God’s Sovereignty and the Confidence to Pray

By James Williams

Scripture teaches that God is sovereign over all things. Nothing happens anywhere in the universe outside His sovereign rule. From the smallest atom to the largest galaxy, all creation remains under His authority and providential care. Even events that appear random to us are governed by Him, and no purpose of God can be thwarted (Proverbs 16:33; Job 42:2).

Sometimes people ask, “If God is sovereign, why should I pray?” If God rules over everything and accomplishes His purposes, why are our prayers necessary? Whether we pray or not, will not His will still be accomplished?

There are several ways to answer that question. We pray because God commands us to pray, and His people joyfully obey His commands. We also pray because God appoints not only the ends He intends to accomplish but also the means through which He accomplishes them. In His providence, God works through the prayers of His people.

Both answers are true, but perhaps the most compelling reason to pray is because God is sovereign. We might even turn the original question around: If God were not sovereign, why would we pray?

A Powerless Helper

It is pointless to request something from someone who has no authority or ability to provide it. When you want time off from work, you ask your employer or supervisor, not a coworker who has no authority to approve the request. Judging by the clothes I wear and the car I drive, you would also be wise not to ask me for a million dollars.

If God were not sovereign, there would be little reason to pray. If the course of history were finally determined by an autonomous human will that God could not overcome, then His ability to answer prayer would always be limited by what people allowed Him to do. He might desire one outcome while being unable to bring it about because another will ultimately held greater authority.

In that kind of universe, prayer would amount to asking God to do something He might desire to do but lack the power to accomplish. He could offer assistance, but He could not guarantee the fulfillment of His purposes.

Praying to a God who lacks sovereign authority would be like asking me for a million dollars or asking the janitor at your office to approve your vacation. The problem is not a lack of kindness or good intentions. The problem is a lack of authority and ability.

Mighty to Save

I had a family member who did not believe in Christ, so I began sharing the gospel with him while I was still in high school. He told me that he did not feel he needed to be saved from anything. Nevertheless, I continued sharing the gospel with him over the years, sometimes through letters sent in the mail. From a human perspective, he had already made up his mind.

If God were powerless to change a hardened heart, there would be little reason to continue praying once a lost person had firmly rejected the gospel. We might ask God to create another opportunity or send alooks good. can we go with God’s Sovereignty and the Confidence to Pray

nother witness, but what hope would prayer offer if the sinner’s will remained ultimately beyond God’s saving power?

Scripture gives us a far greater hope. The Holy Spirit can convict sinners, open blind eyes, and replace hearts of stone with hearts of flesh. God can give a person new desires so that he sees the beauty of Christ, repents of sin, and gladly receives the Savior. Salvation does not rest finally upon the strength or wisdom of the sinner, but upon the mercy and power of God.

That is why we have every reason to pray for those who are lost. We cannot raise the spiritually dead, open blind eyes, or soften hardened hearts. God can. Prayer acknowledges both our helplessness and His power.

Because God is sovereign, I continued to pray for my lost family member. I did not pray because I believed I could manipulate God or force Him to act according to my wishes. I prayed because God could accomplish what I could not. My confidence was not in the strength of my prayers, but in the sovereign grace of the God who is mighty to save.

None Can Stay His Hand

Scripture teaches both the sovereignty of God and the responsibility of His people to pray. Through prayer, our sovereign God answers the requests of His children (Luke 11:9–10), advances His purposes (Acts 4:24–31), and fills His people with joy (John 16:24).

Daniel declared that God “does according to his will among the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay his hand” (Daniel 4:35).

Because we serve a powerful and gracious God who accomplishes His purposes, we have every reason to approach Him with confidence. No person can overpower Him. No circumstance can frustrate Him. No hardened heart lies beyond His ability to transform.

God’s sovereignty does not discourage prayer. It gives prayer its foundation. We pray because God commands us to pray, because He has appointed prayer as one of the means through which He works, and because He alone has the power to answer.

We pray because God is sovereign.

Explore the rest of our series, The Discipline and Power of Prayer, or watch more biblical teaching on the Servants of Grace YouTube channel.