Himself initiated bargains with individuals, including the following:

Abraham (Genesis 17:1-14)

Isaac (Genesis 26 2-6)

Jacob (Genesis 31:3; 35:9-12)

God also initiated bargains with the nation of Israel (Leviticus 26:3-10; Chronicles 7:14)

Conversely, in Old Testament times, at least a few people, including the following, initiated a bargain with God:

Abraham (Genesis 18:20-32)

Jacob (Genesis 28:20-22; 32: 24-30)

Gideon (Judges 6:36-40)

Of course, we are not Old Testament patriarchs like Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and none of us is a judge appointed by God, as was Gideon.  However, as Christians, we are God’s adopted children and that may entitle us to humbly bargain with Him.

Even if it is acceptable to God for a person to bargain with Him, the Bible makes it clear that we can’t bargain for eternal salvation; it is not negotiable – there is only one way to be assured of eternal salvation.  [See our article entitled “What Must a Person Do to Be Assured of Eternal Salvation?”]

Can Prayers Change God’s Mind?

If God is omniscient (i.e., knows all things), how is it possible that our prayers can change His mind, since knows in advance what He is going to do, as well as what we are going to do?  [Note: Our article entitled “Is God Really Omnipotent and Omniscient?” deals with the question of whether or not God is omniscient.] 

Also, if God is omniscient, it would not be unreasonable to believe that He knows whether or not we will pray for certain matters in the future and that He also knows how He will respond to our prayers.  Likewise, if He is omniscient, He knows if we won’t pray for certain matters in the future and how He will deal with those matters, despite our not praying about them. 

On page 140 of his book entitled Reaching for the Invisible God, Philip Yancey says,

I can worry myself into a state of spiritual indigestion over questions like “What good does it do to pray if God already knows everything?”  Jesus silences such questions.  If Jesus saw the need to pray, sometimes so urgently that he spent all night at it, so should I.

Nevertheless, the question remains: Does our praying make any difference as to how God will deal with the matters about which we are praying?  In answering this question, one of the considerations is whether or not other people are praying about these matters, regardless of whether or not we are praying.  In other words, whether or not we pray about these matters may not make any difference as to how God will deal with them, either because of the prayers of other people or because God chooses how he will deal with these matters, regardless of whether or not anyone is praying about them.  

Even if our prayers may not actually change God’s mind, it is our responsibility to pray, as previously indicated.

Should We Always Pray Privately?    

In Matthew 6:6, Jesus says, “[W]hen you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.”

Some people interpret this passage to mean that prayers should always be private rather than public.  However, this point of view does not give adequate consideration to verse 5, which states, “[W]hen you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites.  For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men.  Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.” 

Verse 5 indicates that what is wrong is the motive of those who pray.  On page 333 of their book, Geisler and Howe address this matter, as follows:

It is not public prayers which Jesus condemned, but ostentatious prayers.  He was not opposed to people praying in appropriate public places, but in conspicuous places.  It was not the place of prayer so much as the purpose of their prayer that Jesus spoke against, namely, “that they may be seen by men”. . . .

At least two scripture passages clearly indicate that Jesus prayed audibly in public.   Both are found in the book of John.

John 11:41-42:  This prayer was in the presence of various Jews at the tomb where a man named Lazarus, a friend of Jesus, was buried.  These verses state,

Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead man was lying.  And Jesus lifted up His eyes and said, “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me.  And I know that You always hear Me, but because of the people who are standing by, I said this, that they may believe that You sent Me.”

John 17:1-26:  This prayer was in the presence of Jesus’ disciples while He was teaching them. The first two verses in this passage set the tone, as follows:

Jesus spoke these words, lifted up His eyes to heaven, and said, “Father, the hour has come.  Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You, as You have given Him authority over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as You have given him.”

Several other passages are clear that Jesus prayed publicly, but they are not conclusive as to whether or not He prayed audibly.  Among these passages are the following:

Matthew 14:19:  Then He commanded the multitudes to sit down on the grass. And He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed and broke and gave the loaves to the disciples; and the disciples gave to the multitudes.

Matt. 15:35-36:  And He commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground.  And He took the seven loaves and the fish and gave thanks . . . . [Note: Mark 8:6 has very similar wording.]

Matthew 26:26-27:  And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed it and broke it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is My body.”  Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them. . . . [Note:  Mark 14:22-23 has very similar wording.]

Luke 3:21:  Now when all the people were baptized, it came to pass that Jesus also was baptized; and while He prayed, the heaven was opened.

We conclude that Matthew 6:5-6 does not teach that all forms of public prayer are inappropriate.  What this passage does teach is that ostentatious prayer is not appropriate.