You who answer prayer, to you all people will come. – Psalm 65:2

Today’s Scripture Reading (April 29, 2016): Psalm 65

Soren Kierkegaard once said that “prayer does not change God, but it changes him who prays.” I think Kierkegaard is right, at least partially. I have never been convinced that we serve an unpassionate and unchanging God. The Bible seems to carry too much evidence to the contrary. God is not a God who never changes, at least not in practice. His character and identity never change. He is not like me who is good one day and evil (or not so good) the next. God’s character is unchanging. But he is not an unpassionate God who is unmoved by the circumstances of our lived; he is sometimes changed by us and by our prayers. It is part of the story that I see told in Exodus. God says to Moses, “I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about (or I am moved by) their suffering (Exodus 3:7). I have heard their prayers and I am on the move. Sometimes, our prayer changes God.

But often, I admit, that that is not true. There are times when prayer changes us, just as Kierkegaard asserts. Because sometimes the actual problem resides in me. It is unfair to cry to God asking for money when deep down I know that what he has given me I am not managing well. To ask for help when the truth is that I need to learn compassion. My prayers change me. They lead me to the place where I understand what it is that I need to do – and how I need to change. Prayer changes me – it shapes me to be more like Christ so that God can accomplish what he wants to accomplish through my life.

It is often said that God always answers prayer, it is just that his answer is not always yes. For some, that is a cop out. But actually, it is more of the act of a parent. As a parent, I don’t always get to say yes. Sometimes I do, but not always. Sometimes my yes has to be delayed. Whatever is being asked for I may want to give, but I just can’t say yes in the immediacy of the moment. I will say yes at a later date, but just not now. And sometimes the answer has to be no. There is growth that is needed, limits that need to be embraced. We need our children to learn the ability to make good decisions, and to just be given things often leads to bad decision-making skills.

God’s desire is the same with us. Sometimes he gets to say yes. Sometimes he gets to say wait. Sometimes he gets to place limits and allow us to grow in strength and compassion. But he always answers, and so we continue to come to him.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Psalm 68