Have you ever made a decision as a parent, but then later changed your mind after the earnest pleas of your child? Maybe you’ve been on the other end. Your mom or dad made a firm decision, however, you presented your case, and your parents changed course. The heart of any loving father or mother is willing to consider the earnest pleas of their children. Is it any different with our heavenly Father? Is prayer only a one-sided conversation where the communication and response only flows one direction?
While we know that God is all-powerful and all-knowing and he has His plans established before the foundation of the world, we also know that Scripture affirms His responsiveness to our earnest pleas. God not only listens to our prayers, He responds to them. Scripture clearly teaches that He adapts and adopts changes to at least some parts of His plan as a result of our prayers. We see a perfect example of this in Genesis 18 where Abraham pleads with God in regards to the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. There is great mystery here in how these two truths hold together and we must acknowledge that our finite minds cannot fully comprehend an infinite God. However, it should be a great encouragement that we can talk to our all-powerful Creator knowing that he hears and responds.