Why Pray if God is Sovereign?

If marriage is God’s will, won’t He just bring it about whenever He sees fit? Isn’t that what His sovereignty does?

Let me share three truths of sovereignty that I’ve learned from reading stories in the Old Testament:

1. People can make choices that are contrary to God’s will.

2. God works in the lives of people who walk with Him in faith, no matter how godless their society or disappointing their personal circumstances.

3. Even when circumstances are contrary to His will, He still accomplishes His purpose through them and, maybe, even because of them.

God may desire for all of us to be married. But what if men aren’t choosing marriage or women are choosing divorce, or the other way around? What if your potential future mate decides that marriage is too hard and risky?

What then? People’s choices seem to thwart God’s plan. And break our hearts, not to mention His.

In the meantime, however, we can be sure that He is accomplishing a purpose. And we can add our faith to God’s ways and design for our world by obeying those ways ourselves and praying for them to be restored in the earth. Here are some Scriptures that tell us of God’s desire for us to pray and His heart to answer:

“The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man (or woman) avails much.” James 5:16

“Ask and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.” Matthew 7:7-8

“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

Maybe you’ve been praying for a long time. I encourage you to keep on praying, keep on believing. And expand the scope of your prayers. Check in next Monday for the first of our prayer points, and let’s pray together.