If praying is effective, does that mean we're able to influence God's decisions?

Question

I didn't suggest it is effective. Hence the use of the conditional article IF.

Answer 1

but praying isn't effective.

-I understand that you used the word "if". But praying has been proven to be ineffective, so there is no questioning "if". Every single objective study that has been done (hundreds by the way), have shown that praying is completely ineffective.

Answer 2

That is a good hypothetical theologic question. Assuming that the is a God (sic) then praying would mean that we are trying to highlight our plight, however, an omnipotent God would already know everything that was going on.

I think what we need to look it is people using a God to be a crutch in their life and what way we might be able to help them see sense and make decisions that can actually help and influence their lives directly.

Put it this way, you have a child that is very ill. Do you pray for the child to get better or take them to a hospital?

Answer 3

If praying is effective, it would have to mean that we influence God's decisions. Otherwise, prayer would just be futile if it couldn't influence God to take action. Personally, I've never seen any evidence for prayer being effective. It may give people hope and the subsequent biological changes that accompany hope, but even if God is there I don't think he's listening.

Answer 4

Praying is not effective. If a god needs prayers before he will do anything then he is either not all-knowing or he is capricious. I can't really imagine a god knowing that there is a drought waiting until sufficient prayers for rain are in before doing anything.

Checking the efficacy of prayer is difficult but there is one example which shows how ineffective it is. Every year since 1978, the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Parade has followed the same route through Sydney. Every year a group of Christians stands near the start of the parade and prays for rain. On three occasions, rain has fallen on the parade but hasn't stopped it. On a couple of other occasions rain has fallen before or after the parade but not on it. February/March is the wettest time of the year in Sydney and you would expect rain on two parade days in five. At the time of the parade you would expect rain, statistically, about one year in ten. It has happened three times in 28 years.

Now either prayer doesn't work or God enjoys a good parade.

Answer 5

I have a theory about that. It is my theory only, not the teaching of the Church.

I think that there is power within the human mind that when directed in the right way can invoke the power of God to combine with the power within the human mind to have an effect on the material world. So I am saying that prayer is like a light switch, not like asking God to change His mind. God's will is always what is good. If a prayer is in keeping with what is good and in keeping with God's will, and invoked as I have said, it will come to pass. I saw a women with 2 weeks to live total healed of the cancer that was inoperable. The power is real.

Answer 6

Some decisions, but not all. There are some things that are going to happen by God's perfect will and sovereignty that nobody can change. But there are some things that He invites us to pray about...such as praying for others or praying for your nation. There are many examples in the Bible where a king of Israel or Judah cries out to God in prayer for help for his nation and God hears and answers his prayer.

Answer 7

Prayer is conditional and has "eligibility requirements".
God says the fervent prayers of a righteous man are effective.
I would say effective means we can play a part in the process.
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Probing the Power of Prayer

Surprising results follow a study on praying for others.
By Catherine Rauch WebMD Feature


When Aretha Franklin crooned the words "I'll say a little prayer for you" in the hit 1960s song she probably didn't imagine that the soulful pledge would become the stuff of serious science. But increasingly, scientists are studying the power of prayer, and in particular its role in healing people who are sick.
Most research in the field looks at how people who are sick are affected by their own spiritual beliefs and practices. In general, these studies have suggested that people who are religious seem to heal faster or cope with illness more effectively than do the nondevout.

But a few scientists have taken a further step: They're trying to find out if you can help strangers by praying for them without their knowledge.

A recent, controversial study of cardiac patients conducted at St. Luke's Hospital in Kansas City, Missouri, concludes that this type of prayer -- known as intercessory prayer -- may indeed make a difference. "Prayer may be an effective adjunct to standard medical care," says cardiac researcher William Harris, Ph.D., who headed the St. Luke's study. The study was published in the October 25, 1999 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine.

Harris and team examined the health outcomes of nearly 1,000 newly admitted heart patients at St. Luke's. The patients, who all had serious cardiac conditions, were randomly assigned to two groups. Half received daily prayer for four weeks from five volunteers who believed in God and in the healing power of prayer. The other half received no prayer in conjunction with the study.

The volunteers were all Christians. The participants were not told they were in a study. The people praying were given only the first names of their patients and never visited the hospital. They were instructed to pray for the patients daily "for a speedy recovery with no complications."

Measuring Marvels

Using a lengthy list of events that could happen to cardiac patients -- such as chest pains, pneumonia, infection, and death -- Harris concluded that the group receiving prayers fared 11% better than the group that didn't, a number considered statistically significant.

Harris originally embarked on his study to see if he could replicate a similar 1988 study of intercessory prayer conducted at San Francisco General Hospital. That study -- one of the only published studies of its kind -- also found that prayer benefited patients, but by a different measure: The patients were able to go home from the hospital sooner.

Answer 8

Great question. Praying is effective when you have a relationship and faith in God. I don't think that God can be influenced, he just rewards prayer with protection and safety. He guides the path we are on, in a forthright and honest way. You cannot influence someone who has more wisdom and knowledge.

Answer 9

Praying is only effective if we talk to God about the decisions we must make in order to make the right choices. Then we must take steps to resolve our problems trusting that God has helped us to make the right choices. The only time prayer is not effective is when we ask God to take the action for us (miracle?) and then wait for Him to do what we should be doing for ourselves.
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Answer 10

Yes, off of the top of my head. A certain King disobeyed God and he was going to die. The scripture says that the King Supplicated God crying out to God, weeping and praying. God heard his anguisahed cries and said "Because I have heard your cries I will extend your life by fifteen years. So, yes we can influence God.

Answer 11

Yes, remember Hezekiah prayed he wouldn't die and he lived 10 more years. Then Ninevites prayed not to die and God spared them. Jonah 2:1 out of my distress I prayed to God. He was saved from the belly of a fish. Probably a shark.
there is lots of accounts where God heard prayers and changed what he was going to do and on one occassion he asked a group of angels what to do and one made a suggestion and he said okay go ahead and do it that way.
He said, "people of this generation are more knowledgeable towards their generation than sons of the kingdom are.
In other words angels, we understand humans thinking more than the angels do. The bible says "humans rush in where angels fear to tread." In other words when it comes to heavenly things we are pretty stupid.