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“The Lord Changed His Mind”
“The Lord Changed His Mind”
Does God change His mind? Some passages say He doesn’t. For example, after Samuel told Saul that God had rejected him from being king, he said, “Also the Glory of Israel will not lie or change His mind; for He is not a man that He should change His mind” (1 Sam. 15:29).
Regardless of how much Saul begged and pleaded with Samuel, nothing he could say or do could sway God from His decision. Without exception, no man can change God’s mind once He has made it up. Once God makes a full determination to do a thing, He will not be moved.
On the other hand, there are passages that plainly state that sometimes God does in fact change His mind. Consider Amos 7, where Amos asks God to halt the destruction He was in the process of bringing on the land of Israel. Verse 3 and verse 7 each tell us, “The Lord changed His mind about this.” The fact that He changed His mind means He had not made a complete determination to carry out the destruction at that time.
And here’s the kicker: the outcome was dependent on whether fervent prayers were being offered regarding the situation. No prayers equaled destruction. Prayers equaled cessation of destruction. Wow! Prayer really is powerful, isn’t it? Amos’ earnest supplications literally changed God’s mind. And so can yours.
Moses changed God’s mind three different times. The first time was after the golden calf incident. God was ready to totally wipe out the Israelites and start all over with just Moses. So Moses begged God to spare the people, which He did. Exodus 32:14 says, “So the Lord changed His mind about the harm which He said He would do to His people.”
As narrative continues we learn that, although God was willing to let the people live, He was not yet willing to let His presence dwell with them. Again Moses prayed, and God changed His mind and decided to go with the people. Note the reason for this change, as stated in Exodus 33:17: “The Lord said to Moses, ‘I will also do this thing of which you have spoken; for you have found favor in My sight and I have known you by name.’”
Later on, after the spies were sent into Canaan and returned with a fearful report, the entire congregation lost faith in God and refused to invade the land. Like before, God said He would destroy them all and start over with Moses. So Moses pled with God to spare the Israelites, which He did.
The lesson is simple: pray fervently, with full confidence that prayer has the power to change the mind of God. This doesn’t mean that we should pray for God to go against His will. Instead, we should pray for God’s will to be re-directed to grant our petitions, to the praise of His glory.
