R.C. Sproul

He knows every thought in your mind, every word before it's even formed on your lips.

He knows what you're going to say before you say it.

There's nowhere that you can escape from His presence.

He knows you inside and out.

He knows what you need, but he still says, come and tell me what you need.

Now, beloved, when he does that, that is not for his benefit.

It is not for his education, and it's not for his edification.

Who is it for?

The answer is obvious, isn't it?

but he asks us to come and tell him what our concerns are and our needs.

He's inviting us into the sacred presence of the Almighty in heaven itself and to say, come and talk to me for our benefit.

Because we walk away from that communication, from that experience of speaking our needs and our concerns before the Lord, encouraged and at peace,

because we have been with him in that discourse.

But let's not flatter ourselves to the place where we think that our wisdom is greater than his wisdom or that our knowledge is such that we can give him information that he didn't previously have.

Well, again, when I give that kind of an answer to people,

to the question, does prayer change God's mind when I say, no, it doesn't change God's mind because God's mind knew what you were going to pray before you prayed.

And that knowledge was factored in to his plan all along.

Well, then you say, well, then again, that sounds like it's all programmed and there's no reason to pray.

Well, let's ask the question another way.

Not, does prayer change the mind of God?