Dreaming Beneath the Spires

Anita Mathias's Blog on Faith and Art

Can an Individual Change Another Through Prayer Alone?

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I have a good friend, who prays constantly. 


He married, when very young, a woman who’s “feisty,” in his words, and bossy and critical. (They have 6 children, and not much money, so my sympathies are with her).

Anyway, my friend told me that when he sees something he does not like about his wife, or one of his children, he makes a note of it on the little index cards he uses to pray, and takes it up with God.

For instance, he started praying that his wife would be more gentle with him. 

That his son, whose ambition it was to own Microsoft would love God more than money. 

That his children would be less mean to each other. 
                                           * * * 

And most of these things came to pass. 

But not without several changes in my friend himself. These included an emotional and nervous breakdown during which he was unable to work and accepted the Kingship of Jesus over himself (the very Lordship he had so wanted his children to acknowledge.)
                                                     * * * 

Back to my question. Can an individual change another through prayer alone?

Yes, I believe so.  

If prayer works, and is for real–and the whole thrust of Scripture tells us that does and is–than prayer can change anything, including the people we love.

It takes a while, it takes faith–and since God has a sense of humour which borders on the perverse–it might often involves changes in the deep structure of our own personalities. 
                                                              * * *

Prayer is dynamite–explosive in its power–and we are invariably caught in the friendly fire of our prayer for another.

And change, the shedding of our dragon skin–is never without pain.
                                               * * * 

When I see a desperate need for change in someone else, which neither my advice, nagging, bullying or manipulation can bring about, I resort to prayer. (As I get wiser, I am glad to report, this is becoming more of a first resort rather than a last resort.)  And it does work, invariably, in surprising ways.

Hudson Taylor had this amazing goal and motto, “To Move Man, Through God, by Prayer Alone.” He used this in small things (when his employer forget to pay him) and in large, to raise tens of thousands of pounds for the China Inland Mission.

The hearts of people are in the hands of God, and he sways them how he wills. And an old adage goes, “Prayer is the hand which moves the hand of God.”

 

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Comments

  1. Hi Jen, Yeah, I guess if our faith could move mountains, our faith is always a mustard seed compared to what it could be.
    Hope you had a fab time on the Oregon coast. I remember having a magical time tidepooling there in 2000!

  2. Love the Hudson Taylor motto! I suppose if I fail to truly believe in the power of prayer, I shouldn't even bother to be a Christian.

    This was an encouraging word for me to get more serious in my own prayer life. Aren't we supposed to have the strength to move mountains? With prayer, the first step is faith; to believe that God can do what He says He can do. I remember when I went through Beth Moore's study “Believing God” this was a powerful statement for me.

  3. Yes, it's a real waste of time and energy. It's an area in which Christians need to invest thought and ingenuity so that we can offer a service, friendship, a social event, or use wealth-creation strategies instead of this exhausting asking and asking.

  5. Yes, it's very hard to get one's mind around the power of prayer!
    I am always amazed when I hear Christians say they don't believe that prayer changes the story of their own or other people's lives.

  6. yes isn't it one of those 'be careful what you wish for' !
    I have to believe prayer can change people and thigns otherwise it seems pointless!
    x